Ironically, the same governor who in 2016 supported giving the parole board this unfettered power by way of Prop. 57 was the o...
Law Practice, Judges and Judiciary, Appellate Practice
Don’t bite the hands that feed you
By Nancy H. Vaidik, Rebecca Diaz-Bonilla
This scenario repeats itself over and over in courtrooms across America. Tone deafness and inflexibility have crashed many mot...
Constitutional Law, Civil Rights
Cake case has simple facts, far-reaching implications
By Amanda Goad
Dave Mullins and Charlie Craig walked into a bakery for a wedding cake. Jack Phillips, owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop, then wal...
There are few things more important to entrepreneurs and investors than managing founder equity, and some of the most frequent...
U.S. Supreme Court, Constitutional Law, Appellate Practice
First Amendment round up
By Jean-Paul Jassy
The U.S. Supreme Court ended its term with three significant First Amendment cases.
Tax, Corporate
Proposed IRS regulations impact every partnership and LLC
By Phil Jelsma
On June 14, the IRS re-released its proposed regulations on the implementation of the IRS's new centralized partnership audit ...
Civil Litigation, California Courts of Appeal
‘Consent’ is the next big battle over personal jurisdiction
By Michael Huston, Sean Cooksey
In several recent cases, the Supreme Court has held that the due process clause tightly restricts where a defendant is subject...
Senate Bill 632, currently before the California Assembly, will protect dying asbestos victims suffering mesothelioma from day...
Labor/Employment, California Courts of Appeal
Are you minding potential off-the-clock work problems?
By Matthew T. Schechter
Given the ubiquitous nature of cellphones, tablets, and remote access; people commuting in greater distances; and being access...
Civil Litigation, Entertainment & Sports
John Oliver: Character assassin?
By David J. Friedman, Kavon Adli
The June 18 episode of "Last Week Tonight" covered a number of things Oliver found unusual, including the receipt of a cease a...
Keep it concise. Divide it into sections. Satisfy the curious. Name the names. And if you have them, insert visuals.
Environmental & Energy, Corporate, Administrative/Regulatory
State air board plans new mobile source regulations
By Shannon S. Broome, M. Clare Ellis
New regulatory plans highlight California's focus on reducing compounds from vehicle and small equipment emissions that contri...
Lawyers, judges and juries deal with this dilemma all the time. They must decide what are the facts.
U.S. Supreme Court, Civil Rights
Victim of brutal CIA torture wants trial moved to federal court
By Marjorie Cohn
The government has until July 31 to respond to Add al-Rahim al-Nashiri's cert petition. The Supreme Court should review his ca...
Just this week, businesses across the globe were forced to pay ransom to hackers in order to regain access to their own data a...
Law Practice, Law Office Management
It’s not enough to react, you must plan
By Daniel O'Rielly, Dena Roche
In any law practice today, it is critically important to react to partner departures in the right way. It is equally important...
Government
Bills seek to permit union access to new public employees
By David G. Ritchie
Assembly Bill 119 and Senate Bill 104 would require public employers within the state to provide recognized employee exclusive...
No matter what type of law you practice, you’ll come across all sorts of clients — the good the bad and the ugly. The trick is...
Criminal, Corporate
The CFAA and the ‘inside hacker’ problem
By Janet I. Levine, Nimrod Haim Aviad
Today, some consider the CFAA to be "one of the most far-reaching criminal laws in the United States Code"; others call it "th...
Government, Constitutional Law
The authority to remove special counsel
By Steven D. Reske
Most pundits and politicians mistakenly believe if Special Counsel Robert Mueller is fired reviving the independent counsel la...
U.S. Supreme Court, Civil Litigation, Government, Constitutional Law, Civil Rights, Appellate Practice
Tension in free exercise rulings
By Gunnar B. Gundersen IV
States cannot deny direct funds to churches because they are churches -- at least when it comes to building playgrounds. This ...
Civil Litigation, Law Practice
Be careful what you post. It could cost you in court
By Mark B. Simowitz
Jill’s lawyer finally fleshed out why the insurance company was not considering the surgery: His client had posted pictures of...
Intellectual Property, Corporate
Equity compensation is about retention
By William E. Growney
The reality is that for most employees at most companies, a sale of the company may mean a new car or a down payment on a new ...
U.S. Supreme Court, Immigration, Constitutional Law, Civil Rights
Travel ban ruling raises more questions
By Hadar Aviram
On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court issued decisions in several cases associated with the Trump administration's travel ban, rea...
Corporate
New accounting rule may lower perceived value of franchisors
By Barry Kurtz, Christopher L. Passmore
Franchisors will need to adjust their methods when accounting for franchise fees either this year or next, depending on whethe...
U.S. Supreme Court, Civil Litigation, Appellate Practice
Time up for securities class action opt-outs
By Anthony J. Dick, Christpher DiPompeo
In CalPERS v. ANZ Securities, the U.S. Supreme Court continued its trend of paring back class actions and enforcing strict tim...
Intellectual Property, Corporate
Proposed generic drugs legislation divides stakeholders
By William Diaz, Michelle Lowery
The CREATES Act of 2017 is proposed bipartisan legislation targeting actions by brand name drug manufacturers that can delay e...
Tax, Criminal
When disputing a tax bill, should you go ahead and pay?
By Robert W. Wood
After soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo was accused of criminal tax evasion, some sources suggested that his team would pay the $1...
Criminal, Appellate Practice, 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
9th Circuit ruling shows need to rein in civil forfeiture abuse
By Scott A. Meiner, Mahesha P. Subbaraman
The 9th Circuit recently rejected the use of coordinated successive traffic stops by the police to search a motorist's vehicle...
Labor/Employment, Government, Constitutional Law
Lawmakers must act to protect employees’ due process rights
By William M. Crosby
When a person's livelihood is at stake, the right to know the specific charges, identities of accusers and documents and othe...