California Pulse

Calif. Judge Scolded For Public Fight Over School Renaming

By Ryan Boysen

A California state judge has been publicly disciplined for leading a monthslong crusade against the renaming of his old high school, during which he spoke at rallies and fundraisers, called opponents "morons" on social media and generally "demeaned the judicial office."

BCLP Adds Ex-Seattle Mayor, US Atty As US White Collar Head

By Christine DeRosa

After a short break focused on pro bono work and chairing a Washington State Bar Association task force on emerging technologies and the practice of law, former Seattle mayor Jenny A. Durkan is returning to private practice at Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP.

Barnes & Thornburg Names 19 New Partners In Reduced Class

By Emily Johnson

Barnes & Thornburg LLP has promoted 19 attorneys to partners in states including Georgia, Texas, California and New York beginning Jan. 1, marking a decrease from its 2024 and 2023 class sizes, though the new partnership class outpaces promotions in preceding years.

Gibson Dunn Lands Trump Impeachment Prosecutor, 4 Others

By Tracey Read

Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP announced Wednesday that it had hired away former President Donald Trump's impeachment prosecutor from Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP to co-chair its global litigation practice group in New York, as well as four other former federal prosecutors from that firm.

E-Discovery Co. Everlaw Appoints VP Of Marketing As CMO

By Matt Perez

Investigation and litigation platform Everlaw has appointed its vice president of marketing as chief marketing officer, and announced the launch of its first brand campaign.

Lewis Brisbois' Leader On Steering The Firm Forward

By Xiumei Dong

Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP has seen major leadership changes over the past year. Law360 Pulse caught up with managing partner Greg Katz to discuss the firm's vision moving forward, the impact of recent leadership transitions, and the strategies being implemented to navigate the competitive legal landscape.

Pervasive Bullying In Law Is Impacting Young Attorneys

By Aebra Coe

A report released earlier this month cataloging the experiences of more than 6,000 Illinois lawyers found that one quarter say they have experienced bullying within the last year. Among the youngest lawyers, that number jumps to 39%.

Lewis Brisbois Assistant GC Joins Nossaman As Legal Chief

By James Mills

Nossaman LLP has hired the former assistant general counsel of Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP as its new general counsel.

Patent Partner Moves From King & Spalding To Steptoe

By Adam Lidgett

A former King & Spalding LLP partner has made the jump to Steptoe LLP, filling out the firm's team of California-based litigators who take on patent cases.

Share Of New Partners Who Are Women Decreased This Year

By Alison Knezevich

More than 80 major law firms had new partner classes in 2024 made up of at least 50% women, according to an analysis released Tuesday by a think tank focused on diversity and workplace flexibility. However, the analysis also found that the proportion of new U.S.-based partners who are women decreased.

Experienced Financial Atty Named Wealth Manager's New GC

By Adrian Cruz

Focus Financial Partners Inc. announced that a longtime attorney at LPL Financial was named the New York-based wealth manager's general counsel as part of a series of leadership appointments.

Snell & Wilmer Adds Procopio Corporate Atty In San Diego

By James Mills

Snell & Wilmer LLP has brought in a Procopio Cory Hargreaves & Savitch LLP capital markets expert as a partner in its San Diego office to expand its bench of corporate attorneys in Southern California.

Approach The Bench: Judge Rosenthal Praises Zoom Hearings

While U.S. District Judge Lee Rosenthal calls the pandemic a disaster that "discombobulated" the federal courts, she thinks there was also a silver lining to the experience.

How Certifications Became Ubiquitous For Privacy Attorneys

By Emma Cueto

As privacy has become a more prominent and popular practice area, many attorneys have turned to certifications offered by the International Association of Privacy Professionals to market their skills, with those in the field saying that the popularity is the result of privacy's rapid evolution and the ubiquity is unlikely to diminish.

The Psychology Of Top Firms' Growing Partner Pay Spreads

By Aebra Coe

Dan Binstock, a legal recruiter who works with top law firms, recently said to me about partner pay, "You can never please everybody."

Calif. High Court Says Judicial DQ Bids Must Be Timely

By Bonnie Eslinger

The California Supreme Court on Monday held that an appellate court got it wrong by determining a timeliness requirement doesn't apply when a party alleges that a judge is disqualified due to bias, in a case that resulted in a $43.5 million judgment for hundreds of title company employees.

3 Factors Attorneys Should Keep In Mind When Using AI

By Matt Perez

Attorneys who hope to leverage new artificial intelligence programs in their legal work should stay mindful of three rules of conduct from the American Bar Association dictating attorney competence, client confidentiality and billing procedures, according to a recently published paper from the International Association of Defense Counsel.

Simpson Thacher Taps Atty Duo As 1st Banking Team Leaders

By Emily Johnson

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP has named two longtime New York City-based partners, including the co-head of its global banking and credit practice, as the first co-leaders of its global investment banking practice, the firm announced Monday.

Maynard Nexsen Creates Business Advisory Services Team

By Emma Cueto

Maynard Nexsen PC has launched a new business advisory service aimed at privately held and family-owned businesses that will help steer clients through succession planning, mergers, risk management and other needs from both a legal and business perspective, according to a Monday announcement.

Tesla Atty Faces Sanctions Bid Over Mediation Appearance

By Emily Sawicki

Tesla and an in-house attorney are facing a sanctions bid in California federal court for reportedly appearing at a mediation in a wrongful death case despite lacking settlement authority, causing "delay and unnecessary expense" to the widow of a man who died when his Tesla allegedly ran off the road, crashed and ignited.

Telesis Bio's Chief Legal Officer To Leave Post This Week

By Rose Krebs

Telesis Bio Inc.'s chief legal officer is exiting his role on Thursday and will be receiving a severance payment of $307,500 under a separation agreement, according to a public filing.

Cleary Adds Northern Calif. Deputy Criminal Chief As Partner

By Tracey Read

The deputy chief of the criminal division of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California has joined Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP's Bay Area office as a partner in the Americas litigation practice, the firm said Monday.

Kennedys' New Head Steps Up In 'Evolving' Insurance World

By Jake Maher

Meg Catalano, who was named Kennedys’ new global managing partner this week, joined Law360 Pulse to discuss her vision for the role and how the firm looks to stay on top of client needs in a volatile world under her leadership.

National Footprints Scramble Partner Pay's Link To Location

By Jack Karp

Law firm partners' increasing pay often varies based on where those attorneys are located, a fact reinforced by a new study out Thursday, but experts say the relationship between compensation and location has become more complicated as more firms operate on a national scale. 

Insurers Have Long Used AI; Now Litigation Funders Want In

By Brandon Lowrey

As State Farm waded into the nascent field of "artificial intelligence" tools in the mid-1980s, its mainframe computers began to overheat under the strain of calculating the values of claims.