Government, Constitutional Law
Invalid appointments and the restoration of DACA
By Ethan D. Dettmer, Suria M. Bahadue
Unless Congress provides otherwise, most federal vacancy appointments are governed by the Federal Vacancies Reform Act.
Government, Administrative/Regulatory
The hurried effort to repeal Section 230 is ill-advised
By Daniel B. Lifschitz
Although passed in response to the digital revolution, Section 230’s protections are far from novel.
Labor/Employment, Civil Litigation, 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
ERISA ruling expands protection for employees, beneficiaries
By Robert J. McKennon
A recent case further expands protection for employees and their beneficiaries by expanding the circumstances their medical pr...
Law Practice, Appellate Practice
Appellate Adventures, Chapter 16: "What If I Were Writing a Brief for the Respondent?"
By Myron Moskovitz
Staring ace trial lawyer Flash Feinberg and his trust sidekick Professor Plato.
Tax, Law Practice
The ins and outs of taxing legal malpractice settlements
By Robert W. Wood
Legal malpractice claims arise out of accident and medical malpractice cases, wills and trusts, divorce, litigation, tax advic...
Immigration, Government
Immigration changes to look for under the Biden administration
By Eli M. Kantor, Jonathan D. Kantor
President-elect Joe Biden has already highlighted some of the immigration policies that he would like to implement during his ...
Law Practice, Ethics/Professional Responsibility
Effectively working with out-of-state co-counsel during the pandemic
By David Baker
The coronavirus pandemic has been no zombie apocalypse, but it has forced law firms to reevaluate how they do business, partic...
Law Practice, Ethics/Professional Responsibility
The line between zealous advocacy and contempt
By Franklin R. Garfield
The duty of zealous advocacy on behalf of a client is an established tenet of the adversarial process that examines issues fro...
The Paycheck Protection Program was the centerpiece of the CARES Act, providing loans to businesses of up to $10 million. If y...
Law Practice, Ethics/Professional Responsibility
Can they do that? Sanctions and disciplinary actions against lawyers for frivolous litigation
By Amy L. Bomse, Si Eun Amber
A lawyer's duty not to pursue frivolous claims has entered the public discourse, thanks to the 50-plus lawsuits that the Trump...
Labor/Employment
Mandatory COVID vaccines: Is the cure worse than the disease?
By Ronald L. Zambrano
In what could surely be called a Christmas miracle, millions of doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been distributed and are being ...
Law Practice, Ethics/Professional Responsibility, Alternative Dispute Resolution
Arbitration award challenge comes with steep price
By Zareh Jaltorossian
California Code of Civil Procedure Section 904.1 grants parties the right to appeal a number of appealable orders and judgment...
Law Practice, Ethics/Professional Responsibility
Warning: Getting paid and not letting go of unearned fees
By Ira M. Friedman, David Friedman
In 2020 we saw some high-flying attorneys come crashing down due to ethical problems. While it is (hopefully) easy to see how ...
Military Law
Medical malpractice in the military: Our veterans deserve better
By Michael E. Rubinstein
Sergeant First Class Richard Stayskal would get his second chance. Stayskal, who’s lung cancer was misdiagnosed by Army doctor...
Intellectual Property, Civil Litigation
Privilege waiver and good faith reliance on non-privileged information
By Richard S.J. Hung, Yuqing Cui
If extended to the context of willful patent infringement, a recent ruling would suggest an implied privilege waiver in many c...
Government, Environmental & Energy, Administrative/Regulatory
Priorities for President-elect Joe Biden’s EPA
By Richard M. Frank
It’s been a long and dispiriting four years for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under President Donald Trump.
Government, Environmental & Energy, Administrative/Regulatory
Searching for regulatory certainty in an uncertain world
By Gerald George
As it began, so it ends. Over the past four years, the Trump administration has proposed a multitude of changes to environment...
Intellectual Property
Intellectual property protection for cannabis businesses
By Jonathan Landis
Cannabis businesses have been able to find creative solutions for protecting their intellectual property rights — at least to...
Insurance, Environmental & Energy
Defining environmental contamination insurance costs
By Jordan Stanzler
Policyholders seek to maximize the benefits of insurance by characterizing costs as defense costs, while insurance companies s...
Civil Litigation
Supplemental discovery requests: underused tool in an era of delay
By Sarah A. Thompson
The supplemental request is an often underutilized tool in discovery in the current litigation environment. It’s so underutili...
Technology, Law Practice, Antitrust & Trade Reg.
Amping antitrust vigilance via artificial intelligence
By Lance Eliot
There is a resurgence of interest in antitrust laws, aimed especially at the tech field and qualms about tech firms that have ...
U.S. Supreme Court, Criminal
Fair or foul?: CFAA arguments in the US Supreme Court
By Patrick Hammon
The court will decide whether the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act is essentially an anti-hacking statute or a data protection sta...
Law Practice, Judges and Judiciary, California Supreme Court
Disability terminology: The California Supreme Court sets the tone
By Thomas F. Coleman
When it comes to terminology that is acceptable in legal briefs and judicial opinions, the California Style Manual is the bibl...
Law Practice, Civil Litigation
2020 laws impact civil bar, more to come in the new year
By Saveena Takhar
By the time the session closed on Sept. 30, less than half the typical number of bills had won final approval, with 372 chapte...
Labor/Employment, Civil Litigation, California Courts of Appeal
Ruling extends ‘home base’ rule to apply Labor Code to oil rigs
By David E. Mastagni, Taylor Davies-Mahaffey
An appellate court held that California labor laws applied to crew members on a boat that docked at a California port and prov...
Law Practice, Appellate Practice
Amicus participation in appellate litigation: a guide
By Johanna Schiavoni
Since the goal is to present your case in a complete and helpful way, and ultimately to persuade the appellate court to agree ...
U.S. Supreme Court, Constitutional Law
High court continues much-needed unity in religion case
By James A. Sonne
A recent U.S. Supreme Court decision continues an important yet overlooked trend at the court since the early 1990s: broad agr...
Entertainment & Sports, Civil Litigation, Antitrust & Trade Reg.
Sports world facing antitrust scrutiny along with tech giants
By Garrett R. Broshuis
Antitrust law is back in the spotlight.
Covid Columns, Civil Litigation
When tuna rolls and $32 ribs are essential items
By Scott Pressman, Allison M. Scott
Essentials during an emergency: Gasoline? Check. Groceries? Check. Medicine? Check. $32 restaurant prepared barbecue ribs? …Ch...
A case for making it easier to amend the United States Constitution
By Roy UIrich
Article V should be amended by reducing the state ratification threshold from three-fourths to two-thirds. This would make the...