U.S. Supreme Court, Constitutional Law
California’s End of Life Option Act in Alito’s cites and sights
By Arthur G. Svenson
Litigation & Arbitration
The mandatory arbitration wall is starting to crack
By V. James DeSimone
Mandatory arbitration clauses have become a fixture of employment agreements, buried in the numerous forms that need to be sig...
Labor/Employment
The fight against PAGA continues despite big Supreme Court victory
By Tom Manzo
PAGA has long been exploited by money-hungry trial attorneys to the detriment of California’s business owners.
The Viking decision may look big and scary, but it has no staying power. There will be a lot of bluster from the defense bar o...
If you are behind in taxes, or especially if you are crying poor to the IRS, watch out.
Law Practice, Ethics/Professional Responsibility, 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
Attorney Oath is more than a ritual
By William W. Bruzzo
My criminal practice causes me to appear in court almost every day. Those experiences have led me to believe that judges and l...
Government, Civil Litigation
Uvalde could be the latest chink in gun makers’ armor
By Allen Patatanyan
Daniel Defense’s weapons include a Star-Wars-themed rifle clearly targeted at teen buyers. On the day of the Uvalde massacre, ...
Given the history of United States Supreme Court decisions on arbitration generally, and of this one in particular, it seems f...
Labor/Employment
Viking River Cruises v. Moriana decision not what employers were looking for
By Cynthia L. Rice
While this is being touted as a major victory for employers. It is not that. The Court makes clear that the State may deputize...
Legal Education
Word interpretation: Hastings and genocide both on the cutting board
By Kris Whitten
Advocates of using the term “genocide” seem to depend on the stark horror depicted in their presentations of the events to kee...
U.S. Supreme Court, Ethics/Professional Responsibility
A sensible Supreme Court is facing threats from within
By A. Marco Turk
The challenge now is one of stemming the tide and reversing the growing public perception that SCOTUS no longer commands respe...
Government, Criminal
The Watergate scandal 50 years later: a personal story
By Bruce Givner
Twenty-four year old Frank Wills and I crossed the street to the restaurant on the Howard Johnson’s ground floor to get cheese...
Judges and Judiciary, Ethics/Professional Responsibility, California Courts of Appeal
The Commission on Judicial Performance speaks on the 3rd District Court of Appeal: What have we learned?
By Kevin K. Green
It is not a good precedent for the most capable among us, however salutary the goal, to lob repeated verbal grenades at the ju...
Mergers & Acquisitions
de-SPAC mergers facing increased scrutiny
By Charlotte K. Newell, James Heyworth
Over the last year and a half we have seen an increased volume of complaints filed against SPAC boards in the Delaware Court o...
Technology, International Law
Take two: Australia Is actually not ready for AI inventors
By David V. Sanker Ph.D, Jianbai "Jenn" Wang Ph.D
Jurisdictions are substantially consistent that current patent laws allow only natural persons as inventors. However, no juris...
Government, Constitutional Law, Civil Rights
Handguns and assault rifles not equal under the 2nd Amendment
By Reza Torkzadeh, Allen P. Wilkinson
It does not make a lot of sense to have a rule that permits a young adult to purchase an assault weapon, which can be used to ...
U.S. Supreme Court, Bankruptcy
Siegel v. Fitzgerald: the U.S. Supreme Court weighs in on the meaning of the bankruptcy clause
By Victor A. Sahn
U.S. Supreme Court, Government, Ethics/Professional Responsibility, Civil Rights
Recent Egbert decision allows misconduct to fester
By Robert L. Bastian Jr.
Egbert is disheartening because the court returns to its peculiar tradition of selectively shaving and trimming rights and rem...
Labor/Employment
The Great Resignation: Recent developments in the enforceability of noncompete agreements
By Jeanne A. Fugate
To the extent the Great Reshuffling continues, there are likely to be more challenges raised to restrictive covenants, and mor...
Construction, Civil Litigation
Construction litigation strategies
By Joseph M. Barrett
Against the backdrop of a lingering pandemic and a jammed court system, California’s civil trial lawyers harness their creativ...
Tax, Entertainment & Sports
Johnny Depp and Amber Heard face taxes too
By Robert W. Wood
It’s hard to consider Depp’s defamation of Heard (which was actually done by Depp’s lawyer) as business-related. If a payment ...
This was Fritz Lang’s first American film after fleeing Nazi Germany. He based the story on an odious chapter in California hi...
Ediscovery
The need for mediation in e-discovery – the way forward
By Daniel B. Garrie, Gail A. Andler
Through the mediation of e-discovery issues, litigants can help address outsized litigation costs, curtail the time and costs ...
U.S. Supreme Court, Litigation & Arbitration, California Supreme Court
The United States and California Supreme Courts are not on the same page
By Marc D. Alexander
Now, the California rule rests on a shaky frame: The leading California case, St. Agnes, extols the United States Supre...
The anti-abortion states will not be satisfied with an abortion ban defined by the state line. The writing is on the wall. The...
Labor/Employment, California Supreme Court
California Supreme Court rules missed break premiums are “wages”
By Kyle Wende
This decision dramatically increases the value of meal and rest period claims in class actions and representative actions unde...
Law Practice, Appellate Practice
A mid-year push on collections can avoid headaches later
By Shari L. Klevens, Alanna G. Clair
Labor/Employment
Shorter workweeks could make for a more productive workplace
By Ronald L. Zambrano
A full workday would remain eight hours, and employers would have to pay overtime to employees working longer than four full d...
Government, Constitutional Law
Scapegoating detracting from meaningful gun reform
By Eugene M. Hyman
The NRA doesn’t care that children have died as a result of their politicking, and they’re not even pretending they do anymore...