Legal Education, Law Practice
Don’t underestimate the power of networking as a law student
By Brigitta Cymerint
It is common for law students to underestimate the power of networking. We are so focused on our studies that it is easy to fo...
U.S. Supreme Court, Constitutional Law
Part III on interpreting our Constitution: when to rule “That’s unconstitutional!”
By Myron Moskovitz
When a statute (or an executive order) is the product of the ordinary give-and-take of our messy democratic process, a judge s...
The Digital Services Act reaches the USA
By Robert Spano, Vivek Mohan
U.S. companies must not bury their heads in the sand: while the DSA’s regulations are formally limited to online services that...
California’s property insurance: balancing consumer interests and industry needs
By Daniel J. Veroff, Rudy Tap
The road ahead for California’s property insurance landscape is one of cautious optimism. The impending changes to Proposition...
Letters
The bar exam benefits test preppers and isn’t indicative of qualified attorneys
By Joanna Mendoza
The Portfolio Bar Exam would not offer a free pass or easier path to candidates. It would instead be a more rigorous process d...
The future of the administrative state
By Erwin Chemerinsky
The Supreme Court has not defined what is a major question or what is sufficient authorization from Congress to meet the major...
Government, Civil Rights
California abdicating duties on housing people who are unhoused
By Brandon Greene
The state has enough tools to address our homelessness crisis without seeking the Supreme Court's intervention to allow for ci...
State Bar & Bar Associations, Ethics/Professional Responsibility
Client Trust Accounts, Part 1 - The basics
By Jennifer Stalvey
Attorneys have a duty to perform legal services with competence, which includes a nondelegable duty to oversee and properly ac...
Corporate
Unhappily ever after – saving your company when your business divorce winds up in court
By Aaron M. Gladstein
This article explores the specific steps to halt the dissolution process, highlights some traps for the unwary, and encourages...
State Bar & Bar Associations, Government
It is time to restore confidence in the State Bar
By Thomas J. Umberg
Like most lawyers, I have spent much of the last few years in shock as investigative journalists have, bit by bit, unraveled T...
Judges and Judiciary, Ethics/Professional Responsibility
Do Superior Court judges have a role to play in the new ‘snitch rule?’
By Laura W. Halgren
Apart from a discovery sanctions motion, it is difficult to imagine when a court would be the proper tribunal for Rule 8.3 rep...
Technology, Labor/Employment
Employers willing to accept a certain level of risk in exchange for AI benefits
By Niloy Ray, Alice H. Wang
The survey population, who represent a range of industries and company sizes in the US and have a significant role in how AI i...
Ediscovery, Alternative Dispute Resolution
California allows attorneys to cast a wide net in discovery, but there are limits
By Gary Nadler
Addressing the common objection that a question “calls for a fishing expedition,” the court in Norton v. Superior Court (1994)...
Alternative Dispute Resolution
Modified FRCP Rule 26 proposal means quicker outcome, happy clients
By James P. Gray
Why has the use of this modified Rule 26 been so effective? It basically provides the parties with the same information that t...
Land Use, Government, Administrative/Regulatory
A tale of two types of takings might soon come to an end
By Ellia Thompson
Too often, developers are an easy scapegoat for all infrastructure problems, and, more often than not, local officials push ev...
Technology, Constitutional Law
Do social media companies “speak” by curating your news feed? The jury is out.
By Krista L. Baughman
The Solicitor General argues that allowing for content-moderation would impermissibly allow States to “enhance their citizens’...
Environmental & Energy
Attorneys, nonprofits and the promise of the IRA to address climate change
By David S. Beckman
The scale of the Inflation Reduction Act funding and its potential positive impact on communities is extraordinary. But many o...
Technology, International Law
Using AI to protect Chinese prisoners from themselves, and the guards
By Xinying Huang
AI plays a significant role in China law enforcement in prisons, where every corner is monitored.
State Bar & Bar Associations
Bar associations urge attorneys to oppose State Bar proposal to eliminate bar exam requirement
By Gil N. Peles
The State Bar has entered into a public comment period through Oct. 25 on a proposal to eliminate the bar exam requirement to ...
Real Estate/Development
Commercial loan defaults, and calls from clients seeking advice, are on the horizon
By Bernard M. Resser
Hopefully, stricter lending standards since the Great Recession mean commercial real estate lenders will not realize significa...
Government, Antitrust & Trade Reg.
The federal government finally files its antitrust case against Amazon
By David W. Kesselman, Amy T. Brantly
A key question that remains unanswered at this early stage: what is the end goal of the FTC’s lawsuit? The complaint generally...
Entertainment & Sports, Contracts
NIL strategies to consider in college athletics
By Frank N. Darras
As it happens, new bipartisan bills addressing NIL and collectives are being introduced again in the Senate that might gain th...
Government, Administrative/Regulatory
Know the rules in suits involving the Government Claims Act
By Daniel P. Barer
The claim-presentation statutes impose on the normal requirements for filing timely lawsuits against defendants an overlay of ...
Expert Advice, Evidence, Construction
Questioning protocols of an expert witness takes a turn
By Garret D. Murai
Paint complaint raises issue as to whether expert can be questioned on construction standard, even if not relied upon when for...
Workers are now more ready to strike than they have been in recent decades. In addition, younger and more activist leaders are...
Contrary to the globalization of communication, education, and trade, there is no universal definition or acceptance of “Major...
Ethics/Professional Responsibility
Considerations for producing attorney work product in a client’s file
By Alanna G. Clair, Shari L. Klevens
If the attorney determines that the request includes the attorney’s work product, properly responding to the request could bec...
Tax, Real Estate/Development
Even landlord tenant settlements have tax issues
By Robert W. Wood
How could you be taxed on a legal settlement, especially on the whole 100%, when your lawyer takes 40% off the top? If that so...
U.S. Supreme Court, Constitutional Law, Civil Rights
Partisan-based gerrymandering is code for discrimination
By Dan Vicuna
Redistricting is too often manipulated to discriminate against communities of color, advantage one political party over anothe...
Family, Contracts
The spousal support waiver conundrum in the Kevin Costner case
By Christine Byrd
Why would the spousal support waiver be unenforceable when the rest of the prenuptial agreement is enforceable? The answer lie...