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California Pulse
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How BakerHostetler Made A Home In SF's Iconic Pyramid
When BakerHostetler closed its new shop in San Francisco's Transamerica Pyramid in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, office leader Robb Adkins was concerned about recruiting. But the firm has since seen a five-old increase in attorneys and staff there, and recently signed a five-year lease renewal.
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The Top In-House Hires Of April
Legal department hires during the past few weeks included high-profile appointments at Sony Pictures, TikTok and IBM. Here, Law360 Pulse looks at some of the top in-house announcements from April.
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Yoga Lawyer: A Way of Being In The (Legal) World
More than a decade ago, a stressful job and a pile of physical ailments prompted attorney Cindy Pensoneau to take a deep dive into yoga. Today, she continues to work as both a lawyer and as a yoga teacher, illustrating the growing role that the ancient mind-body practice can play in improving attorney mental health.
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GCs Help Companies Close The Gap On Mental Health Efforts
While they wait for their companies to implement more wellness policies that reach the root causes of employees’ stress and burnout, some general counsel and chief legal officers are filling the gap to help their law teams feel more supported.
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Here's Why This GC Went Public With Her Bipolar Diagnosis
Kelly Rentzel, who has held several general counsel positions throughout her career, largely credits her law degree for giving her the confidence to talk publicly about her bipolar diagnosis — which is something she had contemplated for two decades before taking the initial steps that ultimately led her to a lectern.
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Ex-Edison Energy GC, McDermott Atty Joins Troutman In LA
Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP is expanding its West Coast infrastructure team, announcing Tuesday it is bringing in a McDermott Will & Emery LLP emerging energy technologies expert who was previously general counsel with Edison Energy Group to be a partner in its Los Angeles office.
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Womble Bond Promotes UK Partner To Innovation Chief
Womble Bond Dickinson in the U.K. has elevated partner and head of innovation Sam Dixon to chief innovation officer, the transatlantic law firm announced earlier this week.
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9th Circ. Says Calif. Bar Didn't Violate Student's Fed. Rights
The Ninth Circuit on Tuesday affirmed the dismissal of an octogenarian law school student's claims that the State Bar of California violated his 14th Amendment protected rights when it refused to excuse his delay in taking a first-year exam, saying the California Supreme Court has original jurisdiction over admission matters.
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A&O Shearman Faces Challenge To Unify Distinct Markets
As the newly combined Allen Overy Shearman Sterling launches Wednesday, so far the signs are that the biggest merger in the sector in a decade may leave two distinct markets operating on either side of the Atlantic.
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Conn. Firm Settles Copyright Feuds Over Website Photos
The Connecticut consumer law firm Lemberg Law LLC and its managing attorney have agreed to settle two suits tied to a multistate copyright battle with a stock photo provider that arose in 2020 after the firm was accused of using images on its website without permission, and then countered that it was the victim of an extortion attempt.
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Husch Blackwell Adds Labor & Employment Litigator In LA
Husch Blackwell LLP announced Tuesday that it is expanding its labor and employment team, adding a litigator who ran his own firm for nearly a decade as partner to its Los Angeles office.
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ABA Knocks Down 'Implausible' Data Breach Class Action
The American Bar Association members suing the organization over a data breach have not identified any security measures the ABA failed to take, a New York federal judge said Tuesday when nixing what the organization called the members' "implausible" proposed class action.
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Know Your AI Tools' Limits, Silicon Valley Arbitrators Warn
All participants in an arbitration proceeding that incorporates artificial intelligence are responsible for understanding the tech's use and limitations, according to guidelines released Tuesday by the Silicon Valley Arbitration & Mediation Center.
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Squire Patton Taps Leader For New Insurance Disputes Group
Squire Patton Boggs LLP has created a new practice that brings together its long-standing dispute work for insurance companies, naming a partner who represents some of the largest U.S. insurance companies to lead the new practice, the firm said Tuesday.
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Return To Office Poses Pitfalls For Atty Mental Health
As a therapist specialized in treating lawyers, Stacey Dougan hears a lot about law firm politics, addiction and the career's overwhelming demands. But lately, her clients have been bringing up a new source of anxiety: returning to the office.
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Ethics Probes Take Mental Toll On Solo, Small Firm Attorneys
Facing a disciplinary complaint can take a toll on any attorney’s mental health. But for solo practitioners and small firm lawyers, who typically juggle all aspects of their business from handling client matters to administrative tasks like managing trust accounts, it can threaten to upend their lives.
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Mid-Law Not Immune To Structural Mental Health Challenges
Despite the common narrative that lawyers can trade higher pay for better well-being and work-life balance by moving to smaller firms, experts say that Mid-Law firms are generally facing the same industry pressures that contribute to long hours, stress and poor attorney mental health.
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Atty, Pot Entrepreneurs Get Conspiracy Claims Thrown Out
A California state appeals court has thrown out claims against a group of attorneys and cannabis entrepreneurs that they were part of a "straw man practice" conspiracy to monopolize the San Diego cannabis market, finding the complaint failed to allege they did anything illegal.
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A&O Shearman Names UK And US Managing Partners
Allen & Overy LLP and Shearman & Sterling LLP named on Tuesday the partners set to lead the soon-to-be merged A&O Shearman for the U.S. and U.K. markets.
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GRSM50 Moves Oakland Office To Walnut Creek In California
Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani LLP has moved its office in Oakland to a new space in Walnut Creek that will accommodate a growing roster and better serve clients across Northern California.
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OpenAI Case Not Ready For Lead Counsel Pick, Judge Says
A California federal judge has rejected authors' pick for interim lead counsel in a case accusing OpenAI of copyright infringement, ruling that the request was made too early and must wait until class certification has been decided.
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Robinhood's Top Lawyer Saw Pay Slashed By 29% In 2023
Dan Gallagher, the chief legal officer for online securities trading company Robinhood, earned $10.7 million in 2023, a nearly 30% decrease from the $15.1 million he came away with in 2022, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
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NY Atty Gets 10 Years In Prison For Trying To Have Ex Killed
A New York attorney convicted of arranging to pay a hitman to murder the mother of his two young children has been sentenced in California federal court to 10 years behind bars, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Friday.
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Colo. Judge Moves Toward Eastman DQ Over Calif. Discipline
A Colorado federal judge has ordered former Donald Trump lawyer John C. Eastman to explain why he shouldn't be disqualified from representing plaintiffs in a civil suit after a California disciplinary judge suspended his law license and recommended disbarment in March.
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Alphabet, Google CLO Saw Comp Surpass $27M Last Year
Kent Walker, a longtime Google lawyer who is now the legal chief at the technology behemoth and its parent company Alphabet, earned more than $27.3 million in compensation in 2023, according to a recent securities filing, as the business continues to grapple with antitrust cases at both the federal and state levels.
Expert Analysis
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Law Firms Cannot Ignore Attorneys' Personal Cybersecurity
Law firms that fail to consider their attorneys' online habits away from work are not using their best efforts to protect client information and are simplifying the job of plaintiffs attorneys in the case of a breach, say Mark Hurley and Carmine Cicalese at Digital Privacy and Protection.
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Why Writing CLE Should Be Mandatory For Lawyers
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Though effective writing is foundational to law, no state requires attorneys to take continuing legal education in this skill — something that must change if today's attorneys are to have the communication abilities they need to fulfill their professional and ethical duties to their clients, colleagues and courts, says Diana Simon at the University of Arizona.
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How To Find Your Inner Calm When Client Obligations Pile Up
In the most stressful times for attorneys, when several transactions for different partners and clients peak at the same time and the phone won’t stop buzzing, incremental lifestyle changes can truly make a difference, says Lindsey Hughes at Haynes Boone.
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Series
Ask A Mentor: How Can I Support Gen Z Attorneys?
Meredith Beuchaw at Lowenstein Sandler discusses how senior attorneys can assist the newest generation of attorneys by championing their pursuit of a healthy work-life balance and providing the hands-on mentorship opportunities they missed out on during the pandemic.
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Law Firm Cybersecurity Should Not Get Lost In The Cloud
A recent data leak at Proskauer via a cloud data storage platform demonstrates key reasons why law firms must pay attention to data safeguarding, including the increasing frequency of cloud-based data breaches and the consequences of breaking client confidentiality, says Robert Kraczek at One Identity.
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Advice For Summer Associates Uneasy About Offer Prospects
There are a few communication tips that law students in summer associate programs should consider to put themselves in the best possible position to receive an offer, and firms can also take steps to support those to whom they are unable to make an offer, says Amy Mattock at Georgetown University Law Center.
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How Law Firms Can Cautiously Wield AI To Streamline Tasks
Many attorneys are going to use artificial intelligence tools whether law firms like it or not, so firms should educate them on AI's benefits, limits and practical uses, such as drafting legal documents, to remain competitive in a rapidly evolving legal market, say Thomas Schultz and Eden Bernstein at Kellogg Hansen.
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Keys To Managing The Stresses Of Law School
Dealing with the pressures associated with law school can prove difficult for many future lawyers, but there are steps students can take to manage stress — and schools can help too, say Ryan Zajic and Dr. Janani Krishnaswami at UWorld.
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Can Mandatory CLE Mitigate Implicit Bias's Negative Impacts?
Amid ongoing disagreements on whether states should mandate implicit bias training as part of attorneys' continuing legal education requirements, Stephanie Wilson at Reed Smith looks at how unconscious attitudes or stereotypes adversely affect legal practice, and whether mandatory training programs can help.
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Ditch The Frills And Start Writing Legal Letters In Plain English
To become more effective advocates, lawyers need to rethink the ridiculous, convoluted language they use in correspondence and write letters in a clear, concise and direct manner, says legal writing instructor Stuart Teicher.
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Series
Ask A Mentor: How Can I Negotiate My Separation Agreement?
Kate Reder Sheikh at Major Lindsey discusses how a law firm associate can navigate being laid off, what to look for in a separation agreement and why to be upfront about it with prospective employers.
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DoNotPay Cases Underscore Hurdles For AI-Fueled Legal Help
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.
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For The Future Of Legal Practice, Let's Learn From The Past
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.
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Why All Law Firms Should Foster Psychological Capital
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.
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A GC's Guide To Litigation, Inspired By Sun Tzu's 'Art Of War'
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.