Law Practice
I'll be homeless for Christmas
A veteran’s access to a lawyer can mean the difference between living under a roof or under a bridge
Family, California Courts of Appeal
Conflicting cases on siblings and bypass
A recent case has deepened a split of authority in dependency law. The split concerns one of the most frequently litigated gro...
Intellectual Property, Entertainment & Sports
Two high-profile cases have highlighted certain aspects of music copyright infringement litigation which have become quite con...
This, my December column occurs in the month when many readers may be vacationing, a perfect time to let it all “hang out” and...
State Bar & Bar Associations
Making the State Bar complaint system ADA accessible
Law Practice, Judges and Judiciary
Crafting better legal services in conservatorship cases
“This call may be monitored for quality assurance purposes.” We have all heard this statement when we are on the phone with pr...
Whatever it takes
California Courts of Appeal
A new day has dawned with the California Supreme Court’s approval of new Rule 3.3, Candor Toward the Tribunal, last November. ...
Real Estate/Development, Government
Because 150 people became homeless every day, homelessness rose by 12% last year. We will never end homelessness if we only he...
Mergers & Acquisitions, Corporate
While the expense associated with sophisticated M&A counsel may seem excessive, especially to first-time sellers, the real...
Criminal
Among the flurry of bills signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in October were Assembly Bill 61 and Assembly Bill 1493, which expand th...
Criminal, California Supreme Court
Canizales and the kill zone
The California Supreme Court recently brought welcome clarity to the law of the kill zone theory. But even after the latest ru...
Elijah Cummings, Daniel Goodman and George Washington.
Law Practice, Judges and Judiciary
WARE R U?
Contempt for education threatens democratic institutions.
Administrative/Regulatory, U.S. Supreme Court, Constitutional Law
How the high court may rule in Seila Law — and why
The Supreme Court should prevent further erosion of the lines drawn by the Constitution and strike down the CFPB's for-cause r...
Government, Constitutional Law
San Diego must shut down facial recognition program
Law enforcement agencies in San Diego County were early adopters of hand-held facial recognition technology. Now these SoCal c...
Judges and Judiciary, Civil Rights, Law Practice
The system looks good on paper. However, in actual practice it is terrible. The rights of seniors and other adults with disabi...
Criminal
What is a kill zone?
Understanding the myriad sources of confusion
Civil Litigation, Law Practice, Judges and Judiciary, Criminal
The whole truth
Even our friends who lack a J.D. know, a witness typically swears that she will tell not just the truth, and not just nothing ...
Judges and Judiciary
We count what we care about: Conservatees in California
Bankers know to the penny how much money they are managing in their financial institution. Elections are based on the actual n...
Criminal, California Supreme Court, California Courts of Appeal
Shocks: after or fore?
The California Supreme Court’s strict circumscription of the “kill zone” theory in a recent case was no doubt designed to shor...
U.S. Supreme Court, Criminal, Constitutional Law
My radical proposal is this: Where a state court misapplies — or even cites and then ignores — Supreme Court precedent, the Su...
How to stay golden when migrating from the Golden State
Shouting and blasting from synagogues to Washington DC
Judges and Judiciary, Civil Rights
Judicial Council has been misinforming about the ADA
The Judicial Council has been misinforming the judiciary about the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act since t...
Intellectual Property
Over the past 230 years, patent law has adapted to accommodate new types of technology. The adaptations can be slow, inconsis...
Civil Rights
Religion is not a license to discriminate anywhere
In a 4-3 decision, and after many months of deliberation, the Arizona Supreme Court issued a narrow ruling on Sept. 16 in Bru...
Judges and Judiciary
How to hold misbehaving judges accountable
Judges should be held to the highest of ethical standards, and there's no reason they should keep a reward, like a pension, if...
U.S. Supreme Court, Constitutional Law
An innocuous Supreme Court case could be a blockbuster
A bankruptcy proceeding isn’t ordinarily what you think of as a Supreme Court blockbuster. But when the bankruptcy proceeding ...
Government, Civil Rights
Housing is a human right: A right to counsel for tenants
The Los Angeles City Council is on the verge of enacting our own Right to Counsel Program, providing legal counsel to tenants ...