Civil Litigation, Labor/Employment
Punitive protection for whistleblowers
By Marshall Lurtz
Employment lawyers are familiar with the full spectrum of remedies available to employees under the Fair Employment and Housin...
Government, Constitutional Law
DC Circuit to hear case that could impact impeachment
By John H. Minan
On Jan. 3, the Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit is scheduled to hear oral argument in a case that could impact the impeachm...
Tax, Corporate
Startup choice of entity after the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
By Roger Royse
Choice of entity has always been a difficult decision, but two years later we are seeing that the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 201...
Education Law, Administrative/Regulatory
For-profit colleges face yet another day of reckoning
By Brian S. Kabateck, Nidya Gutierrez
The Federal Trade Commission announced a record-setting $191 million settlement with the University of Phoenix and its parent ...
Real Estate/Development, Government
Is California’s Housing Crisis Act of 2019 the answer or state overreach?
By Susan K. Hori, Jennifer J. Lynch
Senate Bill is a lengthy and complicated piece of housing legislation that will significantly affect land development in Calif...
What I learned from Proposition 187 25 years ago
By Frank H. Wu
As a law professor, I am supposed to teach students how to argue — in a classical education, the subject would be “rhetoric.” ...
Labor/Employment
What confidential documents may a whistleblower take?
By Joshua J. Borger
Whistleblowers often face the same Catch-22 as recent college graduates. You can’t get a job without experience, and you can’t...
Tax, Government, Banking, Administrative/Regulatory
The legal landscape of banking marijuana businesses
By Fredrick S. Levin, Daniel P. Stipano
Banks are caught in the between state and federal laws on marijuana. Like any other business, marijuana producers and dispensa...
Civil Litigation, 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
The top 5 9th Circuit civil cases of 2019
By James Azadian
With the new year quickly approaching, now is a good time to reflect on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ significant cas...
U.S. Supreme Court, Judges and Judiciary, Ethics/Professional Responsibility
Judicial ethics: HR 1, the For the People Act of 2019
By A. Marco Turk
It is an historical anomaly that Supreme Court justices are the only judicial category not currently covered by a code of cond...
Earlier this year Congress enacted the Small Business Reorganization Act of 2019 with the stated goal of assisting small busin...
Hurricane Harvey. Words that struck fear into many Texans a couple of years ago. The pain still lingers — as does the litigati...
Here is a moral dilemma for those of us who favor equality — or who would like to believe we are egalitarian. It is along the ...
Tax
IRS is drilling down on cryptocurrency tax failures, so be careful
By Robert W. Wood
The IRS is aware that millions of cryptocurrency transactions may still remain unreported. Taxpayers may think they will not b...
Earlier this year, California enacted a law granting family law judges the authority to decide unresolved issues about pets in...
California taxes are high, the highest in the nation. Think the IRS is tough? California’s Franchise Tax Board is generally re...
Law Practice, Ethics/Professional Responsibility, California Courts of Appeal
Opinion’s #MeToo discussion shapes new hopes for civility
By Carolin K. Shining
In a crucial “note” applicable to all California lawyers, the opinion uses the social impact of the #MeToo movement to compel ...
Banking
Bankruptcy stay violation ruling serves as warning to creditors
By Stuart B. Rodgers
In 2017, a Bankruptcy Judge Christopher M. Klein from the Eastern District of California entered a judgment in favor of bankru...
Kanye has turned more and more religious, with a new album called “Jesus Is King.” Perhaps he may have been toying with bankru...
Civil Litigation
Overturning settlement, 9th Circuit calls for ‘something more’ than mailed notice
By Jordan Elias
A recent ruling is the latest in a series of 9th Circuit cases reflecting a concern that the self-interest of class counsel an...
Labor/Employment
2020 laws all California employers should know
By Kate McGuigan, Michael Schlemmer
The new laws, most of which take effect Jan. 1, 2020, cover a wide area from wage and hour and work classification to hairstyl...
Government, Environmental & Energy
California heads into the next decade with over 100 new environmental laws
By Monica Browner, Steven H. Goldberg
In 2019, the California Legislature had another busy year working on new environmental and natural resource bills.
Civil Litigation, Labor/Employment
PAGA is warping the California Labor Code
By Paul S. Cowie, John D. Ellis
Whatever may have been the intent of the Private Attorneys General Act when it was enacted, it has since evolved into a legali...
I am among the last generation of professionals to have transitioned from hand writing to typing to computers and the internet...
Civil Litigation, Law Practice
Creative uses of the 'high-low' agreement
By Brian S. Kabateck, Serena J. Vartazarian
The “high-low” agreement is an often underutilized and misunderstood tactic, typically used in a jury trial to reach a settlem...
Law Practice, Ethics/Professional Responsibility
When duties of candor and confidentiality collide
By Shawn Shaffie
The State Bar recently released Formal Opinion Number 2019-200 to address how an attorney must proceed carefully in balancing ...
Law Practice, Ethics/Professional Responsibility
Professional responsibility: Client is overbilling tempting, but treacherous
By A. Marco Turk
Former associate justice of the Supreme Court Potter Stewart (1958-1981) advanced a very simple but elegant description of eth...
Letters, Government
DA race language mirrors impeachment debate
Using provocative language reflective of the impeachment debate in Washington, prosecutor Richard Ceballos — who was denied th...
Tax, Real Estate/Development
Can Section 1031 exchanges and opportunity zones be successfully combined?
By Phil Jelsma
Although they are generally distinct sections with their own provisions, there is one possibility in which Section 1031 exchan...
Effective Jan. 1, 2020, civil litigants will have the option of stipulating to the exchange of initial disclosure.