California Pulse


  • p&a san diego group photo.jpg

    Peckar & Abramson Expands To San Diego With 4-Atty Hire

    Peckar & Abramson PC announced that it has launched a San Diego office after hiring a four-attorney group who specialize in construction law and government contracts.

  • iStock-1447084057.jpg

    BigLaw C-Suites Are Going In On AI And Innovation Roles

    Artificial intelligence and innovation chief roles have gained the most traction at the largest U.S. law firms over the last three years, while the chief knowledge officer title is decreasing in popularity, a Law360 Pulse analysis found.

  • 2_up_SM.png

    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.

  • American_Bar_Association_Garland_04555.jpg

    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.

  • 3_up_ST.png

    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.

  • spencer-s-persson.png

    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.

  • iStock-2226690705.jpg

    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.

  • Sergent_Kaila_93666_576127_Los Angeles_Portrait.jpg

    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. 

  • Leo Q. Li McGuireWoods.png

    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.

  • Stephanie Godfrey.png

    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.

  • iStock-2245222143.jpg

    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.

  • Icon_of_Chat_GPT_on_screen_of_iphone_98647.jpg

    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.

  • webb-joo-cha.jpg

    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.

  • The Lincoln Lawyer.jpg

    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.

  • Carlton Fields Gary Sasso_.png

    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.

  • 2_up_MK.png

    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.

  • LegalLions.png

    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.

  • iStock-815728412.jpg

    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.

  • Law360 Announces The Members Of Its 2026 Editorial Boards

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

  • iStock-2161728132.jpg

    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.

Can't find the article you're looking for? Click here to search the California Pulse archive.
James Mills tribute

Expert Analysis

  • Fla. Bar's Cyber Incident Response Plan Sets Precedent Author Photo

    The incident response plan developed by the Florida Bar's cybersecurity and privacy committee might not seem all that consequential, but it's a long overdue framework that could go a long way toward protecting the highly sensitive data law firms handle — and could even set a model for other professional organizations to follow, says Chris Boehm at Zero Networks.

  • Why Attorneys Should Write About Justices' Minority Opinions Author Photo

    Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson’s searing dissents this past term serve as a reminder for attorneys to analyze U.S. Supreme Court minority opinions in their thought leadership for three key reasons, says Jessica Kaplan at Legally Penned.

  • 3 Business Development Lessons From Mozart's 'Magic Flute' Author Photo

    Mozart’s opera “The Magic Flute” offers a useful framework for attorneys to build relationships and develop new business, inspired by Prince Tamino’s curiosity, courage and consistency, says Paul Manuele at PR Manuele Consulting.

  • 5 Ways Legal Teams Can Use KPIs To Quantify Their Value Author Photo

    As in-house legal departments are increasingly expected to do more with less, developing a thoughtful framework to measure key performance indicators can help them both maximize and demonstrate their contribution to business success, say co-founders at New Era ADR.

  • Series

    Defining The Culture For A Legal Nonprofit Author Photo

    We co-founded The International Academy of Financial Crime Litigators to connect leading trial lawyers, litigation experts and academics, and our experience has shown that embracing opportunity, responding fearlessly to market realities, and relentlessly defining the organization’s culture have all been integral to success, say Stéphane Bonifassi, Lincoln Caylor and Elizabeth Ortega.

  • 5 Emerging Themes Shaping Lateral Partner Moves This Year Author Photo

    A few key trends have arisen in partners’ lateral movements in the first half of 2025, reflecting a legal market defined by macroeconomic uncertainty, shifts in firm structures and rising scrutiny of firm affiliations, say legal recruiters at Macrae.

  • Series

    Biz Development Tip Of The Month: Be A Mentor Or Mentee Author Photo

    Mentorship is a powerful tool for business development when both mentors and mentees approach their relationships with strategic purpose, ensuring professional success while supporting broader business goals, say Angela Liu at Dechert and Jessica Lewis at WilmerHale.

  • 4 Biz Dev Steps For Attys Who Don't Know What They Want Author Photo

    Junior attorneys are increasingly expected to start building books of business while they are still figuring out their long-term career goals, but a few pointers can help young lawyers develop business even when they’re uncertain about their future direction, says Lana Manganiello at Practice Growth Partner.

  • Protecting Client Funds From Cyberattacks Author Photo

    As cyberattacks on law firms continue to escalate, bar associations, law firms and individual lawyers must all take steps to protect client funds in attorney trust accounts — from imposing cyber hygiene mandates to reimagining malpractice coverage — because once that money is gone, it’s generally gone for good, says Michael Epstein at The Epstein Law Firm.

  • Making Legal Cents: For Billing, Think Value, Not Time Author Photo

    Pricing strategy is one of the most consistently discussed but underleveraged tools in a firm's arsenal, and rather than keeping hourly billing because it's easy, firms should consider their differentiators when structuring more effective fee models, says Shireen Hilal at Maior Consultants.

  • Series

    Achieving Organic Growth For A Legal Nonprofit Author Photo

    We started Law Rocks to promote music education for underprivileged youth and raise funds for local nonprofits, and our 15-year journey has shown that enthusiasm, persistence and a great network can lead to a surprising amount of organic growth, say Nick Child and Ted Scott at Secretariat.

  • Series

    Biz Development Tip Of The Month: Engage With The Media Author Photo

    Business development is all about awareness — and by taking existing skills and adapting them to build media relationships and thereby address today's audiences, lawyers can expand their outreach and use thought leadership to build a more complete, compelling personal brand, says Michael Goodwin at Stanton PR.

  • What GCs Value Most: 7 Habits Of Great Relationship Partners Author Photo

    When seeking outside legal advisers, general counsel want commercially savvy lawyers who cultivate relationships of trust with their in-house counterparts, back up the GC's authority and focus on actionable advice instead of abstract legal analysis, say Andrew Dick at The L Suite and Rob Morvillo at Olo.

  • Roundup

    Nonprofit Launch Tips From Founders In The Legal Industry Author Photo

    In this season of giving, take a look back at this Law360 series featuring legal professionals who have founded industry-related nonprofits. They discussed the biggest challenges to getting started, and how to balance the launch and management of an organization along with the demands of their primary work.

  • Series

    Generating Confidence In A Legal Nonprofit Author Photo

    I started LawWithoutWalls to change the way legal professionals see and think about their world, and it taught me the importance of giving people a reason to believe in your nonprofit mission, as well as how to achieve work-life integration, says Michele DeStefano at the University of Miami.

×

Law360

Law360 Law360 UK Law360 Tax Authority Law360 Employment Authority Law360 Insurance Authority Law360 Real Estate Authority Law360 Healthcare Authority Law360 Bankruptcy Authority

Rankings

NEWLeaderboard Analytics Social Impact Leaders Prestige Leaders Pulse Leaderboard Women in Law Report Law360 400 Diversity Snapshot Rising Stars Summer Associates

National Sections

Modern Lawyer Courts Daily Litigation In-House Mid-Law Legal Tech & AI Small Law Insights

Regional Sections

California Pulse Connecticut Pulse DC Pulse Delaware Pulse Florida Pulse Georgia Pulse New Jersey Pulse New York Pulse Pennsylvania Pulse Texas Pulse

Site Menu

Subscribe Advanced Search About Contact