Government, Constitutional Law
Moore v. Harper will exonerate Trump
By Richard A. Nixon
Mr. Trump was simply following advice given to him by his attorneys. He was following their advice and the text of his positio...
Law Practice, Appellate Practice
Retroactivity of appellate court decisions: The truth is out there
By David M. Axelrad
Is the “truth” revealed in an appellate court decision always applied retroactively? No. Courts refuse to apply decisions retr...
Civil Rights, 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
Ninth Circuit lectures the district courts on ADA access, again
By Bob Blum
Judges, like most of us, like to clear out cases that are time-consuming and aren't going anywhere. In Jones, the distr...
Insurance, Contracts, Civil Procedure
Insurance bad faith litigation: Pre-suit and time-limited demands
By Reza Torkzadeh, Allen P. Wilkinson
On Jan. 1, 2023, Code of Civil Procedure (CCP) sections 999 - 999.5 took effect for all pre-suit and pre-arbitration time-limi...
The federal government paid almost $1 million to settle a military sexual assault lawsuit even though it is immune from being ...
Law Practice, Immigration
Solo practice for the virtual immigration lawyer
By Paola I. Neri-Michel
What makes virtual law practice so appealing is its efficiency. You are more productive when you can manage your law practice ...
Labor/Employment, Civil Rights
San Francisco's 1934 general strike: The fall and rise of organized labor
By John S. Caragozian
During the early 1900s, sporadic violence had erupted between west coast shipping companies and longshoremen, but the companie...
Best Practice for using AI in your practice, Vol. 2.
Paul Kiesel and Jeffrey Koncius of Kiesel Law LLP discover that generative artificial intelligence responds better to polite r...
Judges and Judiciary, Government
Sylvia White-Irby quietly ensures that the LA County court's judicial and executive officers are ready to perform
By Lawrence P. Riff
Sylvia White-Irby oversees a 47-member team whose primary purpose is to make sure that the judicial and executive officers at ...
Make the brief short, even though it takes a longer time to write. Use Ockham’s razor and cut, cut, and then cut some more. If...
Labor/Employment
LA independent contractors move closer to employee-type treatment
By Landon R. Schwob
The Freelance Worker Protections Ordinance went into effect a little over a month ago. Businesses should pay the Ordinance the...
It was now almost 4 a.m. the next morning! If we didn’t come to an agreement by 5 a.m. at the latest, no workers would appear ...
Culturally, annulment is an action to make right a societal wrong. A spouse may start it, the government, or any affected part...
Technology, Corporate, Administrative/Regulatory
Directors beware: How the SEC cybersecurity regulations are reshaping and re-risking corporate governance
By John D’Agostino, Jennifer Deutsch
Historically companies have underestimated the magnitude of cybersecurity risks. It’s not just ‘another risk variable’; it’s a...
From crime to climate change to COVID, the U.S. Supreme Court is rejecting the view that the public must defer to expert weigh...
Criminal, Civil Procedure
Bail denial shortcuts won't pass muster under Humphrey
By Alan Eisner, Robert Hill
Yedinak confirms that the Courts of Appeal should continue to enforce the Humphrey decision against trial courts.
Ethics/Professional Responsibility
How to keep a cool head if you get sued
By Shari L. Klevens, Alanna G. Clair
Legal malpractice lawsuits are among the most expensive types of litigation because a plaintiff is often required to prove the...
Constitutional Law
Would race based admissions in the name of religion pass constitutional muster?
By Karin Sweigart
"The time for making distinctions based on race had passed." Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President & Fellows of ...
Constitutional Law
San Jose state professor secures favorable settlement in battle for academic freedom
By David Hoffa
In an all-too-common sequence of events, Professor Elizabeth Weiss became the target of an activist campaign after she publish...
Any kind of correspondence from the IRS can provoke anxiety, so many Californians are understandably apprehensive and confused...
Data Privacy
Car cameras promise better road safety – and increasing legal risk for automakers
By Hayley MacMillen, Kai Galindo
Even when used to improve safety, in-car cameras risk running afoul of rights provided by California’s robust data privacy reg...
The Constitution was rotting away in a file at the State Department. When Warren Harding ordered that it be covered by a prote...
Torts/Personal Injury, Covid Court Ops, California Supreme Court
California Supreme Court Review: July 2023
By Ishika Desai
As COVID-19 infections appear to be on the rise this summer, California employers may, for now, breathe a sigh of relief that ...
Family, Entertainment & Sports
How the entertainment industry shapes our views of domestic violence
By Scott J. Nord
When we normalize domestic violence through songs, movies and other cultural events, we are slowly desensitizing ourselves to ...
A 2015 Barbie commercial for the doll boasts in all caps, "When a Girl Plays with Barbie, She Imagines Everything She Can Beco...
Government, Criminal, Civil Rights
Why the LA Public Defender's Office shouldn't downplay MALDEF's lawsuit
By Jennifer Judge, Michael Judge Jr.
The last time that MALDEF sued L.A. County was in 1988. Its victory over racial discrimination led to the election of Gloria ...
Take my appeal, please!
By James C. Martin, David J. de Jesus
The pragmatic legal standard espoused in cases like Muller flows from the idea that appellate courts should review and settle ...
Seven rules from Barbie for female litigators practicing in the real world
By M. Cris Armenta
The movie resonated with me, causing me to reflect on my career as a female trial lawyer in America. I have worked my entire c...
Rights offerings - another capital raising tool
By Sara L. Terheggen
Rights offerings is one of the most equitable forms of financing for a company that's looking to reduce the impact of dilution...
Adequate time simply doesn’t exist for our mental health court lawyers who are each juggling hundreds of cases. As a result th...