Law Practice
Building an incredible book of business begins by starting a conversation
By Deb Feder
Bringing in business is about meeting, connecting, and learning about people and their needs. From that foundation, you can de...
Title IX extends to student-on-student harassment based on real or perceived sexual orientation
By Robert Ross DeKoven
Schools may also have an affirmative duty to identify those students who are being or have been bullied, harassed, hazed, or s...
Intellectual Property
The artist, the spouse, and breach of fiduciary duty
By Scott J. Nord, Karra Ideozu
Copyright law seeks to protect an individual’s freedom of expression. Ordering a sale of artistic property would seemingly def...
Contracts
Consumers are being victimized each time they lease a vehicle
By Louis A. Lipofsky
Boilerplate car leases fail to advise the customer that if their car is in an insured accident and is totaled, the customer wi...
Criminal
Why prosecutors should look back at a past sentence to ensure ongoing justice
By Hillary Blout
Many people serving long sentences are also part of an aging population that is far less likely to reoffend, and costly to kee...
Judges and Judiciary, Ethics/Professional Responsibility
I don’t want to spoil the party, but . . .
By Laura W. Halgren
If judges were to avoid all bar association events that were sponsored by law firms, their absence would adversely affect the ...
Criminal
Human trafficking in Ventura County: It’s happening in your own backyard
By McKenna Fitzpatrick
Implementing a statewide training program within schools across California can potentially save hundreds to thousands of victims.
Corporate, Administrative/Regulatory
The SEC’s cyber rules present a challenge and an opportunity for in-house counsel
By Douglas Yang
Final rules issued by the agency are a clarion call to action on the importance of advising business units on the necessity an...
Cannabis
Beyond rescheduling: reimagining cannabis policy for a more just society
By Allison B. Margolin, Warren Arndt
Although the rhetoric around rescheduling marijuana is a positive sign, the notion of rescheduling cannabis to a lower schedul...
Constitutional Law, California Supreme Court
The constitutionality of the CVRA, not just its statutory intent, should be reviewed
By John K. Haggerty
The California Supreme Court has issued its first decision interpreting the California Voting Rights Act, but failed to addres...
Constitutional Law
Part I on interpreting our Constitution: the traditional approaches
By Myron Moskovitz
"Originalism" and "textualism" might indeed be gimmicks - at least for some of the Justices some of the time.
Technology
Cutting costs, not corners, in legal research AI
By Daniel B. Garrie, Ryan Abbott
The AI revolution is here – those who sensibly embrace it will reap substantial benefits, while those who ignore it risk being...
Judges and Judiciary, Ethics/Professional Responsibility
Blue slip abuse will only make judge-shopping problem worse
By John P. Collins Jr.
Currently, some districts divide their business geographically, so that a case filed in a particular division will only be hea...
Torts/Personal Injury, California Supreme Court
Help Wanted: Supreme Court guidance on hazardous recreational activities
By Yisrael Gelb
The Court should not only take up (and reverse) Carr, but provide guidance as to an oft-litigated statute. It wouldn’t hurt ei...
Immigration, 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
9th Circuit allows 3rd country asylum-related transit ban to continue
By Sabrina R. Damast
One cannot help but wonder (as Judge Van Dyke insinuates) if political leanings played a much greater role than they should ha...
Technology, Administrative/Regulatory
FEC regulation of deepfakes will not meaningfully protect voters from misinformation
By Andrew H. Werbrock
Absent an act of Congress, the FEC has no statutory authority to regulate deepfakes by non-candidate actors.
California Courts of Appeal
CCP 998 and settlements - new guidance from the court of appeal
By Bob Blum
This is the first time that any court has dealt with a settlement that is less than the 998 offer when the case involved a fee...
Labor/Employment, Administrative/Regulatory
As the heat index rises, standards for keeping employees cool may also change
By Kate LaQuay, Sahar Shiralian
California employers with workspaces that are prone to extreme heat, such as warehouses, may want to review newly-proposed Cal...
Labor/Employment
A reminder about California’s newer, and upcoming labor law changes
By Twila S. White
The relatively new laws impact employee rights and expand the scope of protection to employees.
Government
The mug shot is an ominous warning of what’s to come should Trump win the election
By A. Marco Turk
If Trump takes office while the charges are still pending against him, he’s likely to move to quickly get rid of them. He woul...
What’s the big deal with this proposed immigration court regulation?
By Dana Leigh Marks
The rampant dysfunction and gridlock in all aspects of our nation’s immigration system are well known. But few outside the inn...
Hybrid work arrangements can support your company’s ESG goals
By Felice B. Ekelman, Julie Kantor
While the Supreme Court's recent decisions in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard and Students for Fair Admissions v. Univ...
Intellectual Property, California Courts of Appeal
Display lefts and rights
By John R. Wierzbicki
Vermont Law School decided to build a wall of acoustic panels just two inches in front of the mural, but not touching the mura...
Entertainment & Sports, Contracts
Analyzing the NCAA’s shrinking authority
By Frank N. Darras
New NCAA President Charlie Baker has publicly stated his support of players being able to profit off NIL; it’s a great sentime...
Family
How to prevent a drawn-out divorce from depleting you emotionally and financially
By William C. Gentry
While your financial situation has almost certainly changed as a result of your divorce, there are tools to help mitigate the ...
Labor/Employment
Asking about criminal history is off limits during job interviews
By Julia Y. Trankiem, Steven A. Morphy
All California employers should be aware of updated regulations for the use of criminal history in hiring decisions, many of w...
Government
Government Transparency Act is a shameful abuse of the initiative process
By Christine Wood, Darren Ziegler
While transparency is crucial, it must be balanced with the right to privacy, as outlined in the California Constitution. Wait...
The U.S. Treasury Department has proposed new rules meant to make it harder – much harder – for people not to pay tax on their...
Outcomes in a courtroom are not sterile; they are the result of human beings assessing the motivations and actions of others. ...
Presumably the fentanyl death epidemic is what drove the prosecution to choose a murder over manslaughter. There is no questio...