Torts/Personal Injury, Criminal
California hazing laws and potential liability updates
By Christa H. Ramey
The laws in these areas are evolving and provide a reason not to approach litigating hazing-related injuries and tragedies as ...
Tax, Government
The LA mansion tax has led to lawsuits and less than anticipated revenue
By Jeffrey Dintzer, Garrett Stanton
Mayor Karen Bass adjusted Los Angeles’s budget to reflect $150 million per year in anticipated revenue from the so-called “man...
Torts/Personal Injury, Health Care & Hospital Law
Medical recklessness claims in California
By Mike Arias, Alena Klimianok
Psychiatric facilities and nursing homes are not glamorous places to work. Turnover is high, and oftentimes these facilities m...
Labor/Employment, Government
Proposal expands worker protections following mass layoffs; serves as a WARNing to California employers
By Julia Y. Trankiem, Veronica A. Torrejón
Intellectual Property, Entertainment & Sports
Maximizing the value of musical composition copyright catalogs
By Henry W. Root
Thorough pre-sale preparation can increase value and expedite closing.
Tax, Entertainment & Sports
Songwriters continue to score tax breaks
By Michael R. Morris
Congress has lowered tax rates for songwriters who sell their catalogs and electively take advantage of capital gains treatmen...
Technology, Law Practice
Artificial intelligence isn’t smart enough to detect bogus cases
By Anita Taff-Rice
AI platforms should disclose information needed for attorneys to avoid ethical traps.
Corporate, Civil Procedure, 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
Navigating the choppy waters of bylaw forum-selection clauses after Seafarers
By Wesley Sze, Michael D. Celio
What about derivative claims that can only be brought in a federal forum? It seems the tides pull in different directions. Las...
Judges and Judiciary
The most important people you have never heard of, starting with Deni Butler
By Lawrence P. Riff
This first column (with several to follow) focuses on the departmental chiefs charged with the day-to-day running of the eight...
Government, Constitutional Law
Are reverse warrants the radical undoing of Fourth Amendment rights AB 793 Claims?
By Francis Adams, Karin Sweigart
From a law enforcement perspective, AB 793 seeks to prohibit a necessary tool for law enforcement investigations without any e...
Which judge will finally sit in the chair overseeing the case presents a unique backdrop for its resolution.
Criminal
Piercing of attorney-client privileges could lift the veil in Trump case
By Andrew Browning
Evidence from Trump’s lawyer in the classified documents and obstruction case may prove critical to prosecutors if admitted to...
The United Farm Workers Union was trying to organize orchard workers in the Yuba-Sutter area. California Rural Legal Assistanc...
Looking at the provision for divorce under Iranian Law and Procedure provides a road map for comparison. The Iranian law recog...
Land Use, Government
Last minute legislation threatens public’s right to know impacts of projects
By Todd T. Cardiff
Ostensibly part of the Governor's "infrastructure" plan, the bill takes aim at CEQA's disclosure requirements - particularly a...
Wills, Estates & Trusts
Revisiting the tangled rules for modification of revocable trusts
By Mark J. Phillips, Jake V. Phillips
While the process of revocation is better understood, the rules for modification under § 15402 continue to be the subject of l...
Insurance
Antiquated war exclusion does not bar coverage for $700M cyber insurance claim
By Robert Wallan, John Chamberlain
Unfortunately, the insurance industry continues to pursue the sale of policies that rarely provide coverage. In response to th...
Entertainment & Sports
Stream It Tonight! "Rumpole of the Bailey" (1978-1992)
By Paul Bergman, Michael Asimow
Gentle parody rules in this 44-episode British television criminal justice series.
Family, Criminal
Coercive control in domestic violence restraining orders
By Joseph M. Lipner
The coercive control provisions of the statute provide important safeguards for victims of domestic abuse where the perpetrato...
U.S. Supreme Court, Intellectual Property
Did the U.S. Supreme Court take a bite out of the Rogers test in a dog toy case?
By Ashfaq G. Chowdhury
Justice Elena Kagan took greatest issue with what she characterized as the Ninth Circuit's undue expansion of the protection o...
The result of this case should be further proof that the grant of a profits interest to a lower-tier partnership, including th...
U.S. Supreme Court, Government
U.S. Supreme Court issues important decision on False Claims Act knowledge requirement
By Matthew D. Benedetto, Davina Pujari
The Court's decision is notable for its articulation of "reckless disregard," the lowest of the FCA's scienter standards. What...
U.S. Supreme Court, Intellectual Property
Is Rogers v. Grimaldi dead? No! but ...
By Bruce Isaacs
If the infringer’s use is not a primary trademark use as a commercial product to identify or distinguish source, and is instea...
Labor/Employment
Workplace fairness: a needed legislative priority
By William M. Crosby
Just as objective standards of right and wrong conduct rooted in the common law are the basis of the civil and criminal codes,...
Family, Criminal
The unforeseen impact of restraining order laws on Hollywood divorces
By Holly J. Moore
In 2020, domestic violence was redefined to encompass ‘coercive control.’ The new law significantly eased the process of obtai...
The Barber and Ranen emails should be viewed as an opportunity to reflect on the dismal state of civility in the legal profess...
Securities, Civil Procedure, 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
Severed securities-related portion of dissolvable pills case may end up in Canadian court
By Rachel Jari Feldman, Deema Abini
The Ninth Circuit is set to hear an appeal of dismissal of foreign securities claims for forum non conveniens.
Labor/Employment
Fiduciary duty applies to employee retirement benefit plans
By Robert J. McKennon
Morris is significant because it changed the landscape of ERISA fiduciary duty law on these types of issues in a favora...
It feels strange to celebrate decisions that do not change the law or provide any greater protection of civil rights than exis...
Ethics/Professional Responsibility
Duty creep: the expanding obligations of attorneys to nonclients
By Wendy Thomas
The Gordon court's caveat that liability would extend to a decedent's beneficiaries only when the client's intent is "c...