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California

  • September 12, 2025

    DOJ Fights To Keep LA Sanctuary Policy Lawsuit Alive

    The government urged a California federal judge on Thursday to reject Los Angeles' bid to dismiss its lawsuit over the city's immigration sanctuary ordinance, claiming the law discriminates against immigration agents, is preempted by federal law and is not protected by the 10th Amendment. 

  • September 12, 2025

    Contract Claims Trimmed In Missile Antenna Seizure Fight

    A federal judge has granted the U.S. government's bid to dismiss breach of contract claims a California company brought after Air Force officials seized surplus missile antennas it was trying to sell, but said the government must face a takings claim.

  • September 12, 2025

    Off The Bench: NCAA Athlete Ban, WNBA Sun Controversy

    In this week's Off The Bench, the NCAA administered permanent bans to three basketball players and two high-profile politicians warned the WNBA it could be at risk of violating antitrust laws if it interferes in the sale of the Connecticut Suns.

  • September 12, 2025

    Appeals Courts Rethink Harsh Youth Sentences, Search Rules

    State appellate courts across the country have issued major criminal law opinions this year, softening some of the harshest sentences for young defendants while shifting rules for searches and evidence collection.

  • September 12, 2025

    Buyers Seek Final OK In $1.5M Rust-Oleum Greenwashing Suit

    A class alleging that Rust-Oleum Corp. has been "greenwashing" its cleaning products with labels claiming they are "non-toxic" and "Earth Friendly" is asking a California federal court to grant final approval of a $1.5 million settlement to resolve the suit.

  • September 12, 2025

    Hagens Berman Doubles Down On AI-Tainted Brief Correction

    Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP said that the firm has an ethical duty to correct briefs tainted by artificial intelligence errors and that the corrected versions shouldn't be stricken from a proposed class action against online platform OnlyFans' parent company.

  • September 12, 2025

    Calif. Bill Blocking Fee Sharing With ABS Firms Heads To Gov.

    A bill heading to California Gov. Gavin Newsom's desk is poised to tighten rules to restrict alternative business structure law firms from operating in the Golden State by blocking lawyers from sharing fees with out-of-state firms owned by non-lawyers.

  • September 12, 2025

    LA Lawyer Disbarred For Overcharging Inmate Clients

    The Golden State's Supreme Court has disbarred a Los Angeles attorney who repeatedly collected "unconscionable legal fees" after misleading inmate clients about their chances for resentencing, the State Bar of California has announced.

  • September 12, 2025

    Frost Adds In-House Compliance Pro As New Group Leader

    Frost LLP has added an experienced former chief compliance officer and in-house counsel to serve as the leader of its new investigations, compliance and privacy practice.

  • September 12, 2025

    Calif. Court Refuses To Block Climate Reporting Rules, Again

    A California federal court judge would not bar two new state climate disclosure regulations while a coalition of business groups takes its bid for an injunction up to the Ninth Circuit, saying his perspective hasn't shifted since the groups' last injunction request. 

  • September 12, 2025

    Davis Wright Adds Stradling Yocca M&A Pro In LA

    Davis Wright Tremaine LLP is boosting its Southern California corporate team, bringing in a Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth PC mergers and acquisitions expert as a partner in its Los Angeles office.

  • September 11, 2025

    Uber Sued By Feds, Accused Of Disability-Based Bias

    The federal government Thursday hauled Uber Technologies Inc. into a federal court in San Francisco, accusing the transportation company of discriminating against riders with disabilities, including by allegedly refusing service to individuals traveling with service animals or using stowable wheelchairs.

  • September 11, 2025

    Retired Federal Judges Throw Shade On Shadow Docket

    Retired federal judges speaking at a Federal Bar Association panel in California Thursday criticized the U.S. Supreme Court's increasing use of "shadow docket" emergency rulings that offer little or no explanation, with retired Ninth Circuit Judge Paul Watford saying the high court has "an obligation to give more of a ruling."

  • September 11, 2025

    9th Circ. Says News Article Doesn't Doom Biotronik FCA Suit

    The Ninth Circuit revived a False Claims Act suit alleging that Biotronik orchestrated an illicit compensation scheme to boost the implantation of its cardiac devices in patients at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, saying the whistleblower's complaint presents new information that is not barred by fraud allegations disclosed in an earlier news article.

  • September 11, 2025

    Girardi's Atty, Judge Debate If His Conviction Is 'Debatable'

    A California federal judge pushed back Thursday on arguments by Tom Girardi's lawyer that he should be free on bond while he appeals his wire fraud conviction, saying that debating the case doesn't automatically mean it raises "fairly debatable" questions sufficient to meet the Ninth Circuit's standard for remaining free on appeal.

  • September 11, 2025

    Capital One Sues FDIC Over $149M SVB Bailout Charge

    Capital One has sued the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. in Virginia federal court challenging a $149 million charge in a special assessment levied by the agency as part of an effort to recoup losses from the 2023 regional banking crisis, saying the FDIC improperly included certain data in its calculation of the special assessment.

  • September 11, 2025

    BofA Still Can't Block Exec Depositions In COVID Fraud MDL

    A California federal judge has refused to rethink his earlier order requiring Bank of America NA's CEO and former chief operating officer to sit for depositions in multidistrict litigation over alleged security failures at the bank during the COVID-19 pandemic, ruling the bank hasn't shown he erred.

  • September 11, 2025

    Google's 'Failure To Communicate' In AI Fight Irks IP Judge

    A California magistrate judge presiding over discovery in a proposed class action alleging Google's artificial-intelligence training models infringed artists' copyrights on Thursday refused, for now, to appoint a special master after plaintiffs accused Google of delaying data production by months, but she expressed frustrations with Google counsel's "failure to communicate."

  • September 11, 2025

    SEC Sues Podcast Host, Others Over $82M In Securities Sales

    A trio of allegedly unregistered securities brokers, including a podcaster, are facing a suit from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, alleging they sold unregistered oil and gas securities at the behest of sponsors of the associated unregistered offerings, raising a combined $82 million in exchange for transaction-based compensation.

  • September 11, 2025

    Apparel Co. Accuses Google Of Helping Copyright Infringers

    An apparel company that sells shirts themed around America and competitive drinking sued Google on Thursday in Ohio federal court, claiming the search engine giant assists online retailers that make copycats of its products.

  • September 11, 2025

    Weedmaps Shouldn't Get To Exit Fraud Suit, Investor Says

    Weedmaps Technology Inc., a cannabis tech company that was fined by federal regulators for allegedly misleading investors, shouldn't be allowed to escape an investor-led proposed class action, the lead plaintiff has told a California federal court, saying the company's arguments defy common sense and understandings of the word "engage."

  • September 11, 2025

    9th Circ. Revives 'Beauty' FX Copyright Verdict Against Disney

    The Ninth Circuit on Thursday revived a verdict that Walt Disney Pictures vicariously infringed a digital effects company's facial-motion capture software by using it for the 2017 "Beauty and the Beast" film, saying the tech company presented sufficient evidence for jurors to find Disney could have stopped its effects contractor's infringement.

  • September 11, 2025

    Legal Services Corp. Awards $5.5M To 19 For Pro Bono Work

    Nineteen legal services organizations across 15 states received a total of $5.5 million in awards to support their pro bono services for low-income Americans, the Legal Services Corp. announced Thursday.

  • September 11, 2025

    PTAB To Review Nike Flyknit Patent After Stewart Remand

    The Patent Trial and Appeal Board has agreed to institute review of a patent covering Nike Inc.'s Flyknit line of sneakers, after the acting head of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office revived Skechers' challenge to the patent.

  • September 11, 2025

    DLA Piper Adds Leveraged Finance Partner In LA

    DLA Piper has hired a former Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP attorney as a leveraged finance partner in Los Angeles, where she will also serve as leader of the firm's West Coast fund finance team.

Expert Analysis

  • 2 Approaches To Atty Ethics Liability For Agentic AI Errors

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    As lawyers increasingly use autonomous artificial intelligence agents, disciplinary authorities must decide whether attorney responsibility for an AI-caused legal ethics violation is personal or supervisory, and firms must enact strong policies regarding agentic AI use and supervision, says Grace Wynn at HWG.

  • Health Insurance Kickback Cases Signal Greater Gov't Focus

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    A series of recent indictments by federal prosecutors in California suggests that the Eliminating Kickbacks in Recovery Act is gaining momentum as an enforcement tool against illegal inducement of patient referrals in the realm of commercial health insurance, say attorneys at BakerHostetler.

  • Cos. Face EU, US Regulatory Tension On Many Fronts

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    When the European Union sets stringent standards, companies seeking to operate in the international marketplace must conform to them, or else concede opportunities — but with the current U.S. administration pushing hard to roll back regulations, global companies face an increasing tension over which standards to follow, say attorneys at Baker McKenzie.

  • Series

    Being A Professional Wrestler Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Pursuing my childhood dream of being a professional wrestler has taught me important legal career lessons about communication, adaptability, oral advocacy and professionalism, says Christopher Freiberg at Midwest Disability.

  • 2 Calif. Cases Could Reshape Future Of Trap-And-Trace Suits

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    A California federal judge's recent dismissal of two California Invasion of Privacy Act cases demonstrates an inherent contradiction in pen register and trap-and-trace claims, teeing up a Ninth Circuit appeal that could either breathe new life into such claims or put an end to them outright, says Matthew Pearson at Womble Bond.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Adapting To The Age Of AI

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    Though law school may not have specifically taught us how to use generative artificial intelligence to help with our daily legal tasks, it did provide us the mental building blocks necessary for adapting to this new technology — and the judgment to discern what shouldn’t be automated, says Pamela Dorian at Cozen O'Connor.

  • Ch. 11 Ruling Voiding $2M Litigation Funding Sends A Warning

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    A recent Texas bankruptcy court decision that a postconfirmation litigation trust has no obligations to repay a completely drawn down $2 million litigation funding agreement serves as a warning for estate administrators and funders to properly disclose the intended financing, say attorneys at Kleinberg Kaplan.

  • Tesla Verdict May Set New Liability Benchmarks For AV Suits

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    The recent jury verdict in Benavides v. Tesla is notable not only for a massive payout — including $200 million in punitive damages — but because it apportions fault between the company's self-driving technology and the driver, inviting more scrutiny of automated vehicle marketing and technology, says Michael Avanesian at Avian Law Group.

  • Demystifying The Civil Procedure Rules Amendment Process

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    Every year, an advisory committee receives dozens of proposals to amend the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, most of which are never adopted — but a few pointers can help maximize the likelihood that an amendment will be adopted, says Josh Gardner at DLA Piper.

  • RI Menopause Law Brings New Considerations For Employers

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    Rhode Island becoming the first state to provide express antidiscrimination and accommodation protections for employees' menopause-related conditions may be a bellwether for similar protections in other jurisdictions, so employers should consider that while such benefits may improve recruitment and retention, complications may arise from voluntarily adding them, say attorneys at Proskauer.

  • FTC, CoStar Cases Against Zillow May Have Broad Impact

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    Zillow's partnerships with Redfin and Realtor.com have recently triggered dual fronts of legal scrutiny — an antitrust inquiry from the Federal Trade Commission and a mass copyright infringement suit from CoStar — raising complex questions that reach beyond real estate, says Shubha Ghosh at Syracuse University College of Law.

  • State Crypto Regs Diverge As Federal Framework Dawns

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    Following the Genius Act's passage, states like California, New York and Wyoming are racing to set new standards for crypto governance, creating both opportunity and risk for digital asset firms as innovation flourishes in some jurisdictions while costly friction emerges in others, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.

  • How 2nd Circ. Cannabis Ruling Upends NY Licensing

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    A recent Second Circuit decision in Variscite NY Four v. New York, holding that New York's extra-priority cannabis licensing preference for applicants with in-state marijuana convictions violates the dormant commerce clause, underscores that state-legal cannabis markets remain subject to the same constitutional constraints as other economic markets, say attorneys at Harris Beach.

  • Parenting Skills That Can Help Lawyers Thrive Professionally

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    As kids head back to school, the time is ripe for lawyers who are parents to consider how they can incorporate their parenting skills to build a deep, meaningful and sustainable legal practice, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: September Lessons

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    In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy discusses seven decisions pertaining to attorney fees in class action settlements, the predominance requirement in automobile insurance cases, how the no mootness exception applies if the named plaintiff is potentially subject to a strong individual defense, and more.

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