California Pulse


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    Supermicro Lawyers Up After Founder, 2 Others Indicted

    Super Micro Computer Inc. has hired Munger Tolles & Olson LLP to conduct an independent investigation and assigned its general counsel to lead an internal compliance review after the company's founder and two associates were indicted last month for allegedly exporting banned technology to China.

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    ABA, State Bars Blast DOJ Proposal To Block Bar Probes

    The American Bar Association and a chorus of state and local bar groups have come out against a proposed rule that would allow the U.S. Department of Justice to pause and review state-level ethics complaints against its attorneys, calling the proposal "unlawful and unconstitutional."

  • $8.7M FCA Whistleblower Attys Award Too High, 9th Circ. Says

    The Ninth Circuit held Monday that a district court's award of $8.7 million in fees and expenses to attorneys representing a whistleblower who claimed Academy Mortgage submitted false insurance claims was too high, saying the case is not "exceptional," and the court didn't justify its lodestar multiplier of 1.75.

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    Simpson Thacher Hires 3 Attys For Sports Practice 

    Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP announced Tuesday that it has added three attorneys to its mergers and acquisitions team, two of whom will lead its sports, media and entertainment practice.

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    BakerHostetler Adds Davis Wright Privacy Pro In LA

    BakerHostetler announced Tuesday it has welcomed data privacy litigator Spencer Persson from Davis Wright Tremaine to its digital assets and data management practice group as partner, bringing in years of experience handling high-stakes privacy matters that will beef up the firm's privacy and digital risk class action and litigation team. 

  • Calif. Atty Apologizes, Blames OpenCase For False Citations

    A California attorney has filed a response to an order for potential sanctions over his alleged use of artificial intelligence, which resulted in false citations, saying the hallucinations appeared in a later draft after using OpenCase to perform a cite check.

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    Calif. Lawmakers Advance Bill To Curtail PE Role In Litigation

    A California bill to ban corporate investors from influencing litigation strategy is heading to the state Senate, backed by bipartisan support from the Assembly.

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    Latham Adds DLA Piper Real Estate, Data Center Pro In LA

    Latham & Watkins LLP is adding to its West Coast team, bringing in a DLA Piper real estate pro with experience in data center transactions as a partner in its Los Angeles office.

  • Clyde & Co. Adds Kennedys Insurance Expert To LA Office

    Clyde & Co. LLP has announced the continued upscaling of its U.S. operations with the addition of insurance litigation expert Shain Wasser from Kennedys as partner in its Los Angeles office, helping the firm strengthen its North American insurance and complex litigation capabilities. 

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    McGuireWoods Adds Seyfarth Shaw Labor Litigator In LA

    McGuireWoods LLP continues its West Coast expansion, announcing Monday it is bringing in a Seyfarth Shaw LLP labor and employment litigator as a partner in its Los Angeles office.

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    Lowenstein Sandler Hires CFO Formerly With Paul Weiss

    Lowenstein Sandler LLP announced Monday that it has hired a new chief financial officer with over 20 years of experience in the field from Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP.

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    Mid-Law Led The Way On 1st Quarter Law Firm Mergers

    U.S. law firms announced 25 combinations during the first quarter of 2026, according to the Law360 Pulse Merger Tracker. Of those, the vast majority involved a midsize law firm acquiring a smaller firm.

  • Can State Courts Tame The 'Wild West' Of Judicial Security?

    As threats against local judges continue to ramp up, protection and incident tracking varies not only from state to state but county to county, making it difficult to draw the national judicial security landscape. Now, lawmakers are looking to use federal resources to even out disparities.

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    Law Firms Weigh ChatGPT As New Advertising Platform

    New advertising options on the artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT have piqued the interest of some law firms, but most are still in a wait-and-see mode as a pilot ad program remains in testing.

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    Barnes & Thornburg Snags PFAS Expert From Venable

    Barnes & Thornburg LLP is beefing up its product liability and mass torts practice with the addition of a Venable LLP partner known for representing and counseling companies in environmental and toxic tort-related matters, including issues involving so-called forever chemicals, the firm announced Thursday.

  • Schneider Wallace Loses Bid For Bigger Piece Of $75M Fee

    A California federal magistrate judge on Friday rejected Schneider Wallace Cottrell Kim LLP's bid to increase its cut of a $75.4 million fee award for representing plaintiffs in a $228.5 million Sutter Health antitrust deal, saying lead counsel Constantine Cannon LLP's allocation of $1.4 million to Schneider Wallace was fair.

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    From IP To IMDB: This Atty Plays A Lawyer On TV Too

    While Tremayne Norris was in Hollywood with a recurring role playing a lawyer on Netflix’s "The Lincoln Lawyer," he was also making partner at a real litigation boutique in New York City.

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    Carlton Fields' CEO On How Firm Has Lasted 125 Years

    Earlier this year, Florida-based Carlton Fields LLP announced that the firm is celebrating its 125th anniversary, an occasion Gary Sasso, longtime president and chief executive officer, said is especially notable considering all the different historical and industry challenges that have presented themselves during that time.

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    Manning Kass Names Orange County Co-Managing Partners

    National litigation firm Manning & Kass Ellrod Ramirez Trester LLP has announced new leadership in its Orange County, California, office with a trial attorney with more than a decade at the firm and the office's founder teaming up to serve as co-managing partners.

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    Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

    Alliance Defending Freedom, Pearman Law Firm PC and attorney Barry Arrington lead this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a Colorado ban on therapy intended to change a minor's sexual orientation or gender identity amounts to viewpoint discrimination against a Christian therapist.

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    Legal Sector Lost 700 Jobs In March, Ending Hiring Streak

    The legal sector began to slow down in March after a year and a half straight of gains, with 700 fewer people employed in lawyer, paralegal and other law-related professional roles last month than in February, according to seasonally adjusted data released Friday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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    Senior Lawyers Survey: Tell Us About Your Career

    How are senior lawyers adapting to evolving career paths and emerging technologies? Share your perspective in this five-minute survey.

  • Law360 Announces The Members Of Its 2026 Editorial Boards

    Law360 is pleased to announce the formation of its 2026 Editorial Advisory Boards.

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    Why These Senior Attorneys Can't Quit Being Lawyers

    Slightly more than 1 out of 8 lawyers in the United States were age 65 or older in 2025. Law360 Pulse spoke with several senior attorneys who said they plan to continue working full time, finding the job to still be professionally and personally rewarding.

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    The Gray Exit: Senior Attorneys Confront A New Legal Reality

    BigLaw's upper ranks were long anchored by partners who extended their careers deep into older age. But in a post-pandemic market shaped by tighter economics and stricter succession planning, federal labor data suggest that late-career longevity has stalled.

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Expert Analysis

  • Venture Capital Practices Can Improve Law Firm Lateral Hiring Author Photo

    As law firms pursue increasingly ambitious growth goals in a competitive market for talent, they should consider supplementing traditional lateral hiring due diligence with practices inspired by the venture capitalist framework, says Henry O’Connor at Jones Walker.

  • 5 Litigation Funding Trends To Note In 2026 Author Photo

    After a pivotal year for the legal industry, lawyers and their clients face an evolving litigation finance landscape in 2026 that will be shaped by developments ranging from new policies governing patent lawsuits to the reemergence of appellate monetization funding, says Jeffery Lula at GLS Capital.

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    Biz Development Tip Of The Month: Think Like A Waiter Author Photo

    To convert casually interested restaurant patrons into satisfied, repeat customers, a good waiter relies on four service-oriented habits that proactive attorneys can borrow to cultivate lasting client relationships, say attorneys at Maynard Nexsen.

  • 6 Strategies To Set Up New CCOs For Success Author Photo

    As demand for chief compliance officers rises among a growing range of complex issues, organizations looking to hire and retain top-notch CCOs can adopt a series of strategies including defining success metrics and allowing the CCO to build a team, says Cara Bain at Major Lindsey.

  • Making Legal Cents: How Firms Can Navigate 2026 Trends Author Photo

    From the adoption of artificial intelligence infrastructure to increasing client attrition, a number of trends will likely define the legal industry in 2026, and law firms will need to strategically lean into these shifts to gain a competitive advantage, says Shireen Hilal at Maior Strategic Consulting.

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    Notes From A Partner-In-Charge On Integrating Lateral Talent Author Photo

    When done thoughtfully through three strategies, bringing laterals into the fold can propel growth and create significant business opportunities that enhance the law firm's cultural fabric, says James Sullivan, leader of Alston & Bird's New York office.

  • The Augmented Lawyer: Drafting As AI Alters Admin Of Law Author Photo

    As generative artificial intelligence tools become embedded in mainstream legal practice, they are reshaping the administration of law itself, from how experts document and validate their work to how joint defense teams operate, demanding a new level of contractual clarity and operational discipline, says Karineh Khachatourian at KXT Law.

  • How Attorneys Can Plan Now For Biz Dev Success In 2026 Author Photo

    As the year winds down and the pace of work slows, attorneys should reflect on what did and didn’t work to generate business in 2025, and start mapping out their 2026 business development plan now to set themselves up for success, says Ezra Crawford at Crowell.

  • How Firms Can Retain Rainmakers, Now And All Year Long Author Photo

    Though firm leaders feel the most urgency about retaining rainmakers now, during compensation season, effective retention strategies are preemptive and year-round efforts anchored in meaningful support, tactical execution and credible follow-through, says Tom Orewyler at TO Comms.

  • What GCs Value Most: 7 Ways To Earn Clients' Trust Author Photo

    Trust is the foundation of any great client relationship, but it isn’t built overnight or maintained passively — rather, counsel must consistently show up in small but important ways to become the trusted partner clients rely on when judgment matters most, says Andrew Dick at The L Suite.

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    Biz Development Tip Of The Month: Make An Onboarding Plan Author Photo

    The investment required for a personalized client onboarding plan is minimal, but the return on investment — measured in client satisfaction, relationship strength and longevity, client referrals, and other business development opportunities — can be extraordinary, says John Reed at Rain BDM.

  • Law Firm Content Strategies To Stay Competitive In 2026 Author Photo

    A number of trends will continue to reshape how people search, consume and trust information next year, and law firms will need to adopt forward-thinking content strategies — from generative engine optimization to interactive legal tools — to stand out, says Elizabeth Lampert at Elizabeth Lampert PR and Nancy Myrland at Myrland Marketing and Social Media.

  • What Law Firm Liability Risks In 2025 Signal For Year To Come Author Photo

    Trends and statistics reveal that law firms of all sizes and practice areas remained attractive litigation targets this year, so firms must take concrete steps to avoid professional liability risks in the year to come, say Douglas Richmond and Andrew Ricke at Lockton Companies.

  • 5 New Archetypes Of Legal Talent For The Age Of AI Author Photo

    New job archetypes are rapidly replacing the traditional model of the lawyer as artificial intelligence proliferates, and to remain competitive, firms will need to embrace the diverse portfolio of talent required to navigate, design and critique algorithmic systems, says Dmitri Mehlhorn at Atoll Society.

  • A Closer Look At 5 Types Of Legal Management Services Orgs Author Photo

    Legal management services organizations, which outsource the administrative aspects of law firms to separate entities, are poised to disrupt the industry in the year to come, so firms and attorneys should consider the advantages and disadvantages of several MSO models, say Frederick Shelton and Ayven Dodd at Shelton & Steele.

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