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California Pulse
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Calif. Panel Questions Hacking Case Against Ex-Prosecutor
A California appeals panel probed Wednesday whether criminal charges were properly brought against a former top prosecutor at the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office for improperly using confidential sheriff's deputy files, with one judge observing that the case applies an "awfully broad understanding" of a hacking statute.
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Retired Calif. Judges Unlikely To Revive Age Bias Suit
A California appellate court tentatively ruled against seven retired California state court judges accusing California's Judicial Council of age discrimination due to rules limiting the time retired judges can spend on temporary assignments, saying plaintiffs haven't shown a statistically significant impact to judges over 70, among other concerns.
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Milbank Latest To Ink Trump Deal To Avoid Executive Order
Milbank LLP became the fourth firm to strike a deal with President Donald Trump in the wake of a series of executive orders targeting BigLaw, pledging on Wednesday to provide at least $100 million in pro bono legal work supported by the administration and to refrain from what the White House deems discriminatory and "illegal" diversity hiring.
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Ex-Kirkland Atty To Drop Bias Suit, Appeal Atty Firing Ruling
A former Kirkland & Ellis LLP intellectual property associate is expected to drop her claims against the law firm and related defendants, while also appealing a ruling that precluded her from firing her attorney in the case, the parties told a California federal court Tuesday.
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Former Calif. Legislator, Prosecutor Named US Atty In LA
Former California State Assemblyman Bilal A. "Bill" Essayli was sworn in Wednesday as the U.S. attorney for the Central District of California, after he was appointed by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi.
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When Can Attys Decide To Drop Clients? ABA Says It Depends
Lawyers can drop clients at will as long as doing so won't harm the client's legal objectives or needlessly drive up costs, according to new guidance by the American Bar Association — but the guidance also notes that "getting out of a matter can be a lot harder than getting in."
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Eversheds Sutherland's New US-Based Leaders Start Roles
Eversheds Sutherland started April with new leadership in the U.S. as former global energy sector co-head Lino Mendiola III began his term as the firm's global co-CEO and U.S. chief executive, and former global board co-chair Adam Cohen stepped into the role of U.S. executive partner.
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23 Firms Remain GCs' Top Picks Despite Referral Drop
Even as corporate legal departments become more selective in recommending outside counsel to their peers, 23 law firms have managed to earn top marks for building trust and relationship management, according to a report released Wednesday by BTI Consulting Group.
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Signature Resolution Moves Into Central Calif. Via Partnership
The alternative dispute resolution center Signature Resolution in expanding into Central California by partnering with Bakersfield-based Common Ground Resolutions.
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UC Regents Face Trimmed Suit Over Antisemitism At Berkeley
A California federal judge on Monday trimmed two Jewish advocacy organizations' lawsuit accusing UC Berkeley and its law school of tolerating antisemitism, allowing the suit to go forward on their claims the university was "deliberately indifferent" towards Jews on campus.
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Willkie Becomes 3rd Firm To Reach Deal With Trump
After issuing a string of executive orders in recent weeks targeting BigLaw firms, President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP had agreed to provide $100 million in pro bono legal services for certain causes and to refrain from what Trump has called discriminatory diversity hiring practices.
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Sanctioned Firm Ordered To Pay Fees In California Patent Row
Days after attorneys from Texas patent firm Ramey LLP were ordered to pay over $60,000 for practicing in California without a license, a San Francisco federal magistrate judge has ordered them to pay attorney fees in a pair of suits deemed to have been litigated in bad faith.
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BCLP Names New COO And Chief People Officer
Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP has hired Newmark Group's former chief human resources officer as its chief people officer and shifted its chief financial officer to also serve as its chief operating officer, the firm announced Tuesday.
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Crypto Co. OKX Taps Ex-NY Regulator Linda Lacewell As GC
Cryptocurrency exchange OKX said Tuesday that Linda Lacewell, former superintendent of the New York Department of Financial Services, has joined the company as its general counsel, a month after the firm agreed to a $504 million deal with federal prosecutors over compliance failures.
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Hunton Andrews Names New Office, Practice Group Leaders
Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP announced Tuesday that it has appointed several attorneys to key leadership posts, including new leaders of its Miami and Richmond offices.
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Atty's Fraud Sentence Upheld In Long-Delayed Ruling
A California lawyer who was convicted for his role in a pump-and-dump scheme has lost a motion filed in Massachusetts federal court in 2018 seeking to vacate a four-year prison term.
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Fox Rothschild Names Office, Practice Group, Dept. Leaders
Fox Rothschild LLP announced Tuesday that it has installed new office managing partners in four cities, added co-chairs to its taxation and wealth planning department, and brought on an aviation practice group co-chair as part of the firm's standard leadership rotation.
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Former EBay, PayPal Exec Joins Fintech Co. As CLO
A former legal leader at eBay and PayPal and LendingClub Bank parent company LendingClub Corp. has joined healthcare-focused fintech company PayZen as its top attorney.
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Approach The Bench: Judge Tymkovich On New Judgeships
When Tenth Circuit Judge Timothy Tymkovich testified before Congress recently about the need for more federal judges, it had been about 10 years since he'd made a similar request of Congress, which hasn't expanded the federal bench since 2002.
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How Lewis Brisbois Is Addressing Associate Pay Delay
Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP has hired two new staff members and is working to refine its process for determining discretionary bonuses and merit pay after the firm notified a portion of its associates this week that those payments would be delayed.
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Wilson Sonsini Adds Antitrust Attys From MoFo, K&L Gates
Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati PC is expanding its antitrust team, bringing in two new partners — a Morrison Foerster LLP trial attorney in San Francisco and a K&L Gates LLP litigator in Chicago.
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Goodwin Grows Private Equity Practice With New SF Partner
Goodwin Procter LLP announced Tuesday that a former Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP attorney who handles complex transactions in the technology, fintech and healthcare industries has joined its private equity practice as a partner in San Francisco.
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Winston & Strawn Adds Goodwin Transactions Ace In LA
Winston & Strawn LLP is boosting its transactions team, announcing Monday it is bringing in a Goodwin Procter LLP private equity expert as a partner in its Los Angeles office.
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Supermicro Taps Ex-Norton Rose Atty As GC After Co. Review
California-based Super Micro Computer Inc. has tapped a former Norton Rose Fulbright attorney to be its new general counsel just months after accelerating its search for a legal leader following an internal review.
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Public Storage CLO Saw Comp Fall For 3rd Straight Year
The chief legal officer at self-storage real estate investment trust Public Storage saw his compensation drop for the third consecutive year, as he earned around $2.4 million in 2024 compared to approximately $4.9 million in 2021, according to a recent filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Expert Analysis
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Future Lawyers Expect DEI Commitments Beyond Recruiting
To attract future lawyers from diverse backgrounds, firms must think beyond recruiting efforts, because law students are looking for diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives that invest in employee professional development and engage with students year-round, says Lauren Jackson at Howard University School of Law.
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Series
Ask A Mentor: How Can Law Students Build Real-World Skills?
Allison Coffin at Akin Gump discusses how summer associates going back to school can continue to develop real-world lawyering skills by leveraging the numerous law school resources that support professional development both inside and outside the classroom.
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How Firm Leaders Can Build And Sustain Culture
In uncertain and challenging times, law firm leaders can build and sustain culture by focusing attention on mission, values and leadership development, and applying a growth mindset across their firms, says Scott Westfahl at Harvard Law.
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The Case That Showed Me The Value Of E-Discovery Plans
Robert Keeling at Sidley reflects on leading discovery in the litigation that followed the historic $85 billion AT&T-Time Warner merger and how the case highlighted the importance of having a strategic e-discovery plan in place.
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Opinion
CLE Accreditation Should Be Tied To Learning Outcomes
Given the substantial time and money lawyers put toward mandatory continuing legal education, CLE regulators and providers should be held to accreditation standards that assess learning outcomes, similar to those imposed on law schools and continuing medical education providers, says Rima Sirota at Georgetown Law.
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Why You Should Leverage AI For Privilege Review
While many lawyers still believe that a manual, document-by-document review is the best approach to privilege logging, certain artificial intelligence tools can bolster the traditional review process and make this aspect of electronic document review more efficient, more accurate and less costly, say Laura Riff and Michelle Six at Kirkland.
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Persuading The Court With Visual Aids In Written Argument
Robert Dubose at Alexander Dubose describes several categories of visuals attorneys can use to make written arguments easier to understand or more persuasive, and provides tips for lawyers unused to working with anything but text.
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BigLaw Vs. Mid-Law Summer Programs: The Pros And Cons
There are major differences between BigLaw and Mid-Law summer associate programs, and each approach can learn something from the other in terms of structure and scheduling, the on-the-job learning opportunities provided, and the social experiences offered, says Anna Tison at Brooks Pierce.
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Series
Ask A Mentor: How Do I Take Time Off?
David Kouba at Arnold & Porter discusses how attorneys can prioritize mental health leave and vacation despite work-related barriers to taking time off.
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Law Firms Must Prioritize Mental Health In Internal Comms
The traditional structure of law firms, with their compartmentalization into silos, is an inherent challenge to mental wellness, so partners and senior lawyers should take steps to construct and disseminate internal action plans and encourage open dialogue, says Elizabeth Ortega at ECO Strategic Communications.
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Our Current Approach To Trial Advocacy Training Is Lacking
The key to trial advocacy is persuasion, but current training programs focus almost entirely on technique, making it imperative that lawyers are taught to be effective storytellers and to connect with their audiences, says Chris Arledge at Ellis George.
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How Women In Law Can Advance Toward Leadership Roles
Female attorneys in leadership roles inspire other women to pursue similar opportunities in a male-dominated field, and for those who aspire to lead, prioritizing collaboration, inclusivity and integrity is key, says Kim Yelkin at Foley & Lardner.
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The Case That Took Me From Prosecutor To Defense Attorney
Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Moira Penza, now at Wilkinson Stekloff, recalls the challenges of her first case as a civil defense attorney — a multibillion-dollar multidistrict class action against Allergan — and the lessons she learned about building rapport in the courtroom and with co-counsel.
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The Importance Of Legal Macroeconomics Education For Attys
Most legal professionals lack understanding of the macroeconomic trends unique to the legal industry, like the rising cost of law school and legal services, which contributes to an unfair and inaccessible justice system, so law school courses and continuing legal education requirements in this area are essential, says Bob Glaves at the Chicago Bar Foundation.
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What ABA Student Well-Being Standards Mean For Law Firms
While the American Bar Association's recent amendments to its law school accreditation standards around student well-being could have gone further, legal industry employers have much to learn from the ABA's move and the well-being movement that continues to gain traction in law schools, says David Jaffe at the American University Washington College of Law.