California Pulse


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    Retired San Mateo County Judge Joins Signature Resolution

    Alternative dispute resolution service Signature Resolution is bringing in a recently retired San Mateo County judge to join its panel of neutrals.

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    Snapshot: Ex-Prindle Goetz Attys Say Firm Had No Contract

    A dispute over the departure of two former Prindle Goetz Barnes & Reinholtz LLP nonequity partners playing out in California state court is putting a spotlight on the validity of partner contracts when a law firm reorganizes and changes its name.

  • Jeffer Mangels Moves To New Offices In San Francisco

    The San Francisco office of Jeffer Mangels Butler & Mitchell LLP has moved to a new location in the city's Financial District.

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    In Their Words: Will AI Kill The Billable Hour?

    The rising use of generative artificial intelligence tools that allow attorneys to get work done faster is creating tension with the traditional model of billable hours. Here, six legal leaders give their take on whether AI will eliminate the billable hour.

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    MoFo Hires Chief Information Officer From Boston Consulting

    Morrison Foerster LLP has hired a longtime Boston Consulting Group executive, who the firm said in a Thursday announcement will implement its digital and artificial intelligence strategies and will be responsible for its digital transformation initiatives.

  • Tucker Ellis Names 2 Cleveland Attorneys As Practice Leaders

    Tucker Ellis LLP announced Thursday that a pair of experienced Cleveland-based attorneys have been named the firm's newest practice leaders.

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    Law Firm Real Estate Report

    Several law firms in the Mid-Atlantic region experienced a busy month of office moves in August, with New Jersey in particular seeing a number of relocations.

  • Clark Hill Adds Tafapolsky & Smith Immigration Team In SF

    Clark Hill PLC is growing its immigration team, bringing in three Tafapolsky & Smith LLP immigration attorneys in its San Francisco office — two as members, one as a senior attorney — and adding a completely new immigration practice area in the process.

  • IP Atty Beats Temu's Claims He Lied To Bag Settlements

    A Massachusetts federal judge has dismissed Chinese e-commerce platform Temu's lawsuit accusing a California intellectual property attorney of lying to secure settlements for his clients, but the judge refused Wednesday to sanction Temu and its counsel at WilmerHale and Keker Van Nest & Peters LLP for filing a frivolous suit.

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    DOJ To Probe Calif. EPA For Hiring Bias Over Equity Plan

    The U.S. Department of Justice said Wednesday that it has begun investigating whether discrimination has plagued hiring practices in California's Environmental Protection Agency, after raising concerns that the agency's racial equity initiatives could be violating Title VII.

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    In-House Counsel Group Names GE Appliances GC As CEO

    The Association of Corporate Counsel, the largest in-house counsel advocacy association, has named the vice president and general counsel of GE Appliances as its next president and CEO, effective in November, according to a Tuesday announcement.

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    Why This Small-Firm Lawyer Charges $3,000 Per Hour

    As a solo or small firm attorney, would you charge $3,000 per hour? Meet one attorney who does — and learn how his story of ultra-high prices could help you set your own rates.

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    V&E Is Training Associates To Think Like Business People

    Vinson & Elkins LLP has amped up its business development investment with the launch of BD Lab, which encourages associates firmwide to think outside the box with their clients.

  • Norm Ai Teams Up With Stanford University's CodeX

    Legal and compliance platform Norm Ai announced Wednesday that it's joined Stanford University's legal technology hub CodeX as a corporate affiliate member, allowing the startup to exchange research with the lab.

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    Law Firms Saw Strong First Half Of 2025, Wells Fargo Says

    The legal industry saw strong performance during the first six months of 2025, according to a report released Tuesday from the Wells Fargo Legal Specialty Group, with strong growth in revenue largely driven by rising billing rates.

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    Beyond Pay: How To Retain Your Rainmakers

    U.S. law firms are working overtime to keep their top-billing attorneys, as growing profits and higher compensation increase lateral movement.

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    With More Rainmakers On The Go, Firms Pay Them Millions

    Amid a growing gap between the most profitable BigLaw shops and everyone else, top law firms can afford to pay a lot more to lure rainmakers and their practices.

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    Sheppard Mullin Adds Trial Pros From Venable, Kasowitz

    Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP announced Tuesday that it has bolstered its business trial practice group with a partner in Houston who arrived from Kasowitz LLP and a partner in Los Angeles who came aboard from Venable LLP.

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    Buchalter Adds Ex-Carlton Fields Attys To LA Office

    Buchalter has hired two former Carlton Fields attorneys as shareholders for its corporate team in Los Angeles, and one of the announced hires is returning to the firm after almost 30 years.

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    Perkins Coie Grows Litigation Group With Ex-Calif. Deputy SG

    Perkins Coie LLP has continued expanding its litigation team with former state and federal prosecutors, announcing Monday it is bringing in the former deputy solicitor general of California as a partner in its San Diego office.

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    AI Startup Anthropic Picks Legal Legend As GC

    Anthropic, a multibillion-dollar AI startup and public benefit corporation focused on safety, has hired a much-honored California attorney who was special counsel to former President Barack Obama, a corporate chief legal officer and a law clerk to late Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist.

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    PierFerd Co-Founder Talks Hitting 250-Atty Milestone

    A little over a year and a half after launching the firm with commitments from 130 attorneys leaving FisherBroyles, Pierson Ferdinand LLP has reached 250 attorneys, with the founders saying the firm plans to keep growing.

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    Davis Polk Picks Up White & Case Finance Atty In Calif.

    Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP announced Monday that it has added a former White & Case LLP debt finance partner to its Northern California office.

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    Ballooning BigLaw Rates Create Opportunities For Mid-Law

    Some midsize, regional and boutique firms are using their lower rates to attract both clients and lateral attorneys against the backdrop of spiraling BigLaw rates, though there are definite limits to the strategy.

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    Elite Deal Partners Command Rates That Soar Above Peers

    Lawyers who orchestrate massive transactions make up the lion's share of attorneys charging top-tier rates that have broken far away from average billing rates for law firm partners in recent years, experts say.  

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Expert Analysis

  • Series

    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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