California Pulse

  • Eastman Denied Stay Of Inactive Status To 'Safeguard' Public

    A State Bar Court of California judge on Wednesday denied a request from Donald Trump's onetime attorney John Eastman to delay placing him on inactive enrollment while he appeals the recommendation for his disbarment, saying he hasn't shown that "he no longer presents a threat to the public."

  • Fed. Judge's Handcuffing Of Girl Was Misconduct, Panel Says

    The Judicial Council of the Ninth Circuit found Wednesday that a California federal judge engaged in judicial misconduct when he ordered that a crying 13-year-old girl in his courtroom be handcuffed, issuing a reprimand for his actions and ordering that the judge not be assigned new criminal cases for three years.

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    How College GCs Are Dealing With Drama Of Protests

    New York City police descended on the Columbia University campus late Tuesday to arrest encamped protesters of the Israel-Gaza war, as general counsel for at least 20 universities across the nation grapple with how best to keep students safe while protecting everyone's free-speech rights.

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    Law Firms See Revenue Soar Amid Rate Hikes

    Law firm revenue soared by 9.5% during the first quarter of 2024, buoyed by a nearly comparable hike in billing rates compared to the similar period in 2023, according to a new report from Wells Fargo's legal specialty group.

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    CLO, Execs Ousted From Orthopedics Co. Seek Arbitration

    Three executives, including a chief legal officer whose alleged "repeated inappropriate and offensive conduct" led to his firing by spine and orthopedics company Orthofix Medical Inc. last year, have launched wrongful termination arbitration claims in California seeking severance payments and damages.

  • Former Calif. Law Student's ADA Suit Gets Tossed

    A California federal judge has thrown out a long-running suit by a former student at the John F. Kennedy College of Law's Northern California campus, who accused the university of failing to provide the pro se litigant with reasonable accommodations, finding the student received more help than he requested.

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    How BakerHostetler Made A Home In SF's Iconic Pyramid

    When BakerHostetler closed its new shop in San Francisco's Transamerica Pyramid in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, office leader Robb Adkins was concerned about recruiting. But the firm has since seen a five-old increase in attorneys and staff there, and recently signed a five-year lease renewal.

  • The Top In-House Hires Of April

    Legal department hires during the past few weeks included high-profile appointments at Sony Pictures, TikTok and IBM. Here, Law360 Pulse looks at some of the top in-house announcements from April.

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    Yoga Lawyer: A Way of Being In The (Legal) World

    More than a decade ago, a stressful job and a pile of physical ailments prompted attorney Cindy Pensoneau to take a deep dive into yoga. Today, she continues to work as both a lawyer and as a yoga teacher, illustrating the growing role that the ancient mind-body practice can play in improving attorney mental health.

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    GCs Help Companies Close The Gap On Mental Health Efforts

    While they wait for their companies to implement more wellness policies that reach the root causes of employees’ stress and burnout, some general counsel and chief legal officers are filling the gap to help their law teams feel more supported.

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    Here's Why This GC Went Public With Her Bipolar Diagnosis

    Kelly Rentzel, who has held several general counsel positions throughout her career, largely credits her law degree for giving her the confidence to talk publicly about her bipolar diagnosis — which is something she had contemplated for two decades before taking the initial steps that ultimately led her to a lectern.

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    Ex-Edison Energy GC, McDermott Atty Joins Troutman In LA

    Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP is expanding its West Coast infrastructure team, announcing Tuesday it is bringing in a McDermott Will & Emery LLP emerging energy technologies expert who was previously general counsel with Edison Energy Group to be a partner in its Los Angeles office.

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    Womble Bond Promotes UK Partner To Innovation Chief

    Womble Bond Dickinson in the U.K. has elevated partner and head of innovation Sam Dixon to chief innovation officer, the transatlantic law firm announced earlier this week.

  • 9th Circ. Says Calif. Bar Didn't Violate Student's Fed. Rights

    The Ninth Circuit on Tuesday affirmed the dismissal of an octogenarian law school student's claims that the State Bar of California violated his 14th Amendment protected rights when it refused to excuse his delay in taking a first-year exam, saying the California Supreme Court has original jurisdiction over admission matters.

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    A&O Shearman Faces Challenge To Unify Distinct Markets

    As the newly combined Allen Overy Shearman Sterling launches Wednesday, so far the signs are that the biggest merger in the sector in a decade may leave two distinct markets operating on either side of the Atlantic.

  • Conn. Firm Settles Copyright Feuds Over Website Photos

    The Connecticut consumer law firm Lemberg Law LLC and its managing attorney have agreed to settle two suits tied to a multistate copyright battle with a stock photo provider that arose in 2020 after the firm was accused of using images on its website without permission, and then countered that it was the victim of an extortion attempt.

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    Husch Blackwell Adds Labor & Employment Litigator In LA

    Husch Blackwell LLP announced Tuesday that it is expanding its labor and employment team, adding a litigator who ran his own firm for nearly a decade as partner to its Los Angeles office.

  • ABA Knocks Down 'Implausible' Data Breach Class Action

    The American Bar Association members suing the organization over a data breach have not identified any security measures the ABA failed to take, a New York federal judge said Tuesday when nixing what the organization called the members' "implausible" proposed class action.

  • Know Your AI Tools' Limits, Silicon Valley Arbitrators Warn

    All participants in an arbitration proceeding that incorporates artificial intelligence are responsible for understanding the tech's use and limitations, according to guidelines released Tuesday by the Silicon Valley Arbitration & Mediation Center.

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    Squire Patton Taps Leader For New Insurance Disputes Group

    Squire Patton Boggs LLP has created a new practice that brings together its long-standing dispute work for insurance companies, naming a partner who represents some of the largest U.S. insurance companies to lead the new practice, the firm said Tuesday.

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    Return To Office Poses Pitfalls For Atty Mental Health

    As a therapist specialized in treating lawyers, Stacey Dougan hears a lot about law firm politics, addiction and the career's overwhelming demands. But lately, her clients have been bringing up a new source of anxiety: returning to the office.

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    Ethics Probes Take Mental Toll On Solo, Small Firm Attorneys

    Facing a disciplinary complaint can take a toll on any attorney’s mental health. But for solo practitioners and small firm lawyers, who typically juggle all aspects of their business from handling client matters to administrative tasks like managing trust accounts, it can threaten to upend their lives.

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    Mid-Law Not Immune To Structural Mental Health Challenges

    Despite the common narrative that lawyers can trade higher pay for better well-being and work-life balance by moving to smaller firms, experts say that Mid-Law firms are generally facing the same industry pressures that contribute to long hours, stress and poor attorney mental health.

  • Atty, Pot Entrepreneurs Get Conspiracy Claims Thrown Out

    A California state appeals court has thrown out claims against a group of attorneys and cannabis entrepreneurs that they were part of a "straw man practice" conspiracy to monopolize the San Diego cannabis market, finding the complaint failed to allege they did anything illegal.

  • A&O Shearman Names UK And US Managing Partners

    Allen & Overy LLP and Shearman & Sterling LLP named on Tuesday the partners set to lead the soon-to-be merged A&O Shearman for the U.S. and U.K. markets.

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Expert Analysis

  • Learning How To Code Can Unleash New Potential In Lawyers Author Photo

    Every lawyer can begin incorporating aspects of software development in their day-to-day practice with little to no changes in their existing tools or workflow, and legal organizations that take steps to encourage this exploration of programming can transform into tech incubators, says George Zalepa at Greenberg Traurig.

  • Supporting Associates Amid Pandemic's Mental Health Toll Author Photo

    As junior associates increasingly report burnout, work-life conflict and loneliness during the pandemic, law firms should take tangible actions to reduce the stigma around seeking help, and to model desired well-being behaviors from the top down, say Stacey Whiteley at the New York State Bar Association and Robin Belleau at Kirkland.

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    Ask A Mentor: Should My Law Firm Take On An Apprentice? Author Photo

    Mentoring a law student who is preparing for the bar exam without attending law school is an arduous process that is not for everyone, but there are also several benefits for law firms hosting apprenticeship programs, says Jessica Jackson, the lawyer guiding Kim Kardashian West's legal education.

  • The Importance Of Client Engagement In Law Firm Innovation Author Photo

    As clients increasingly want law firms to serve as innovation platforms, firms must understand that there is no one-size-fits-all approach — the key is a nimble innovation function focused on listening and knowledge sharing, says Mark Brennan at Hogan Lovells.

  • The Unique Challenges Facing Women-Owned Law Firms Author Photo

    In addition to establishing their brand from scratch, women who start their own law firms must overcome inherent bias against female lawyers and convince prospective clients to put aside big-firm preferences, says Joel Stern at the National Association of Minority and Women Owned Law Firms.

  • The Pursuit Of Wellness In BigLaw: Lessons From My Journey Author Photo

    Jane Jeong at Cooley shares how grueling BigLaw schedules and her own perfectionism emotionally bankrupted her, and why attorneys struggling with burnout should consider making small changes to everyday habits.

  • Why We Must Recruit And Advance More Black Prosecutors Author Photo

    Black Americans make up a disproportionate percentage of the incarcerated population but are underrepresented among elected prosecutors, so the legal community — from law schools to prosecutor offices — must commit to addressing these disappointing demographics, says Erika Gilliam-Booker at the National Black Prosecutors Association.

  • Series

    Ask A Mentor: How Can Associates Deal With Overload? Author Photo

    Young lawyers overwhelmed with a crushing workload must tackle the problem on two fronts — learning how to say no, and understanding how to break down projects into manageable parts, says Jay Harrington at Harrington Communications.

  • A Scientific Path For Improving Diversity At Law Firms Author Photo

    Law firms could combine industrial organizational psychology and machine learning to study prospective hires' analytical thinking, stress response and similar attributes — which could lead to recruiting from a more diverse candidate pool, say Ali Shahidi and Bess Sully at Sheppard Mullin.

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    Ask A Mentor: How Can Associates Seek More Assignments? Author Photo

    In the first installment of Law360 Pulse's career advice guest column, Meela Gill at Weil offers insights on how associates can ask for meaningful work opportunities at their firms without sounding like they are begging. 

  • Legal Sector Regulatory Reform Is Key To Closing Justice Gap Author Photo

    In order to improve access to justice for those who cannot afford a lawyer, states should consider regulatory innovations, such as allowing new forms of law firm ownership and permitting nonlawyers to provide certain legal services, says Patricia Lee Refo, president of the American Bar Association.

  • How Attys Can Guard Against Rising Settle-And-Sue Claims Author Photo

    Certain precautions can help lawyers avoid post-settlement malpractice claims and create a solid evidentiary defense, as settle-and-sue lawsuits rise amid pandemic-induced dispute settlements, say Bethany Kristovich and Jeremy Beecher at Munger Tolles.

  • What I Learned As A Virtual Summer Associate Author Photo

    It is necessary in a virtual law firm summer program to think twice about asking questions you may be able to answer on your own, but this independence and other aspects of a remote internship may help to instill habits that would be useful for future full-time associates, says law student Kelley Sheehan, who interned at Patterson & Sheridan this summer.

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