California

  • July 01, 2024

    Kilpatrick Taps First Woman Atty To Lead IP Group

    Kilpatrick has elevated a longtime trademark partner based in Atlanta to lead its global intellectual property department, making her the first woman to lead the IP department.

  • July 01, 2024

    Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

    Two multimillion-dollar settlement approvals, a $25 million fee-shifting demand, and a biotech merger spoiled by murder: This was just the beginning of the drama last week in the nation's preeminent court of equity. Shareholders in satellite companies filed new cases, a cannabis company headed toward trial, and there were new developments in old disputes involving Tesla and Truth Social.

  • July 01, 2024

    Apple Scores Some Patent Board Reviews In Watch IP Fight

    Yet another front has opened in Apple's ongoing legal war with a small medical software company that claims the tech giant used its patents in a blood oxygen sensor found in the newer version of the Apple Watch.

  • June 28, 2024

    Chevron's End Is Just The Start For Energized Agency Foes

    By knocking down a powerful precedent that has towered over administrative law for 40 years, the U.S. Supreme Court's right wing Friday gave a crowning achievement to anti-agency attorneys. But for those attorneys, the achievement is merely a means to an end, and experts expect a litigation blitzkrieg to materialize quickly in the aftermath.

  • June 28, 2024

    Real Estate Recap: Camping Ban, Mobile Money, Post-Surfside

    Catch up on this week's key developments by state from Law360 Real Estate Authority — including the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling on an Oregon town's anti-camping ordinance, government incentives for manufactured housing communities, and the progress states have made toward building safety in the three years since the tragic condo collapse in Surfside, Florida.

  • June 28, 2024

    'Nothing Stopping' Collection On $10B Verdict, LA Judge Says

    A Los Angeles judge on Friday decided to amend the judgment from a $10 billion verdict that found business owner Haresh Jogani stole a multibillion-dollar real estate business from his four brothers, awarding stock potentially worth billions to the brothers while dismissing his attorney's objections that the order is not allowed due to Haresh Jogani's appeal.

  • June 28, 2024

    Girardi Wins Bid To Offer Mental Condition Testimony At Trial

    Tom Girardi's defense team can call a doctor to testify at his upcoming trial as to a potential "mental condition" that they say might indirectly have bearing on his intent to defraud clients, a California federal judge ruled Thursday, rejecting prosecutors' argument that the testimony is irrelevant.

  • June 28, 2024

    LawFirms.com Can't Dodge LegalForce's Ad Trademark Suit

    A California federal judge has denied a bid by online legal services website LawFirms.com to escape a trademark suit accusing it of ripping off law firm LegalForce's stylized text and symbol used in advertisements.

  • June 28, 2024

    In Chevron Case, Justices Trade One Unknown For Another

    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision to overrule a decades-old judicial deference doctrine may cause the "eternal fog of uncertainty" surrounding federal agency actions to dissipate and level the playing field in challenges of government policies, but lawyers warn it raises new questions over what rules courts must follow and how judges will implement them.

  • June 28, 2024

    Problems Linger Amid Efforts To Clean Up Debt Firm's Mess

    After the collapse of a California debt relief firm last year amid allegations of fraud, a bankruptcy judge signed off on a plan to allow a new firm to begin providing services for thousands of affected clients. While the new firm has promised to clean up its predecessor’s mess, some consumers say little to nothing has changed, and now enforcement agencies including the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau have started asking questions.

  • June 28, 2024

    Split 9th Circ. Revives Part Of Sprout Baby Food Label Suit

    A California couple suing Sprout Foods over nutrient statements on its baby food pouches can pursue a Golden State law claim but not fraud-based claims, a split Ninth Circuit panel ruled Friday, saying federal law doesn't preempt the state's labeling standards, but the parents haven't shown the products were misleading.

  • June 28, 2024

    PAGA Reforms Clear Calif. Assembly, Head To Newsom's Desk

    California legislators in both the Senate and Assembly overwhelmingly backed big changes to California's Private Attorneys General Act, including an adjustment to how penalties are assessed to employers and awarded to employees, sending the package to Gov. Gavin Newsom's desk.

  • June 28, 2024

    Calif. Panel Won't Toss Trial Win By AT&T's Cricket

    Cricket Communications Inc. won't have to worry about a 2018 jury trial win being kiboshed after a California appeals court ruled that when it overturned a pretrial ruling because a previous judge failed to disclose that he owned AT&T stock, it didn't mean the entire trial should be undone.

  • June 28, 2024

    Inventor Group Backs High Court Bid In Patent Eligibility Case

    A trade group that represents inventors is throwing its hat into the ring to support the latest petition asking the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in on patent eligibility.

  • June 28, 2024

    The NFL Lost Big: What Happened, What Happens Next

    A California federal jury's rebuke of the NFL's Sunday Ticket broadcast package has the league staring down a $4.7 billion class action verdict, prompting experts to wonder why the league was willing to risk a jury trial in the first place and how it will try to overturn the verdict now that it lost.

  • June 28, 2024

    Homeless Advocates Balk As High Court OKs Anti-Camping Ban

    The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Friday that an Oregon city's anti-camping ban doesn't amount to cruel and unusual punishment amid a challenge brought by a class of homeless residents, a move that residents' counsel says paves the way for municipalities to criminalize homelessness.

  • June 28, 2024

    Bitcoin Device Seller Sues Ex-CEO, Alleging $5.3M Fraud

    A California-based crypto mining-farm builder and equipment seller has sued its former CEO in California federal court, alleging that he embezzled roughly $5.3 million, leading to the company's failure to pay multiple vendors in a timely manner.

  • June 28, 2024

    Girardi's Ch. 7 Evidence Fight May Raise Novel Issues

    Tom Girardi told a California federal judge that FBI agents violated his constitutional rights by obtaining evidence from his law firm's bankruptcy trustee without a search warrant, an argument that, if successful, could hamstring prosecutors in his upcoming wire fraud trial and shake up law enforcement's dealings with trustees.

  • June 28, 2024

    Maxeon Was Overreliant On SunPower Sales, Investor Says

    Maxeon Solar Technologies was hit with a proposed shareholder class action alleging that the company concealed that a significant portion of its business depended on exclusive sales of certain products to its former parent company, SunPower Corp., and that a terminated contract between the two would lead to a 41% revenue drop for Maxeon.

  • June 28, 2024

    9th Circ. Backs Mining Co.'s Defeat Of Driver's FMLA Suit

    The Ninth Circuit upheld a mining company's jury win over a truck driver's lawsuit claiming he was fired because he took time off after a workplace injury, saying Friday that employers don't have to rely on medical evidence to challenge a doctor's diagnosis under federal medical leave law.

  • June 28, 2024

    Insurer Says Kennel Expansion Complaints Not Covered

    A Hanover unit told a California federal court that it has no obligation to defend a dog kennel in an underlying lawsuit alleging that the kennel's expansion, which increased capacity from about 20 dogs to 200 dogs, interfered with the community's rights of possession.

  • June 28, 2024

    Tesla Laid Off 14K Workers Without Notice, WARN Suit Says

    Tesla Inc. laid off approximately 14,000 employees without giving them a fair warning required under both federal and California law, a former parts advisor alleges in a putative class action seeking back pay and penalties on the automotive company.

  • June 28, 2024

    Retired Calif. Judge Known For Ethics Work Dies At 87

    Retired Los Angeles County Judge David M. Rothman, known for writing three editions of the California Judicial Conduct Handbook, died Tuesday in Berkeley, California, at age 87.

  • June 28, 2024

    Nixed Purdue Ch. 11 Plan May Leave States Ready For A Fight

    State attorneys general across the country could be gearing up for more opioid-related litigation against the Sackler family after the U.S. Supreme Court wiped out a $5.5 billion third-party release for the owners of bankrupt drugmaker Purdue Pharma LP, experts told Law360.

  • June 28, 2024

    Taxation With Representation: Kirkland, Vinson, Skadden

    In this week's Taxation with Representation, Aareal Bank AG and Advent International sell a property management and maintenance software company, Webtoon Entertainment Inc. and Tamboran Resources Corp. price initial public offerings, SM Energy Company acquires oil and gas assets, and Nokia sells Alcatel Submarine Networks to the French state.

Expert Analysis

  • 7 Common Myths About Lateral Partner Moves

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    As lateral recruiting remains a key factor for law firm growth, partners considering a lateral move should be aware of a few commonly held myths — some of which contain a kernel of truth, and some of which are flat out wrong, says Dave Maurer at Major Lindsey.

  • 2 Emerging Defenses For Website Tracking Class Actions

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    Putative class actions premised on state wiretapping statutes that bar website activity tracking continue to be on the rise, but they are increasingly being dismissed on two procedural grounds, says Sheri Pan at ZwillGen.

  • No AI FRAUD Act Is A Significant Step For Right Of Publicity

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    The No Artificial Intelligence Fake Replicas and Unauthorized Duplications Act's proposed federal right of publicity protection, including post-mortem rights, represents a significant step toward harmonizing the landscape of right of publicity law, Rachel Hofstatter and Aaron Rosenthal at Honigman.

  • Series

    Cheering In The NFL Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Balancing my time between a BigLaw career and my role as an NFL cheerleader has taught me that pursuing your passions outside of work is not a distraction, but rather an opportunity to harness important skills that can positively affect how you approach work and view success in your career, says Rachel Schuster at Sheppard Mullin.

  • After TikTok, Tiptoeing Toward Patent Transfer Alignment

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    Following the Fifth Circuit's TikTok decision, which aimed to standardize transfer analysis in patent cases, the Federal Circuit and Texas federal courts facing transfer requests have taken small steps to consider the practical realities of patent litigation, reinforcing the intensely factual focus of the analysis, says Charles Fowler at McKool Smith.

  • Bank Secrecy Act Lessons For Casinos After DOJ Settlements

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    The U.S. Department of Justice's recent settlements with the MGM Grand and Cosmopolitan casinos, resolving an investigation into alleged violations of the Bank Secrecy Act, signal a shift in the DOJ's enforcement focus and provide insight into potential pitfalls in anti-money laundering compliance programs, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.

  • Setting The Stage For High Court BofA Escrow Interest Case

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    Dori Bailey and Curtis Johnson at Bond Schoeneck examine relevant legislation and case law dating back 200 years ahead of oral arguments at the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday in Cantero v. Bank of America, the outcome of which will determine whether state laws governing mortgage escrow accounts can be enforced against national banks.

  • Using Arbitration And Class Waivers As Privacy Suit Tools

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    Amid a surge in data breach class actions over the last few years, several federal court decisions indicate that arbitration clauses and class action waiver provisions can be possible alternatives to public court battles and potentially reduce the costs of privacy litigation, say Mark Olthoff and Courtney Klaus at Polsinelli.

  • Future Not Looking Bright For Calif. Employee Nonsolicits

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    California's new legislation imposing potentially harsh consequences on employers for attempting to enforce noncompetes raises questions about the fate of employee nonsolicitation agreements — and both federal and state court decisions suggest the days of the latter may be numbered, say Anthony Oncidi and Philippe Lebel at Proskauer.

  • 6 Pointers For Attys To Build Trust, Credibility On Social Media

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    In an era of information overload, attorneys can use social media strategically — from making infographics to leveraging targeted advertising — to cut through the noise and establish a reputation among current and potential clients, says Marly Broudie at SocialEyes Communications.

  • 5 Lessons For SaaS Companies After Blackbaud Data Breach

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    Looking at the enforcement actions that software-as-a-service provider Blackbaud resolved with state attorneys general, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Trade Commission in the past year can help SaaS companies manage these increasingly common forms of data breaches, say attorneys at Orrick.

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: February Lessons

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    In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy discusses five notable circuit court decisions on topics from property taxes to veteran's rights — and provides key takeaways for counsel on issues including class representative intervention, wage-and-hour dispute evidence and ascertainability requirements.

  • A Look Ahead For The Electric Vehicle Charging Industry

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    This will likely be an eventful year for the electric vehicle market as government efforts to accelerate their adoption inevitably clash with backlash from supporters of the petroleum industry, say Rue Phillips at SkillFusion and Enid Joffe at Green Paradigm Consulting.

  • A Post-Mortem Analysis Of Stroock's Demise

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    After the dissolution of 147-year-old firm Stroock late last year shook up the legal world, a post-mortem analysis of the data reveals a long list of warning signs preceding the firm’s collapse — and provides some insight into how other firms might avoid the same disastrous fate, says Craig Savitzky at Leopard Solutions.

  • Retailers Must Be Mindful Of Sale Ads As Class Actions Rise

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    A recent uptick in class actions filed against retailers over a breadth of allegedly deceptive pricing practices — including misleading reference prices for sales and discounts offered on a perpetual basis — show no sign of slowing down, indicating that class counsel are laser-focused on challenging advertising strategies, say Louis DiLorenzo and Paavana Kumar at Davis+Gilbert.

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