California Pulse


  • Credit Union's Arb. Pact Not Unconscionable, Court Says

    A California state appeals court has reversed a ruling finding an arbitration agreement contained in a credit union's employment contract to be unconscionable, saying the JAMS rules incorporated in the pact permit an arbitrator to allow for necessary third-party discovery.

  • Calif. Firm Settles Photographer's IP Claim Over Photo Use

    A New Mexico photographer told a California federal judge on Thursday that he was ending his copyright infringement suit against Santa Monica immigration law firm Wolfsdorf Rosenthal LLP over ownership of a photograph on the firm's website, as the two sides have reached a settlement.

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    Jones Day Names 6 Office And Practice Leaders

    Jones Day announced Thursday that six of its attorneys earned new practice group or office leadership roles, including at shops in Texas and California.

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    Nixon Peabody Adds Greenberg Glusker Cannabis Co-Chair

    Nixon Peabody LLP is boosting its West Coast litigation team, bringing in a former federal prosecutor, who was most recently the founder and co-chair of the cannabis practice at Greenberg Glusker LLP, as a partner in its Los Angeles office.

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    Legal Job Satisfaction Up, Less Turnover Expected, Study Says

    Legal professionals surveyed reported high job satisfaction at the end of last year, signaling a quieter job market for the legal industry in 2025, according to a new report from recruiting firm Robert Half Inc.

  • Girardi's Mental Evaluation At NC Prison Extended By 15 Days

    A California federal judge Thursday ordered Tom Girardi's psychiatric evaluation at a North Carolina federal prison to be extended by 15 days, and she also lectured Girardi's public defender while saying she "could not have imagined" why it took 17 days to get his client's medical records sent to the facility.

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    US Attys To Shift Focus Amid Questions Of Staffing, Politics

    The new U.S. attorneys under President Donald Trump's administration will almost certainly shift their offices' enforcement priorities, experts say, but they may also be faced with the impacts of a shrinking federal workforce and a politicized Justice Department, others worry.

  • Davis Wright Partners With Stanford's CodeX On Legal AI

    Davis Wright Tremaine LLP announced Thursday a new partnership with Stanford University's legal technology hub CodeX to collaborate on new artificial intelligence tools, joining other universities the past year in striking up partnerships with law firms and legal tech companies to advance research and real-world implementation of AI into law.

  • Judge Puts Atty On Hook For Fees For Conduct In TM Trial

    A California judge ordered an attorney who represented a microphone manufacturer that lost a trade dress infringement trial to be jointly responsible with his client for attorney fees and costs as a sanction for his conduct during the case.

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    Convicted Atty Disbarred In NJ Over LA Utility Billing Scandal

    The New Jersey Supreme Court disbarred an attorney this week who orchestrated a sham lawsuit against the city of Los Angeles on behalf of plaintiffs suing the local water utility and who later made $24 million off contracts with the city reached through a number of bribery schemes.

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    Golden State Warriors CLO Named GC Of NBA Players Union

    The National Basketball Players Association said Thursday it has hired the chief legal officer of the Golden State Warriors, who has made a career melding music, sports and finance, to be the union's managing director and general counsel.

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    USC Taps University's GC To Serve As Interim President

    University of Southern California announced Wednesday that its general counsel Beong-Soo Kim, who is also a former federal prosecutor, will serve as the school's interim president once Carol Folt retires as USC leader at the end of June.

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    Reed Smith Leaps Into The Future At New Downtown LA Office

    Reed Smith LLP has moved its downtown Los Angeles office to a new location, just two blocks from the previous location.

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    Experienced Capital Markets Atty Joins Procopio In Calif.

    Procopio Cory Hargreaves & Savitch LLP announced Wednesday that an experienced capital markets and securities attorney, who most recently practiced at Barton LLP, has joined the firm's office in Orange County, California.

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    MoFo Adds BraunHagey Corporate Leader In San Francisco

    Morrison Foerster LLP continues expanding its emerging companies and venture capital team, announcing Wednesday a BraunHagey & Borden LLP startup and venture capital specialist has come aboard as a partner in its San Francisco office.

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    Which GCs Sold Stock In January? Netflix, Palantir And More

    Legal leaders at Netflix and Palantir Technologies were among those corporate lawyers who welcomed the New Year by hauling in millions of dollars in stock sales in January.

  • Girardi Keese Trustee Sues NY Atty Who Funded Girardi

    The bankruptcy trustee for disgraced California attorney Tom Girardi's defunct law firm is suing to prevent New York attorney Joseph DiNardo from discharging $7.5 million in his own bankruptcy, claiming DiNardo received the money by helping Girardi defraud his own clients.

  • Calif. Panel Revives Malpractice Suit Against Insurer Attys

    A California state appeals court revived an Allstate policyholder's legal malpractice suit against his insurer-appointed attorney, saying the policyholder sufficiently alleged the attorney's drafting of an underlying settlement in a wrongful death suit caused him damages.

  • Paxos' Top Atty Takes CLO Spot At Crypto Co. Kraken

    Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken has tapped the general counsel at crypto trust company Paxos to serve as its new chief legal officer.

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    Law Firms Add Marketing Chiefs Amid Biz Development Push

    As law firms battle for business in a more competitive market, the new year has seen a wave of chief marketing officer appointments. This shift, experts say, reflects a growing emphasis on strategic leadership and business development, as firms look to differentiate themselves and drive growth.

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    Inside Fitch Even's Play To Reclaim Patent Litigation Work

    Amid a patent litigation landscape dominated by BigLaw, Chicago-based intellectual property boutique Fitch Even Tabin & Flannery LLP has teamed up with litigation firm MoloLamken LLP to reclaim the litigation work that bigger players have siphoned away.

  • Calif. AG Gets $25M To Fund Legal Fights Against Trump

    The California Legislature greenlighted a $25 million cash infusion Monday for the state attorney general's office in a strategic effort to bolster the state's legal defenses against President Donald Trump's policy agenda, including anticipated challenges to immigration and environmental regulations.

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    VedderPrice Eyes West Coast IP Growth With DLA Piper Hire

    VedderPrice said Tuesday that it has hired a former partner at DLA Piper's Silicon Valley office to help grow its intellectual property offerings on the West Coast, touting his experience in the technology sector.

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    Robins Kaplan Names New Calif. Managing Partner

    Litigation firm Robins Kaplan LLP has appointed a trial attorney who has been with the firm for nine years to serve as head of its two California offices.

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    One Group's Message: Activists Helped, Not Hurt, Exxon

    Despite a federal judge and a House panel saying otherwise, the CEO and the chief counsel of shareholder advocacy group As You Sow want to set the record straight about what investor activists have done to Exxon Mobil Corp.'s financial value.

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Expert Analysis

  • Keys To Digitizing Inefficient Contract Management Processes Author Photo

    Neville Eisenberg and Mark Grayson at BCLP explain how they sped up contract execution for one client by replacing email with a centralized, digital tool for negotiations and review, and how the principles they adhered to can be helpful for other law firms looking to improve poorly managed contract management processes.

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    Ask A Mentor: How Can Firms Coach Associates Remotely? Author Photo

    Practicing law through virtual platforms will likely persist even after the pandemic, so law firms and senior lawyers should consider refurbishing their associate mentoring programs to facilitate personal connections, professionalism and effective training in a remote environment, says Carol Goodman at Herrick Feinstein.

  • How Law Firms Can Welcome And Celebrate Autistic Lawyers Author Photo

    As the U.S. observes Autism Acceptance Month, autistic attorney Haley Moss describes the societal barriers and stereotypes that keep neurodivergent lawyers from disclosing their disabilities, and how law firms can better accommodate and level the playing field for attorneys whose minds work outside of the prescribed norm.

  • Law Firm Tips For Evaluating AI And Machine Learning Tools Author Photo

    Many legal technology vendors now sell artificial intelligence and machine learning tools at a premium price tag, but law firms must take the time to properly evaluate them as not all offerings generate process efficiencies or even use the technologies advertised, says Steven Magnuson at Ballard Spahr.

  • A Call For Personal Accountability On Diversity And Inclusion Author Photo

    While chief legal officers are increasingly involved in creating corporate diversity, inclusion and anti-bigotry policies, all lawyers have a responsibility to be discrimination busters and bias interrupters regardless of the title they hold, says Veta T. Richardson at the Association of Corporate Counsel.

  • Learning How To Code Can Unleash New Potential In Lawyers Author Photo

    Every lawyer can begin incorporating aspects of software development in their day-to-day practice with little to no changes in their existing tools or workflow, and legal organizations that take steps to encourage this exploration of programming can transform into tech incubators, says George Zalepa at Greenberg Traurig.

  • Supporting Associates Amid Pandemic's Mental Health Toll Author Photo

    As junior associates increasingly report burnout, work-life conflict and loneliness during the pandemic, law firms should take tangible actions to reduce the stigma around seeking help, and to model desired well-being behaviors from the top down, say Stacey Whiteley at the New York State Bar Association and Robin Belleau at Kirkland.

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    Ask A Mentor: Should My Law Firm Take On An Apprentice? Author Photo

    Mentoring a law student who is preparing for the bar exam without attending law school is an arduous process that is not for everyone, but there are also several benefits for law firms hosting apprenticeship programs, says Jessica Jackson, the lawyer guiding Kim Kardashian West's legal education.

  • The Importance Of Client Engagement In Law Firm Innovation Author Photo

    As clients increasingly want law firms to serve as innovation platforms, firms must understand that there is no one-size-fits-all approach — the key is a nimble innovation function focused on listening and knowledge sharing, says Mark Brennan at Hogan Lovells.

  • The Unique Challenges Facing Women-Owned Law Firms Author Photo

    In addition to establishing their brand from scratch, women who start their own law firms must overcome inherent bias against female lawyers and convince prospective clients to put aside big-firm preferences, says Joel Stern at the National Association of Minority and Women Owned Law Firms.

  • The Pursuit Of Wellness In BigLaw: Lessons From My Journey Author Photo

    Jane Jeong at Cooley shares how grueling BigLaw schedules and her own perfectionism emotionally bankrupted her, and why attorneys struggling with burnout should consider making small changes to everyday habits.

  • Why We Must Recruit And Advance More Black Prosecutors Author Photo

    Black Americans make up a disproportionate percentage of the incarcerated population but are underrepresented among elected prosecutors, so the legal community — from law schools to prosecutor offices — must commit to addressing these disappointing demographics, says Erika Gilliam-Booker at the National Black Prosecutors Association.

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    Ask A Mentor: How Can Associates Deal With Overload? Author Photo

    Young lawyers overwhelmed with a crushing workload must tackle the problem on two fronts — learning how to say no, and understanding how to break down projects into manageable parts, says Jay Harrington at Harrington Communications.

  • A Scientific Path For Improving Diversity At Law Firms Author Photo

    Law firms could combine industrial organizational psychology and machine learning to study prospective hires' analytical thinking, stress response and similar attributes — which could lead to recruiting from a more diverse candidate pool, say Ali Shahidi and Bess Sully at Sheppard Mullin.

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    Ask A Mentor: How Can Associates Seek More Assignments? Author Photo

    In the first installment of Law360 Pulse's career advice guest column, Meela Gill at Weil offers insights on how associates can ask for meaningful work opportunities at their firms without sounding like they are begging. 

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