California Pulse

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    Healthcare AI Co. Abridge Names Ex-Google Tech Pro As GC

    Healthcare-focused artificial intelligence company Abridge announced Thursday that a former Google AI expert who most recently served as the head of legal and safety at Inflection AI was named its new general counsel.

  • Sheppard Mullin IP Atty Jumps To Dickinson Wright In Calif.

    Dickinson Wright PLLC has added to its intellectual property team, announcing Wednesday a Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP patent litigator joined its Silicon Valley office in Mountain View, California.

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    Meet 3 Legal Industry Pros At The Paris Olympics

    Legal professionals who work or have worked at firms like Mayer Brown, Crowell & Moring and Pinsent Masons are participating in this year's Olympic Games as a runner, a field hockey player and a water polo referee.

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    Paul Hastings Adds Enviro Atty As Practice Co-Head

    An environmental lawyer from Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP — known for his high-profile work for such clients as BP in connection with the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill — has joined Paul Hastings LLP as a partner and to co-lead its environmental litigation practice.

  • Calif. Bar Says Atty Can't End Billing Scandal's Hacking Claim

    A San Fernando Valley attorney cannot escape an ethics charge alleging he plotted to hack the email and phone of a judge overseeing a public utility class action, the California Bar has told the State Bar Court, urging the court to reject the attorney's argument that merely "discussing plans" for a hack is not an offense.

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    Golden Gate U. Beats Students' Suit Over JD Program Closure

    A California state judge threw out a lawsuit from Golden Gate University School of Law students over the school's plans to stop offering juris doctor degrees, ruling that the students did not adequately make their case.

  • Nader Slams Sullivan & Cromwell Over Protest Screenings

    Consumer advocate and former presidential candidate Ralph Nader is among a trio of critics who wrote to Sullivan & Cromwell LLP this week to urge the BigLaw firm to reconsider its policy of screening job applicants for their participation in protests over the Israel-Hamas war.

  • TaxAct Customers' Attys Want $5.8M Fee For $23M Deal

    The attorneys for TaxAct Inc. customers who secured a $23 million deal to resolve claims that the company was secretly sharing confidential taxpayer information with Meta and Google asked a federal judge to award them more than $5.8 million in fees for their work.

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    Can GCs Avoid Having Teams Seen As Department Of 'No'?

    While many legal chiefs don't want business leaders to view their legal teams as the department of "No," a new study says some executives continue to wait until as late as possible to consult with their counsel — if at all.

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    Equal Rights Advocates Adds DOJ Atty As Litigation Head

    Equal Rights Advocates, a gender justice/women's rights nonprofit, announced Tuesday it is bringing in a U.S. Department of Justice civil rights attorney as head of its litigation team.

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    Winston & Strawn Adds Chief Information Officer From Cooley

    The longtime chief information officer at Cooley LLP has taken on the same role at Winston & Strawn LLP.

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    How Associates Can Navigate Risks Of Social Media

    Experts say associates should use social media with extreme caution, weighing any benefits against the impact that their online presence may have on their law firms, practice, clients and future employment.

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    Lewis Brisbois Settles One LA Bias Suit, Another Continues

    Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP has ended a former partner's race and disability bias suit, announcing a settlement in Los Angeles Superior Court, while continuing to push for arbitration in a separate discrimination suit, also filed in Los Angeles, where a former equity partner has accused the firm of gender discrimination and "unethical billing."

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    MoFo Lands Akin Gump Appellate Pro In San Francisco

    Morrison Foerster LLP is expanding its litigation team, announcing Tuesday it is bringing in a former San Francisco city attorney most recently with Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP as a partner in its San Francisco office.

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    Deputy To GC: When Is The Right Time To Transition?

    While many deputy general counsel aspire to become legal chiefs — either at their current employers or elsewhere, depending on succession plans — not everyone in the role wants to rise to the position. How can lawyers know? And which qualifications do they need? One established general counsel is hoping to help deputies navigate these questions.

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    Baker McKenzie Names IT Vet As Chief Information Officer

    The chief digital and technology officer at Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy LLP has joined Baker McKenzie as its new chief information officer, the firm announced Monday.

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    Knobbe Martens Names Diversity Committee, NY Leaders

    Intellectual property firm Knobbe Martens announced that it has appointed a new diversity committee leader and managing partner at its New York office.

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    Greenberg Traurig Atty Joins Semiconductor Co. As GC

    An established BigLaw attorney who carved out a niche representing some of the largest Asia-based technology companies doing business in the U.S. this month moved in-house to ACM Research Inc., the semiconductor company said Monday.

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    Approach The Bench: Judge Dillard Boosts Ga. Court Access

    From cameras in the courtroom to explanatory law review articles to posts on social media, Judge Stephen Dillard uses every tool at his disposal to improve transparency at the Georgia Court of Appeals.

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    Terns Pharma Welcomes Veteran Life Sciences Atty As CLO

    An experienced in-house life sciences attorney has jumped from biotechnology company Seer Inc. to biopharmaceuticals company Terns Pharmaceuticals Inc. as its legal chief, the pharma company announced.

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    Law360 Names Attys Who Moved Up The Firm Ranks In Q2

    A promotion to partner or election to practice group chair means a slew of new responsibilities and also lots of well-deserved recognition. Law360 reveals the list of attorneys whose commitment to legal excellence earned them highly coveted spots in the law firm leadership ranks. Find out if your old legal friends — or rivals — moved up in the second quarter of this year.

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    Spencer Fane Says New Structure Intended To Bolster Culture

    Spencer Fane LLP's chair and managing partner has told Law360 Pulse that the firm's newly unveiled organizational structure is intended to foster a culture that gives attorneys more decision-making opportunities and control over their career paths.

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    Firms' Recruiting Specs Hinder BigLaw Litigator Hiring

    Large law firms are hungry for top litigation partners who can bring strong client relationships and big books of business along with them, according to legal recruiters. But many are finding that a tall order in today's legal industry, where everyone is looking for the same thing and portability as a litigator can be a challenge.

  • Calif. High Court Says Co-Worker's Slur Can Be Harassment

    The California Supreme Court on Monday revived a race bias suit brought by a longtime employee of the San Francisco District Attorney's Office, finding that her co-worker's one-time use of a racial slur may indeed have been so severe that it created a hostile work environment.

  • Amex Inks $3M Deal To Settle Girardi Bankruptcy Suit Claims

    American Express reached a $3 million deal to settle claims brought by the Girardi Keese bankruptcy trustee accusing the credit giant's banking unit and another subsidiary of enabling $50.25 million in fraudulent transfers as part of the now-defunct law firm's scheme to defraud creditors.

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Expert Analysis

  • Series

    Ask A Mentor: How Can New Partners Generate Business? Author Photo

    Christine Wong at MoFo discusses how newly elected partners can prioritize business development by creating a strategic plan with the firm's marketing team and strengthening relationships with professional and personal networks.

  • 9 Writing Tips From The Justices' Opinions Last Term Author Photo

    Hidden in the U.S. Supreme Court’s opinions from the last term are each justice’s talents for crafting choice turns of phrase, highlighting best practices for attorneys to jump-start their own writing, says Ross Guberman at BriefCatch.

  • What Web3 Means For Lawyers' Ethical Duties Author Photo

    As law firms embrace Web3 technologies by accepting cryptocurrency as payment for legal fees, investing in metaverse departments and more, lawyers should remember their ethical duties to warn clients of the benefits and risks of technology in a murky regulatory environment, says Heidi Frostestad Kuehl at Northern Illinois University College of Law.

  • NY's Cybersecurity CLE Rule Is A Sign Of Changing Times Author Photo

    New York's recently announced requirement that lawyers complete cybersecurity training as part of their continuing legal education is a reminder that securing client information is more complicated in an increasingly digital world, and that expectations around attorneys' technology competence are changing, says Jason Schwent at Clark Hill.

  • Opinion

    Law Firms Stressing Work-Life Balance Are Missing The Mark Author Photo

    Law firms struggling to attract and retain lawyers are institutionalizing work-life balance through hybrid work models, but such balance is elusive in a client services and tech-dependent world, underscoring the need for firms to instead aim for attorney empowerment and true balance within — not outside — the workplace, says Joe Pack at Pack Law.

  • A Law Student's Guide To Thriving As A Summer Associate Author Photo

    Summer associates are expected to establish a favorable reputation and develop genuine relationships in a few short weeks, but several time management, attitude and communication principles can help them make the most of their time and secure an offer for a full-time position, says Joseph Marciano, who was a 2022 summer associate at Reed Smith.

  • Burnout Prevention Requires Effort From Attys And Firms Author Photo

    To avoid physical and emotional exhaustion, attorneys must respect their own and their colleagues' personal and professional boundaries, but law firms must also play a role in discouraging burnout culture — especially if they are struggling with attorney retention, say attorneys at Lowenstein Sandler.

  • How I Owned My Power As An Asian American Woman In Law Author Photo

    Gibson Dunn's Debra Yang shares the bumps in her journey to becoming the first female Asian American U.S. attorney, a state judge and a senior partner in BigLaw, and how other women can face their self-doubts and blaze their own trails to success amid systemic obstacles.

  • Successful In-House Alt Legal Services Start With 4 Questions Author Photo

    Law firms that are considering creating an in-house alternative legal service provider should focus not on recapturing revenue otherwise lost to outside vendors, but instead consider how a captive ALSP will better fulfill the needs of their clients and partners, say Beatrice Seravello and Brad Blickstein at Baretz & Brunelle.

  • 3 Reasons To Embrace Jargon In Legal Marketing Content Author Photo

    Ignore what you've been told about jargon — adding insider industry terms to your firm's marketing and business development content can persuade potential clients that you have the specialized knowledge they can trust, says Wayne Pollock at Law Firm Editorial Service.

  • Future Lawyers Expect DEI Commitments Beyond Recruiting Author Photo

    To attract future lawyers from diverse backgrounds, firms must think beyond recruiting efforts, because law students are looking for diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives that invest in employee professional development and engage with students year-round, says Lauren Jackson at Howard University School of Law.

  • Series

    Ask A Mentor: How Can Law Students Build Real-World Skills? Author Photo

    Allison Coffin at Akin Gump discusses how summer associates going back to school can continue to develop real-world lawyering skills by leveraging the numerous law school resources that support professional development both inside and outside the classroom.

  • How Firm Leaders Can Build And Sustain Culture Author Photo

    In uncertain and challenging times, law firm leaders can build and sustain culture by focusing attention on mission, values and leadership development, and applying a growth mindset across their firms, says Scott Westfahl at Harvard Law.

  • The Case That Showed Me The Value Of E-Discovery Plans Author Photo

    Robert Keeling at Sidley reflects on leading discovery in the litigation that followed the historic $85 billion AT&T-Time Warner merger and how the case highlighted the importance of having a strategic e-discovery plan in place.

  • Opinion

    CLE Accreditation Should Be Tied To Learning Outcomes Author Photo

    Given the substantial time and money lawyers put toward mandatory continuing legal education, CLE regulators and providers should be held to accreditation standards that assess learning outcomes, similar to those imposed on law schools and continuing medical education providers, says Rima Sirota at Georgetown Law.

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