Environmental & Energy
New federal standards for ‘forever chemicals’ to clean up California’s tap water
By Matthew J. Matern, Hayley Davis
The U.S. EPA announced the first-ever national standards for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), also known as “foreve...
The Cohan rule is a legal principle that allows taxpayers to deduct expenses without receipts if they can prove them by...
Constitutional Law
Opening Major League Baseball clubhouses to women reporters
By Calvin R. House
In Ludtke v. Kuhn, Melissa Ludtke claimed that banning her from the clubhouse violated her right to equal protection an...
Government
Electronic voting is the best path for accessible voting
By Sylvia Torres-Guillén
California should amend its current ballot return process to comply with federal law and protect the dignity and rights of peo...
Contracts
Arbitration as an effective mechanism for resolving asset purchase agreement disputes
By Daniel B. Garrie
Parties should draft a comprehensive arbitration clause in an asset purchase agreement, including the process, number and sele...
Letters
The Office of Chief Trial Counsel was the interested party, not the public, in the State Bar’s John Eastman trial
By James P. McBride
The State Bar of California filed misconduct charges against John Eastman regarding the 2020 election, but no member of the pu...
In DeVillier v. Texas, the state removed a takings claim from state court to federal court and then argued that there w...
Torts/Personal Injury
Liability of amusement parks and traveling carnival rides
By Reza Torkzadeh, Allen P. Wilkinson
The California Supreme Court has ruled that amusement rides, such as roller coasters, are common carriers and must use the utm...
Securities
SEC trial victory in ‘shadow’ trading trial – what ‘shadow’?
By Barry O'Connell
A jury found former Medivation executive Matthew Panuwat liable for insider trading by trading in Incyte's stock, based on the...
Criminal
Preemptory challenge over ‘lack of life experience’ of Hispanic juror reversed
By Dmitry Gorin, Alan Eisner
The Second District Court of Appeals recently applied 231.7 in People v. Uriostegui, reversing the conviction and order...
Data Privacy
AT&T annual data breaches continue to plague AT&T customers
By Anita Taff-Rice
AT&T opposes new FCC regulations to improve customer data protections and data breach reporting requirements.
U.S. Supreme Court
Bissonnette: The Supreme Court grabs the wheel on the "transportation worker" exemption
By Philip I. Person, Bailey McCabe Hashim
The U.S. Supreme Court has clarified the scope of the “transportation worker” exemption under Section 1 of the Federal Arbitra...
Antitrust & Trade Reg.
Don’t get caught behind the Section 8 ball
By Steven Cernak, Luis Blanquez
Section 8 of the Clayton Act, a key US antitrust law, prohibits interlocking directorates between competing corporations, but ...
Technology
What does the EU Digital Markets Act mean for the tech sector?
By Nicholas Banasevic, Robert Spano
The EU’s Digital Markets Act, which designates some large online companies and their services as gatekeepers, recently went in...
Criminal, Family
How do criminal domestic violence cases affect family law and DVPA actions?
By Anthony J. Ferrentino
A parallel criminal domestic violence case can have a significant impact on family law proceedings, particularly in cases invo...
Real Estate/Development
The new guide to ground lease drafting and negotiation
By Ira J. Waldman
Real estate development on ground-leased property has been growing, with municipalities, private parties, and institutional en...
Labor/Employment
ACLU’s termination of whistleblower sparks debate over racially-coded language
By K. Chike Odiwe
The ACLU said an employee used racially coded language and fired her. The resulting lawsuit raises questions about the protect...
The Supreme Court will be hearing arguments in Grants Pass v. Johnson, a case that addresses the issue of whether citie...
Criminal
After Fortenberry, where do false statement prosecutions go?
By A. Joseph Jay III, Douglas Yang
The Ninth Circuit's rejection of the "effects-based" venue test in false statement cases deepens an existing circuit split and...
9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Intellectual Property
9th Circuit treats trademark applications as registrations; cancels same
By Jane Shay Wald
The 9th Circuit Court has extended Lanham Act Section 1119 to cover trademark applications, allowing a plaintiff to invalidate...
The appellate court's opinion in Medallion Film, et al. LLC v. Loeb & Loeb was wrong, unwise, and illogical because...
Chinese social media platforms have spread news of a new four-point passport control measure implemented by the Chinese Immigr...
As a law professor who taught comparative criminal procedure at the University of Bologna, the oldest university in the world,...
Family
OJ Simpson’s domestic violence history left an indelible mark on family law proceedings
By Lorie S. Nachlis
The revelation of domestic violence perpetrated by OJ Simpson had a significant impact on family law. Applications for protect...
Banking
How banks are navigating a multi-pronged assault on customer fees
By Alexander R. Safyan
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has finalized a rule limiting late fees on credit card payments to $8, and the...
Family
Best practices for counsel in domestic violence restraining order cases under Family Code section 6309
By Lawrence P. Riff
Family Code section 6309, which became effective on Jan. 1, allows limited civil discovery in Domestic Violence Prevention Act...
Technology
California’s SB 1047 establishes stringent requirements for large-scale AI models
By Niloy Ray, Alice H. Wang
The bill sets strict requirements for pre-deployment safety testing and guardrails for large-scale AI systems, focusing on alg...
Letters
Training programs and initiatives have been created to address gender identity issues in the judiciary
By D. Zeke Zeidler
While misgendering still occurs, the judiciary is committed to ensuring dignity and respect for trans individuals in the court...
It is not enough to focus on the mechanics or science of negotiation techniques. Parties also need to understand the moral cor...
Law Practice
Why Black woman attorneys are motivated to start their own firms
By Selwyn D. Whitehead
With the constant evolution of legal standards and conditions, it’s imperative for those of us in the legal profession to regu...