California Courts of Appeal, Family
Ruling addresses stock options and the calculation of child support
By Jeffrey P. Blum
In a case of first impression, the court in In re Marriage of Macilwaine, 18 DJDAR 8490 (Cal. App. 1st Dist., Aug. 28, 2018), ...
Let’s hope Mark Judge can be a better man than the belligerent drunk he at least tried to stop from escalating a sexual assaul...
Last week’s hearings on the nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court cost many of us some billable hours. Inst...
Constitutional Law, Government
Judge says plaintiffs have standing in emoluments case against Trump
By John H. Minan
On Friday, U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan held that Sen. Richard Blumenthal, and some 200 other members of Congress, ha...
California Courts of Appeal, Construction, Civil Litigation
The complicated history of asbestos regulation in the United States
By Garret D. Murai
Prior to the 1970s, material containing asbestos was widely used in construction. From insulation, to plaster, to siding, to t...
Administrative/Regulatory, Corporate, Government, Securities
Technology, ego and the siren call of social media
By Ronald E. Wood
The ancient Greeks told a myth of Scylla and Charybdis, a pair of sea monsters on opposite sides of a narrow strait and lured ...
Labor/Employment, Civil Litigation
Uber still faces the prospect of a hefty PAGA payday
By Eve H. Wagner
When the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals handed down its decision, it was not a big surprise. The news is not all good for U...
Bankruptcy
Tax liens and the automatic stay in bankruptcy filings: a primer
By Stuart B. Rodgers
Investors who hold real property tax lien certificates sometimes find that the real property to which the lien attaches is aff...
Criminal
Educating first time DUI offenders about the actual penalties they face
By George K. Rosenstock
The ripple effect of an early disclosure of the likely actual penalties to be incurred by first time DUI alleged offenders wil...
Take a look around you. Consider what is occurring throughout the country. An uneducated citizenry and one predominantly educa...
This article urges lawyers to put down for a moment the electronic legal menus we now rely on, check out some of these volumes...
There are countless reasons why people who are sexually assaulted or abused do not report what happened: It’s painful. It’s em...
Criminal, Government, Military Law
How to propel the Guantánamo cases to trial
By Robert C. Bonner
This article not a judgment on the merits of capital punishment or its appropriateness in these cases, which include defendant...
Alternative Dispute Resolution
Mediation law does not protect clients; it’s too little too late
By Jan Frankel Schau
SB 954 appears to be driven by our Legislature’s desire to offer consumer protection to clients who choose to settle their dis...
Law Practice
Legislation created new rules for licensed shorthand reporters
By Chris Micheli
Effective Jan. 1, 2019, AB 2084 adds Section 8050 to the Business and Professions Code to limit the business practices of lic...
Intellectual Property
When does the parody defense in trademark cases fail?
By Caitlin C. Conway, Peter Harvey
Evidence of confusion and tarnishment often tip the balance.
California Supreme Court, Ethics/Professional Responsibility
Conflict waiver enforceability
By Stephen L. Raucher
Earn MCLE credit reviewing a recent Supreme Court case dealing with a conflict waiver that didn't quite get the job done.
State Bar & Bar Associations, Insurance, Law Practice
Is mandatory malpractice insurance coming to California?
By Kenneth C. Feldman
Many California lawyers may not be aware of the Malpractice Insurance Working Group or what it’s currently studying.
State Bar & Bar Associations, Law Practice
Legislation reauthorizing State Bar fees made several other changes
By Chris Micheli
Last week, Gov. Jerry Brown signed Assembly Bill 3249, the State Bar bill. The bill amends over 100 various statutory provisio...
Ethics/Professional Responsibility, Law Practice
Tips for attorneys who are addressing disputes over advance fees
By David M. Majchrzak, Heather L. Rosing
Given the requirement to promptly refund unearned advance fees, once the disputed funds are identified and segregated, lawyers...
Criminal, Judges and Judiciary, U.S. Supreme Court
A seasoned prosecutor versus a sexual assault victim?
By Elana R. Levine
We have a seasoned prosecutor cross-examining a victim of a violent crime for the whole country to see. Yet, the cross-examina...
Appellate Practice, California Supreme Court, Judges and Judiciary
Working without Werdegar
By Kirk C. Jenkins
Dive into some California Supreme Court statistics to examine how the retirement Justice Kathryn M. Werdgar— which has led to ...
“Norman Mailer: The Sixties: A Library of America Boxed Set” (2018) shows Mailer as really one of the inventors of what came ...
Alternative Dispute Resolution
Informed consent in mediations taking place in California
By Phyllis G. Pollack
The almost absolute protection for mediation confidentiality stems from California’s Evidence Code Sections 1115-1128 enacted ...
Civil Rights, Law Practice
Strides for LGBT attorneys over the years: A personal perspective
By William E. Weinberger
In this column, and those to follow, I will explore these issues, along with interviews of LGBT judges, corporate in-house co...
Every witness could be lying, or not, to tell the truth.
Labor/Employment, Civil Litigation, U.S. Supreme Court, Litigation & Arbitration
Another big term for arbitration at the Roberts court
By Joseph R. Palmore
This term, the Supreme Court is poised, again, to issue decisions on the enforceability of arbitration agreements.
Civil Rights, Labor/Employment, U.S. Supreme Court
Title VII also bans sexual orientation discrimination
By Joshua C. Williams
This term, the Supreme Court has an opportunity to protect more Americans from discrimination based on sexual orientation.
Criminal, Native Americans, U.S. Supreme Court
A prisoner in his own land?
By Tim Evans
A Native American prisoner case up for U.S. Supreme Court review could create jurisdictional shifts in eastern Oklahoma -- or ...
California Supreme Court, Probate
Probate court closed to disinherited trust beneficiaries
By Denise E. Chambliss, James R. Cummins
In a case of first impression, a California Court of Appeal recently held that only trustees and beneficiaries under a current...