Litigation & Arbitration, Insurance
2023 brings a new set of rules for making settlement demands
By Casey R. Johnson
One of the most notable changes required by SB 1155 is the time an insurance company must be given to act on a pre-litigation,...
Judges and Judiciary, Ediscovery
Voir dire: disability as a basis for peremptory strikes
By William Slomanson
California has now provided other state and federal courts, and legislative bodies, with the opportunity to consider whether t...
Wills, Estates & Trusts
A small bright line in the murky law of no contest clauses
By Mark J. Phillips, Jake V. Phillips
No contest clauses come in all shapes and sizes, from a single paragraph to a dozen pages, and courts have found their enforce...
At a time when conspiracy theories are running rampant, the justice system needs to be all the more deliberate and grounded in...
Government, Civil Rights
Are there limits to police interrogation techniques?
By Dmitry Gorin, Alan Eisner
The admissibility of a suspect’s custodial statement, even post-Miranda invocation, depends on the totality of the circumstances.
Marijuana and the workplace in the age of legalization.
Litigation & Arbitration
Pre-litigation settlement just got a lot more demanding
By David B. Ezra, Jamil Shaaban
One of the outcomes of SB 1155 is that it imposes substantive requirements on pre-litigation time limited settlement demands.
Intellectual Property
Is Kelly a basis independent of Sargon to challenge a novel scientific theory?
By Lawrence P. Riff
That issue is discussed at length in the recent First District Court of Appeals decision, Bader v. Johnson & Johnson et...
Law Practice, Appellate Practice
Complying with client guidelines
By Shari L. Klevens, Alanna G. Clair
If law firms agree to client guidelines but do not fully consider the requirements, it could spell trouble down the road.
Law Practice, Ethics/Professional Responsibility, Appellate Practice
Get your law firm’s succession planning out of your lizard brain
By Daniel O’Rielly, Dena Roche
The first step is to recognize that the Rules of Professional Conduct require you to have a succession plan in place.
Labor/Employment
New law on emergency conditions at place of employment
By Eric P. Weiss, Jasmin B. Bhandari
One can easily foresee the potential issues raised by the new law, and its impact on employees and employers, as well as the c...
Government, Family
Preconception, prenatal and postnatal considerations
By Reza Torkzadeh, Allen P. Wilkinson
An unborn child whose father has died due to another’s tortious conduct may bring an action for the wrongful death of that par...
Insurance
New law establishes rules of the road for “time-limited demands” in insurance claims
By Jordan S. Derringer, Michael L. Bean
This law is a positive step toward regulating the use of “time-limited demands” in third-party liability claims, but it is lim...
Government, Family
The elder abuse act and its expansion to address isolation
By Shawna Schwarz
This article and self-study test will review who is protected, the types of abuse covered, who can petition for relief, and th...
This might be the end of my office. What client would want us if the price were jail time?
Judges and Judiciary, California Courts of Appeal
Interesting Times: The 2022 Appellate Year in Review
By Benjamin G. Shatz
For better or worse we live in more interesting times where ordinary appellate activities seem even more trivial than usual.
Domestic Violence and social media are not a match made in heaven.
Labor/Employment, Government
California employment law landscape for 2023
By Mara D. Curtis, Michael R. Kleinmann
Companies with 75 or more employees must provide advance written notice of mass layoffs, relocations or terminations of operat...
Intellectual Property
Collaborations gone south – trade secret lessons
By Adam Alper, Michael W. DeVries
Companies engaging in a collaboration with another company may consider steps to protect their trade secrets and insulate them...
Government, Family
Respect for Marriage Act challenge unlikely to come from California
By Ronald L. Zambrano
LGBTQ advocates have expressed disappointment that the law only requires the government to recognize same-sex and interracial ...
Labor/Employment, Insurance
Second inning: medical management and gathering early evidence
By Joseph M. Barrett
Injury victims should always seek the best and most thorough medical attention. Many do not realize that doing so will increas...
Litigation & Arbitration, Labor/Employment
Seven secrets for successful mediations
By Eli M. Kantor
You need to carefully analyze your case to determine what mediator is the right fit for your case.
California Supreme Court
California Supreme Court Review: December 2022
By Alexis S. Coll, Yoona Lee
This month's installment examines the implications of the California Supreme Court's forthcoming decision in Turner v. Victoria.
Government
Some legal structures make intergroup work difficult
By Janai S. Nelson, Thomas A. Saenz
The troubling recording of three councilmembers and a labor leader that was released in October confirms that politicos of all...
Law Practice, Appellate Practice
Creative Rap is Not Evidence Against Me: C.R.E.A.M.!
By Rodney S. Diggs
Under AB 2799, prosecutors need to do more than present rap lyrics or expressions depicted in music videos in order to get a c...
The newest form is Form 1099-NEC, and it covers the waterfront for any independent contractor.
California extends employment protection To medical and recreational cannabis consumers.
Technology, Judges and Judiciary
Machine intelligence in court: bias & transparency
By Curtis E.A. Karnow
AI is only as good as its training, and it’s tough for users (and the public) to determine the bias resulting from limited tra...
Environmental & Energy
Will climate tech survive the market downturn?
By Andrew Harper
Over the last few years, there have been a confluence of events and circumstances that are fueling encouraging levels of inter...
Real Estate/Development, Government
Making a federal case out of title
By Michael M. Berger
If the statute of limitations is not jurisdictional, courts need to exercise discretion and apply tools like equitable tolling...