California Pulse

  • Judge Mulls Axing Biomedical Cos.' $25M Punitive Damages

    Not enough evidence supports Skye Orthobiologics' $25.5 million punitive damages award against an ex-employee found to have breached his fiduciary duties by leveraging Skye's proprietary information, a California federal judge has ruled, asking for briefing on whether the proper remedy is to cut the damages or grant a new trial.

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    Pillsbury Makes Longtime Commitment To 'Iconic' SF Building

    Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP has extended the lease on its San Francisco offices for 11 more years, the firm announced Friday.

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    Arnold & Porter Atty Returns To Greenberg Traurig In Calif.

    Greenberg Traurig LLP has rehired a former associate from Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP whose practice focuses on a range of environmental litigation dealing with cancer-causing chemicals, plastic pollutants and the laws surrounding their regulation.

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    Netflix CLO's Comp Slightly Rose To Nearly $13.7M In 2023

    The longtime legal chief at Netflix Inc. pulled in a yearly compensation package of almost $13.7 million in 2023, a slight uptick from the previous year due in large part to an increase in stock awards, according to a securities filing Thursday.

  • Voir Dire: Law360 Pulse's Weekly Quiz

    The legal industry had another busy week with more lateral hires, partner promotions, new practice group launches, in-house moves and the passing of a trailblazing former Connecticut Supreme Court chief justice. Test your legal news savvy here with Law360 Pulse's weekly quiz.

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    More GCs Champion Legal Operations Amid Tight Budgets

    As in-house legal departments see increases in work and demand while dealing with persistent budget constraints, general counsel are looking to invest in technology and delegate more work to the legal operations role, a new survey found.

  • Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

    Winston & Strawn LLP and attorney Richard Reinthaler lead this week's U.S. Supreme Court-dominated edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after the high court ruled that a corporation's failure to disclose certain information about its future business risks cannot, under certain circumstances, be the basis of a private securities fraud claim.

  • Dunn Can't Nix Fiduciary Breach Charge As Ethics Trial Wraps

    A California state bar judge denied Joseph Dunn's bid at the close of his disciplinary trial Thursday to toss a fiduciary breach charge, rejecting the former state bar executive director's argument that no evidence had been introduced to support the allegation.

  • NFL Can't Call Sunday Ticket Package A 'Luxury' At Trial

    The NFL cannot describe its Sunday Ticket broadcast package as a "luxury" in an upcoming trial over class action antitrust claims that the television bundle is anti-competitive, a California federal judge has ruled.

  • 9th Circ. Says Ex-JPMorgan Worker's Deleted Docs Doom Suit

    The Ninth Circuit refused Thursday to reopen a former JPMorgan Chase & Co. financial adviser's lawsuit alleging he was fired for raising concerns about pushing bank-managed funds to clients, finding nothing wrong with a trial court tossing his case as punishment for deleting hundreds of electronic records.

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    State High Court Shadow Dockets Raise Secrecy Concerns

    Like their counterparts on the U.S. Supreme Court, the justices on some state high courts are working in the shadows when issuing certain decisions, raising fears that their time-saving measures are not worth the cost in transparency.

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    Troutman Pepper, Locke Lord Eye Merger To Buff Focus Areas

    Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP and Locke Lord LLP are in merger talks to create a combined firm with more than 1,600 attorneys and nearly $1.6 billion in revenue, in what appears to be an effort to lock in both firms' leadership in six industry sectors.

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    After 40 Years Solo, Family Law Pro Joins Offit Kurman In LA

    Offit Kurman Attorneys At Law is expanding its California team, announcing Thursday it has brought in a family law specialist who ran her own firm for over 40 years as a principal in its Los Angeles office.

  • 9th Circ. Affirms Rosette's Win In Tribe Representation Fight

    The Ninth Circuit has backed a federal district court ruling that found Rosette LLP is not responsible for using allegedly false advertising to induce the Quechan Tribe to drop Williams & Cochrane LLP as counsel on the verge of closing a lucrative gambling contract.

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    'Barbie' Movie Helps Boost Mattel CLO's Pay Past $3M In 2023

    In a self-described banner year for Mattel Inc., the toy and entertainment company's legal chief saw his 2023 compensation jump by more than $1 million over the previous year, thanks in part to the blockbuster "Barbie" movie, a recent securities filing showed.

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    Constangy Names Partner As DEI Practice Group Co-Leader

    Labor and employment firm Constangy Brooks Smith & Prophete LLP has named a longtime partner with over 25 years of experience representing employers as the new co-leader of its diversity, equity and inclusion practice.

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    Shook Hardy Lands Bicoastal Trial Team From Carlton Fields

    Shook Hardy & Bacon LLP announced Thursday that it has brought on a highly experienced, four-attorney complex litigation team from Carlton Fields that is based in Los Angeles, Miami and Atlanta.

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    Why Are More BigLaw Firms Falling Prey To Cybercriminals?

    BigLaw saw a significant uptick in reporting data breaches, while law firms of all sizes continue to be prime targets for cybercriminals, according to data compiled by Law360 Pulse via extensive public record requests.

  • Nossaman Adds Enviro, Land Use Ace From Calif. Boutique

    Nossaman LLP is expanding its land use team, bringing in an Arnold LaRochelle Mathews VanConas & Zirbel LLP environmental expert as a partner in its Los Angeles office.

  • UC Berkeley Law Dean Vouches For Dunn At Disciplinary Trial

    University of California, Berkeley School of Law Dean Erwin Chemerinsky testified as a character witness Wednesday in attorney Joseph Dunn's disciplinary trial, saying he holds the ousted California State Bar executive director in the highest regard, and his opinion is unlikely to change whatever the trial's outcome.

  • Mintz Sues Parking Meter Co. Over $4.3M IP Legal Bill

    Mintz Levin Cohn Ferris Glovsky and Popeo PC sued parking meter provider Duncan Parking Technologies Inc. and its parent company, CivicSmart Inc., in Massachusetts federal court Tuesday, accusing its former clients of owing $4.3 million in unpaid legal fees and interest for representing CivicSmart in a since-settled patent litigation.

  • Longtime Nossaman Infrastructure Pro Joins Norton Rose

    Norton Rose Fulbright announced that it has hired an experienced attorney who has spent the last 20 years with Nossaman LLP as the firm's new co-head of its U.S. and North American infrastructure teams.

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    Law Firm Lateral Movement Expected To Fall Again In 2024

    After a 31% decline in 2023, lateral law firm movement is expected to dip further in 2024, both at the partner and associate levels, to return closer to prepandemic norms following a period of atypically high movement, according to a new report by Decipher Investigative Intelligence.

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    Lowenstein Sandler Taps ACLU Litigator As Pro Bono Leader

    Lowenstein Sandler LLP on Wednesday announced a change in leadership at its Center for the Public Interest, with a leader at the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey coming aboard as head of the firm's pro bono wing as the center marks its 15th anniversary.

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    Acclaimed Legal Scholar Earns ABA Ethics Award

    The American Bar Association on Wednesday announced that this year's recipient of its Michael Franck Professional Responsibility Award will be Susan Fortney, a Texas A&M University School of Law professor and ethics expert whose research has earned her international recognition.

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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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