Law Practice
A measure relating to appointed legal counsel in probate conservatorships was recently introduced into the California Assembly.
U.S. Supreme Court, Constitutional Law
San Francisco lost sight of a simple truth when it decided that condo conversions presented an opportunity to require property...
Law Practice, Judges and Judiciary, California Courts of Appeal, Appellate Practice
Expedition vs excellence
To follow up on last month’s column “Revelations,” this column centers on, not centers around, opinion writing.
State Bar & Bar Associations, Law Practice
A regulatory ‘sandbox’ that will turn to quicksand
We’ve all heard the phrase “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” But attempting to do so can backfire and cause more harm than go...
Alternative Dispute Resolution
A mediation checklist
Clients should also be told about the risks of litigation, including trial, mediation costs and the financial advantages and d...
Alternative Dispute Resolution
Virtual ADR in a COVID-19 world
As a result of COVID-19, we all have experienced a state of seemingly unrelenting fear and panic, with family and health conce...
Health Care & Hospital Law, Data Privacy
Rewiring doctors’ and lawyers’ ‘HIPAA-campi’
On Jan. 21, the Department of Health and Human Services issued a notice of proposed rulemaking to modify the HIPAA privacy rul...
U.S. Supreme Court, Constitutional Law
To collect $1,200 plus interest, a Nebraska county took Walter Barnette’s land worth $25,000 and gave it to an investor. Walte...
Judges and Judiciary
The California Judges Association has established an Award that will be given every three years to an exceptional judicial out...
Law Practice
An Interview with: Professor Ty Alper
Next in the Negotiating Trauma & the Law Series, Professor Ty Alper speaks about representing clients on death row; being ...
Judges and Judiciary, Appellate Practice
Revelations
Well-known appellate attorney Jon Eisenberg complained to the Judicial Performance Commission about delays in filing opinions ...
Immigration, Government
On President Joe Biden’s first day in office, the Department of Homeland Security announced that it would stop adding people t...
Civil Litigation
The (not so) long arm of the law
Personal jurisdiction can be a powerful tool against forum shopping by the filing plaintiff. It is imperative to spot the issu...
U.S. Supreme Court, Constitutional Law, 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
Do you have the right to privately support charities and causes you believe in? And what standard applies when the government ...
Immigration, Appellate Practice
Pants on fire
In two cases this term, the U.S. Supreme Court will provide guidance on how appellate courts are to review the credibility of ...
Law Practice, Judges and Judiciary
Potpourri or get it off your chest
Looks like our Democracy is intact. Whatever one’s politics or rationale for positions extreme and otherwise, the courts maint...
Judges and Judiciary, Government
Few people outside the legal profession realize that Luis Cespedes, the governor’s newly named Judicial Appointments Secretary...
Law Practice, Judges and Judiciary, California Supreme Court
When it comes to terminology that is acceptable in legal briefs and judicial opinions, the California Style Manual is the bibl...
Administrative/Regulatory
Despite statutory limitations, over the decades the California Coastal Commission’s mission and jurisdiction have steadily met...
Government, Criminal
Gascón lacks authority to end cash bail
Newly elected Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón is clearly a man on a mission to create new laws, whether the...
Law Practice, Judges and Judiciary
Time to end disability stigmas in judicial opinions
A well-reasoned appellate opinion came to my attention the other day. Its conclusion upheld the social decision-making rights ...
Constitutional Law, 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
9th Circuit should unseal video of historic Prop 8 trial
Footage will provide a far richer and more accurate understanding of the legal issues and evidence presented during the trial ...
Tax, Law Practice
The taxman cometh for lemon law litigants
A combination of the evolving nature of lemon law litigation in California under the Song-Beverly Warranty Act and changes to ...
Real Estate, Law Practice, Judges and Judiciary
Our leaders must step up and end eviction trials now
Across the country, most judicial proceedings have ground to a halt. But not eviction cases.
U.S. Supreme Court, Constitutional Law, Administrative/Regulatory
In a recent case the Supreme Court must grapple with a question of fundamental importance to any system of popularly accountab...
Law Practice, Judges and Judiciary
301*
Granted, I made a big deal about my 300th column. When I brought it up in conversation, others would change the subject. I ack...
Government, Constitutional Law, Administrative/Regulatory
To ensure that agencies act within the law’s confines, courts, especially the Supreme Court, must hold those agencies accounta...
Government
There are typically about 5,000 federal job openings that a new administration needs to fill; prospective Cabinet and sub-Cabi...
Law Practice
Notwithstanding constitutional limitations, the Legislature has provided that in probate conservatorship proceedings — cases i...
Constitutional Law, Appellate Practice
WWLHD? (What would the Legislature have done?
Of late, the California Supreme Court has devoted a fair bit of its time to resolving ambiguities in several of the recently a...