U.S. Supreme Court, Law Practice, Civil Litigation
Gone but not forgotten
By Steven B. Katz
State courts shouldn’t ask counsel to appear to report on removed cases
Environmental & Energy, Administrative/Regulatory
New PFAS rules may increase treatment costs, spur litigation
By Steven H. Goldberg, Leila Bruderer
The new lower PFAS levels will result in many more public water systems with wells exceeding the new response levels, and more...
You hear it all the time: “She’s a gold digger.” “He’s a scrub.” “They’re just living off the child support to fund his/her li...
Labor/Employment, Civil Litigation, California Supreme Court
When employee protection becomes calamity
By Laura Reathaford, Sam Garcia
The California Supreme Court’s ruling in Kim v. Reins won’t “stop” anything.
Tax
Navigating taxes in employment cases and other legal settlements
By Robert W. Wood
All plaintiffs collecting money care about taxes, and the tax treatment of litigation damages is varied and complex. But the r...
Labor/Employment, Civil Litigation, California Supreme Court
Do state wage laws apply to workers here for just a day?
By David E. Mastagni, Isaac Sean Stevens
The California Supreme Court is expected to decide whether state laws governing wage statements and minimum wage apply to empl...
Mergers & Acquisitions, Antitrust & Trade Reg., Administrative/Regulatory
In T-Mobile and Sprint merger, court sidesteps the economics
By Jonathan Rubin, Tim LaComb
This is the rare antitrust case that can be reduced to a credibility contest between testifying witnesses or decided correctly...
Civil Litigation
Can intentional tortfeasors shift liability to negligent actors?
By Ted W. Pelletier
California law has long dictated that intentional tortfeasors cannot shift their liability to a merely negligent actor. A pend...
Government
Public agencies must include threats of litigation in agenda packets
By Steven P. Graham
A recent appellate ruling held that under the Ralph M. Brown Act a should include a contemporaneous record reflecting a threat...
Insurance
Exceptions to insurers’ right to rescind for inaccurate information
By Peter S. Selvin
There are exceptions to the principle that inaccurate information in an application automatically gives the insurer an absolut...
Labor/Employment
Will you sign this love contract so I don’t get fired?
By Todd R. Wulffson
When employees are involved in romantic relationships with each other, it can bring a whole host of potential problems that ne...
Rule number one for property owners and their counsel in physical takings cases is that the one thing you do not want to hear ...
Labor/Employment
PRO Act would make ‘ABC test’ the law of the land
By Ronald L. Zambrano
The Protecting the Right to Organize Act, recently passed by the house, would be a major overhaul of the National Labor Relati...
Insurance, Corporate, Administrative/Regulatory
California Consumer Privacy Act exemptions that matter to insurers
By Elizabeth Tosaris
While many insurers doing business in California will fall within the scope of the law, it is also true that in many cases muc...
Corporate, Administrative/Regulatory
Revised draft CCPA regulations provide more clarity, but questions remain
By Lindsey Tonsager, Danielle Kehl
Earlier this month, the California Attorney General moved one step closer to implementing the California Consumer Privacy Act ...
U.S. Supreme Court, International Law, Criminal, Civil Litigation
Supreme Court case will test whether punitive damages can apply retroactively against state sponsors of terrorists
By Scott J. Street
Opati v. Republic of Sudan focuses on whether Congress intended for a statute authorizing punitive damages against state spons...
U.S. Supreme Court, Immigration, Constitutional Law
Supreme Court to consider broad immigration-speech law
By Molly Alarcon, Erin Kuka
The federal government will defend the constitutionality of a law that prohibits “encouraging” or “inducing” undocumented nonc...
State Bar & Bar Associations, Ethics/Professional Responsibility
The State Bar Court’s most powerful tool
By Jennifer Teaford
Any allegation of professional misconduct by the State Bar prosecutor’s office is cause for serious concern for an attorney. B...
Government, Administrative/Regulatory
False Claims Act enforcement under the Trump administration
By Jim Zelenay Jr., Sean S. Twomey
The FCA has long served as the federal government's primary mechanism for rooting out fraud and corruption by companies doing ...
Civil Litigation, Banking
‘True lender’ attacks on preemption of state usury laws
By Ashley M. Simonsen
In recent years, state regulators and private plaintiffs have attempted to circumvent and undermine a regime of legal certaint...
Labor/Employment, Government
Newsom’s trailer bills and possible consequences for employers
By Susan E. Groff, Cecilie E. Read
In addition to the budget itself, employers should be aware of other pro-employee provisions the governor seeks to effectuate ...
Health Care & Hospital Law, Administrative/Regulatory
FDA, FTC issue joint statement on efforts to support market for biologics
By Georgia C. Ravitz, James R. Ravitz
To help ensure increased biosimilar licensing and consumer and healthcare provider awareness of the benefits of biosimilars, t...
Appellate Practice
‘Man on Wire’: Navigating the pitfalls of expert testimony
By Ellie Ruth
Lawyering is hardly as dramatic, but the movie ‘Man on Wire’ offers an analogy to the tightrope a lawyer must walk when presen...
Government, Constitutional Law
Is California’s travel ban constitutional?
By Josh McDaniel, Phillip Shaverdian
A travel ban case is back at the U.S. Supreme Court, but this case has nothing to do with immigration. This case is a dispute ...
Contracts
What happens when contracts are breached due to the coronavirus?
By Matthew S. Ingles
Expect parties to look to force majeure provisions.
Law Practice
Best practices for opening and closing statements
By Michael Betz, Charles Jarrell
The art of trial work is being able to be flexible given what’s going on in the courtroom.
How your mediator can help you avoid eating liver and onions
Entertainment & Sports, Alternative Dispute Resolution
‘McMillion$’ evokes nostalgia for burgers, fries and mere millionaires
By Marc D. Alexander
I have thoroughly enjoyed this fast moving and entertaining documentary about the game scandal.
Criminal
Move towards clearing records of cannabis crimes is no small feat
By Eric H. Schweitzer
This action by the Los Angeles District Attorney should serve a clarion call to others around the state to follow suit.
Labor/Employment, Civil Litigation, Alternative Dispute Resolution
Court order explains preliminary enjoinment of enforcement of Assembly Bill 51
By Thomas H. Petrides, Harrison M. Thorne
Judge Kimberly Mueller issued a detailed written ruling earlier this month in which she stressed that the plaintiffs are “like...
