California Pulse


  • Calif. Supreme Court Signs Off On Remote Bar Exam

    The California Supreme Court on Tuesday gave the green light to the California State Bar's push to make the Golden State's bar exam mostly remote starting in February 2025, according to an order that also backed a study pretesting "experimental" exam questions.

  • Ex-Google GC Must Be Investigated By Calif. Bar, Groups Say

    A trio of groups led by the American Economic Liberties Project on Tuesday pressed the State Bar of California to investigate former Google general counsel Kent Walker for "coaching" the company to "engage in widespread and illegal destruction of records relevant to multiple ongoing federal trials."

  • Calif. Official Cops To Taking Bribes For $10M In Contracts

    A member of the Orange County Board of Supervisors has admitted to steering $10 million worth of COVID-19 relief funds to a charity affiliated with his daughter in exchange for more than $500,000 in bribes, California federal prosecutors announced Tuesday.

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    Stigma Of Disability In Legal Industry Is 'Very Real,' Panel Says

    People with disabilities still face challenges when pursuing a legal career, but law firms, law schools, bar associations and corporate legal departments can take steps to help advance disability equality, according to panelists speaking Tuesday for National Disability Employment Awareness Month.

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    Norton Rose Names Atty Duo As Global Arbitration Leaders

    Norton Rose Fulbright has elevated the firm's U.S. arbitration team leader and a London-based partner to co-lead its global international arbitration practice, shaking up the group's leadership for the first time in over a decade, the firm announced Tuesday.

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    Lawyers For Good Government Recognizes Yale Law, 3 Firms

    The nonprofit Lawyers for Good Government, or L4GG, announced the recipients of its 2024 Pro Bono Awards on Monday, recognizing three law firms and Yale Law School for their work in support of environmental justice, immigrant rights, children's rights, racial equity and reproductive freedom.

  • Haynes Boone Adds Fish & Richardson Patent Atty In SF

    Haynes and Boone LLP announced Tuesday the firm has added a patent prosecutor from Fish & Richardson PC to its San Francisco office, where the leader said the new partner's AI experience will assist the firm in helping clients to innovate and remain competitive.

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    How Law Firms Get And Keep Elite Status

    For decades, a handful of New York-based law firms thoroughly dominated the national consciousness when it came to power, profitability and prestige. But in today's legal market, increased movement of partners and clients from one firm to the next has begun to shake things up and create opportunities for go-getters to ascend the ranks.

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    Prestige Leaders: The Firms In The Billionaires' Club

    As many BigLaw firms see their revenues climb ever higher, we highlight those that reported topping the billion-dollar mark in the most recent calendar year.

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    These Firms Are The 2024 Prestige Leaders

    Clients flock to firms with prestigious reputations, and so does top talent. Here are this year's Law360 Pulse Prestige Leaders — the 100 firms the industry recognizes for their prominence, power and distinction

  • Procurement Tool Zip Worth $2.2B After Series D Investment

    Zip, an artificial intelligence-powered procurement orchestration platform used by legal and other corporate teams, secured a $190 million Series D funding round on Monday.

  • Calif. Atty Disbarred For Gambling With Client Cash

    A California attorney has been disbarred after misappropriating almost $117,000 from his clients and using much of that money for his gambling habit while claiming to be terminally ill with cancer.  

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    Fraud Cases Tee Up State Fights Over Stolen Election Claims

    A "flood" of lawsuits by Republicans and allied groups are sowing doubt in the 2024 elections and potentially setting the stage for destabilizing courtroom showdowns if former President Donald Trump loses, according to law professors and good government groups.

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    Junk Call Foe Puts 'Professional' In 'Professional Plaintiff'

    Diana Mey is one of the most successful “professional plaintiffs” to sue telemarketers under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. While she's won class settlements worth tens of millions of dollars, she said a recent counter-suit in a far-off venue, Puerto Rico, has been the “worst experience” of her litigation career.

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    Cisco Top Atty Sees FY 2024 Compensation Climb To $12.5M

    The chief legal officer at California-based technology giant Cisco earned around $12.5 million in total compensation for fiscal year 2024, according to a recent U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

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    Post-Dobbs Ballot Questions May Spell Litigation With No End

    A record-setting number of abortion-related constitutional ballot questions this year has unleashed a wave of litigation over reproductive rights in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's Dobbs decision. But they may just be the start of the legal battles over the ballot measures.

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    Sidley Boosts Litigation Team With Latham Trial Atty In LA

    Sidley Austin LLP is boosting its Southern California litigation team, announcing Monday it is bringing in a Latham & Watkins LLP "bet-the-company" trial attorney as a partner in its Century City office in Los Angeles.

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    The State Supreme Court Races To Watch In November

    With dozens of states holding elections next month for more than 80 seats on their courts of last resort, a number of races could prove critical for the courts' ideological balances and important cases relating to abortion, voting rights and possibly even the outcome of the presidential election.

  • 9th Circ. Revives Atty's ADA Suit Against Calif. Bar

    The State Bar of California may not have sovereign immunity that would allow it to duck an attorney's federal lawsuit claiming it failed to provide him with adequate disability accommodations during a bar exam amid the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ninth Circuit said Monday.

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    20-Year FBI Vet Joins Motion Picture Association In California

    A former supervisory special agent with the FBI has joined the Motion Picture Association in Los Angeles to work as vice president of the group's content protection enforcement for the Americas region, and for its Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment, according to a Monday announcement.

  • Ex-Morgan Lewis Atty Seeks Moderation In LA County DA Bid

    Nathan Hochman, a former federal prosecutor and onetime partner at Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP, is running on a "hard middle" platform as he looks to unseat progressive Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón, the candidate told Law360 in an interview delving into his experience on both sides of the bar.

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    Law360 MVP Awards Go To Top Attys From 74 Firms

    The attorneys chosen as Law360's 2024 MVPs have distinguished themselves from their peers by securing hard-earned successes in high-stakes litigation, complex global matters and record-breaking deals.

  • 9th Circ. Judge Doubts AI 'Robot Judges' Can Replace Jurists

    Ninth Circuit Judge William Fletcher expressed skepticism Friday that artificially intelligent "robot judges" should replace jurists, saying during a conference on complex litigation ethics that judges understand how to creatively apply the law to best serve justice, and "I don't trust the AI system to break the law when it should."

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    It's Not Too Late For Attys To Help Safeguard Election

    With the presidential election mere weeks away, a small army of lawyers will deploy throughout the country in a nonpartisan effort to ensure the process is fair, smooth and safe.

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    BigLaw Sees Rise In Partner Hires, Led By NY And London

    Despite economic turbulence, partner lateral hires at BigLaw firms have held steady in the first three quarters of the year, with the New York and London markets seeing the most significant uptick, according to a recent report from legal search firm Macrae.

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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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