California Pulse


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    Cooley Life Sciences Ace Rejoins Latham In Bay Area

    Latham & Watkins LLP has welcomed back an intellectual property attorney who spent the past nine years at Cooley LLP to bolster its healthcare and life sciences practice, including advising clients about licensing and transactional matters.

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    Luxury Furniture Co. RH Seeks New Top Atty As CLO Resigns

    The longtime chief legal and compliance officer at RH, formerly Restoration Hardware, plans to step down for a similar job elsewhere, and the luxury home furnishings company is now searching for his replacement, according to a recent securities filing.

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    Hughes Hubbard Selects Marketing Chief From Ropes & Gray

    Hughes Hubbard & Reed has tapped a former Ropes & Gray LLP marketing director and Legal Marketing Association president to serve as its chief marketing and business development officer, the firm announced Monday.

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    Lawyers Worry About Financial Stability Of Their Careers

    In 2025, even lawyers are feeling anxious about their bottom lines: Only 44% of attorneys described their financial stability as "excellent" in a recent Law360 Pulse survey.

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    What Attorneys Really Think About Their Profession

    Law360 Pulse asked respondents to our Lawyer Satisfaction Survey for their thoughts on misconceptions about being a lawyer, what the best parts of the job are and what they would tell newer lawyers. Here's what they said.

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    How Happy Are Attorneys At Work Now?

    In a time of rising uncertainty and stress, there are signs that spirits are sagging in the legal profession compared with recent years, according to a new Law360 Pulse survey.

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    New Bowman And Brooke DEI Chairs Talk Diversity In 2025

    Trial firm Bowman and Brooke LLP has named two partners based in Philadelphia and Columbia, South Carolina, as the new heads of its diversity, equity and inclusion committee.

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    Law Schools Admit More Men, But More Women Are Applying

    Among law school applicants, women have far outpaced men over the past 10 years, yet the admission rate for men has remained higher, according to the nonprofit AccessLex Institute's Legal Education Data Deck released Tuesday.

  • Class Attys Seek $6.5M Cut In $29.5M Plantronics Settlement

    Lead counsel for Plantronics investors who secured a $29.5 million deal resolving claims the company used "channel stuffing" tactics to bolster revenue are seeking $6.5 million in fees, telling a California federal judge Friday the request is reasonable, given the strong recovery and their track record successfully prosecuting similar securities cases.

  • Former Docusign Leader Hired To Succeed Ironclad CEO

    Contract management software company Ironclad Inc. announced Monday that its co-founder and chief executive, Jason Boehmig, will move into an executive chairman role and former Docusign chief executive Dan Springer will join Ironclad as Boehmig's successor.

  • Robins Kaplan Names Business Litigation, LA Office Leaders

    Robins Kaplan LLP announced that the firm has named a new deputy chair of the national business litigation group and new deputy managing partner of its Los Angeles office.

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    Beveridge & Diamond Grows In Calif. With 7-Atty Firm Tie-Up

    National environmental firm Beveridge & Diamond PC is absorbing San Francisco firm Barg Coffin Lewis & Trapp LLP, with Beveridge & Diamond saying in a Monday announcement that the move is part of its effort to enhance its capabilities in the Golden State.

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    Magna Legal Services Acquires Litigation Support Co. E-Legal

    National litigation support services company Magna Legal Services inked its second tie-up of the month, announcing Monday the acquisition of California-based e-Legal.

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    Alphabet, Google CLO's Comp Climbed Past $30M In 2024

    Kent Walker, president of global affairs and chief legal officer at Alphabet and Google, may have received the largest pay for an in-house lawyer in 2024, raking in nearly $30.2 million for the year, a recent securities filing showed.

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    DLA Piper Hires New CFO From Knight Frank

    DLA Piper said Monday that it has appointed Knight Frank's group chief financial officer to take on a similar role as it looks to achieve its goals for growing the business.

  • Ramey Loses Last-Minute Attempts To Avoid Sanctions

    Texas attorney Bill Ramey and two others will have to pay more than $64,000 and alert disciplinary bodies that they have been sanctioned by Saturday, after a California federal court and the U.S. Supreme Court refused a last-minute stay on the sanctions.

  • Live Nation Investors Get 1st OK For $20M Eras Tour-Tied Deal

    Event ticketing giant Live Nation and its shareholders on Friday secured a California federal judge's initial green light for their proposed $20 million deal to end proposed class action claims alleging the company misled shareholders in the face of anticompetitive allegations involving its Ticketmaster subsidiary following its missteps selling tickets for pop star Taylor Swift's Eras Tour.

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    Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

    Ballard Spahr LLP and WilmerHale lead this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after a Manhattan federal jury rejected former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's libel claims against The New York Times over a 2017 editorial linking her to political violence.

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    Attorney Ignites Curiosity With Family-Run History Podcast

    They didn't start the fire — but this former BigLaw partner and her family hope to ignite curiosity with their children's history podcast inspired by the Billy Joel tune.

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    Chipotle's Legal Chief Saw Close To $11M In Comp Last Year

    The chief legal officer and general counsel of Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. received roughly $10.7 million in total compensation for 2024, according to a public filing from Friday.

  • Calif. High Court Wants Answers On Bar Exam AI Use

    Days after the State Bar of California revealed it utilized artificial intelligence to develop some questions included in its embattled February 2025 exam, the state's Supreme Court released a statement demanding the bar association provide additional details.

  • 9th Circ. Won't Revive Judicial Complaint Over Detained Atty

    The Judicial Council of the Ninth Circuit will not revive a judicial complaint brought against a federal judge after an attorney was held in contempt and taken into custody for repeated outbursts and arguing with the judge during a 2021 jury trial.

  • Voir Dire: Law360 Pulse's Weekly Quiz

    This was another action-packed week for the legal industry as attorneys took on new roles and BigLaw firms expanded their offerings. Test your legal news savvy here with Law360 Pulse's weekly quiz.

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    How Signature Resolution Aims To Be The 'Ritz' Of Mediation

    Law360 Pulse sat down with Dario Higuchi, a founding partner and managing member of California-based Signature Resolution, to discuss the company's growth and how it strives to provide a premium level of alternative dispute resolution services.

  • 21 Democratic AGs Back Susman Godfrey In Trump EO Fight

    Twenty-one Democratic attorneys general filed a brief Thursday supporting Susman Godfrey LLP's fight against President Donald Trump's executive order revoking its access to government resources, saying it threatens lawyers' freedom to represent clients disfavored by the government, such as when John Adams defended British soldiers accused in the Boston Massacre.

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Expert Analysis

  • DoNotPay Cases Underscore Hurdles For AI-Fueled Legal Help Author Photo

    Recent legal challenges against DoNotPay’s "robot lawyer” application highlight pressing questions about the degree to which artificial intelligence can be used for legal tasks while remaining on the right side of both consumer protection laws and prohibitions against the unauthorized practice of law, says Kristen Niven at Frankfurt Kurnit.

  • For The Future Of Legal Practice, Let's Learn From The Past Author Photo

    At some level, every practicing lawyer is experiencing the ever-increasing speed of change — and while some practice management processes have gotten more efficient, other things about the legal profession were better before supposed improvements were made, says Jay Silberblatt, president of the Pennsylvania Bar Association.

  • Why All Law Firms Should Foster Psychological Capital Author Photo

    Law firms will be able to reap great long-term benefits if they adopt strategies to nurture four critical components of their employees' psychological wellness and performance — hope, efficacy, resilience and optimism, says Dennis Stolle at the American Psychological Association.

  • A GC's Guide To Litigation, Inspired By Sun Tzu's 'Art Of War' Author Photo

    With caseloads and spending increasing, in-house counsel might find themselves called to opine on the risks and benefits of litigation more often, and they should look at five Sun Tzu maxims from the ancient Chinese classic "The Art of War" to inform their approach to any suit, says Jeff Golimowski at Womble Bond.

  • Mentorship Is Key To Diversity In The Legal Industry Author Photo

    Not only can effective mentorship have a profound impact on women and people of color entering the legal field, but it also benefits mentors and the legal profession as a whole, creating a true win-win situation for all involved, says Natasha Cortes at Grossman Roth.

  • ChatGPT Is A Cool Trick, But AI Won't Replace Lawyers Author Photo

    Generative AI applications like ChatGPT are unlikely to ever replace attorneys for a variety of practical reasons — but given their practice-enhancing capabilities, lawyers who fail to leverage these tools may be rendered obsolete, says Eran Kahana at Maslon.

  • Pro Bono Work Is Valuable In IP And Continued Learning Author Photo

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's recent elimination of a rule that partially counted pro bono work toward continuing legal education highlights the importance of volunteer work in intellectual property practice and its ties to CLE, and puts a valuable tool for hands-on attorney education in the hands of the states, say Lisa Holubar and Ariel Katz at Irwin.

  • Increasing Public Access To Legal Services: A Practical Plan Author Photo

    Recommendations recently issued by a special committee of the Florida Bar represent a realistic, pragmatic approach to increasing the accessibility and affordability of legal services, at a time when the disconnect between the legal profession and the public at large has widened considerably, says Gary Lesser, president of the Florida Bar.

  • Series

    Ask A Mentor: How Do I Relay Shortcomings To Associates? Author Photo

    Michael Cohen at Duane Morris discusses the best ways to articulate how an associate is not meeting expectations, and why documentation of performance management is crucial for their growth and protecting the firm from discrimination suits.

  • 10 Principles For Effective Partner Reward Systems Author Photo

    Several forces are reshaping partners’ expectations about profit-sharing, and as compensation structures evolve in response, firms should keep certain fundamentals in mind to build a successful partner reward system, say Michael Roch at MHPR Advisors and Ray D'Cruz at Performance Leader.

  • Why Interdisciplinarity Is Key To Designing The Future Of Law Author Photo

    The legal profession faces challenges that urgently demand new solutions, and lawyers and firms can address this by leaning on other industries that have more experience practicing, teaching and incorporating innovation into their core business and service models, says Jennifer Leonard at the University of Pennsylvania.

  • Incorporating ADA Guidance Into Lawyer Wellness Movement Author Photo

    The Americans with Disabilities Act and rules of professional conduct may help the legal profession promote lawyer well-being by focusing on mental conditions' actual impact, rather than on associated stereotypes, says Alex Long at the University of Tennessee College of Law.

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    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.

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