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California Pulse
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Calif. Bar Says Atty Can't End Billing Scandal's Hacking Claim
A San Fernando Valley attorney cannot escape an ethics charge alleging he plotted to hack the email and phone of a judge overseeing a public utility class action, the California Bar has told the State Bar Court, urging the court to reject the attorney's argument that merely "discussing plans" for a hack is not an offense.
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Golden Gate U. Beats Students' Suit Over JD Program Closure
A California state judge threw out a lawsuit from Golden Gate University School of Law students over the school's plans to stop offering juris doctor degrees, ruling that the students did not adequately make their case.
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Nader Slams Sullivan & Cromwell Over Protest Screenings
Consumer advocate and former presidential candidate Ralph Nader is among a trio of critics who wrote to Sullivan & Cromwell LLP this week to urge the BigLaw firm to reconsider its policy of screening job applicants for their participation in protests over the Israel-Hamas war.
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TaxAct Customers' Attys Want $5.8M Fee For $23M Deal
The attorneys for TaxAct Inc. customers who secured a $23 million deal to resolve claims that the company was secretly sharing confidential taxpayer information with Meta and Google asked a federal judge to award them more than $5.8 million in fees for their work.
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Can GCs Avoid Having Teams Seen As Department Of 'No'?
While many legal chiefs don't want business leaders to view their legal teams as the department of "No," a new study says some executives continue to wait until as late as possible to consult with their counsel — if at all.
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Equal Rights Advocates Adds DOJ Atty As Litigation Head
Equal Rights Advocates, a gender justice/women's rights nonprofit, announced Tuesday it is bringing in a U.S. Department of Justice civil rights attorney as head of its litigation team.
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Winston & Strawn Adds Chief Information Officer From Cooley
The longtime chief information officer at Cooley LLP has taken on the same role at Winston & Strawn LLP.
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How Associates Can Navigate Risks Of Social Media
Experts say associates should use social media with extreme caution, weighing any benefits against the impact that their online presence may have on their law firms, practice, clients and future employment.
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Lewis Brisbois Settles One LA Bias Suit, Another Continues
Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP has ended a former partner's race and disability bias suit, announcing a settlement in Los Angeles Superior Court, while continuing to push for arbitration in a separate discrimination suit, also filed in Los Angeles, where a former equity partner has accused the firm of gender discrimination and "unethical billing."
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MoFo Lands Akin Gump Appellate Pro In San Francisco
Morrison Foerster LLP is expanding its litigation team, announcing Tuesday it is bringing in a former San Francisco city attorney most recently with Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP as a partner in its San Francisco office.
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Deputy To GC: When Is The Right Time To Transition?
While many deputy general counsel aspire to become legal chiefs — either at their current employers or elsewhere, depending on succession plans — not everyone in the role wants to rise to the position. How can lawyers know? And which qualifications do they need? One established general counsel is hoping to help deputies navigate these questions.
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Baker McKenzie Names IT Vet As Chief Information Officer
The chief digital and technology officer at Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy LLP has joined Baker McKenzie as its new chief information officer, the firm announced Monday.
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Knobbe Martens Names Diversity Committee, NY Leaders
Intellectual property firm Knobbe Martens announced that it has appointed a new diversity committee leader and managing partner at its New York office.
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Greenberg Traurig Atty Joins Semiconductor Co. As GC
An established BigLaw attorney who carved out a niche representing some of the largest Asia-based technology companies doing business in the U.S. this month moved in-house to ACM Research Inc., the semiconductor company said Monday.
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Approach The Bench: Judge Dillard Boosts Ga. Court Access
From cameras in the courtroom to explanatory law review articles to posts on social media, Judge Stephen Dillard uses every tool at his disposal to improve transparency at the Georgia Court of Appeals.
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Terns Pharma Welcomes Veteran Life Sciences Atty As CLO
An experienced in-house life sciences attorney has jumped from biotechnology company Seer Inc. to biopharmaceuticals company Terns Pharmaceuticals Inc. as its legal chief, the pharma company announced.
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Law360 Names Attys Who Moved Up The Firm Ranks In Q2
A promotion to partner or election to practice group chair means a slew of new responsibilities and also lots of well-deserved recognition. Law360 reveals the list of attorneys whose commitment to legal excellence earned them highly coveted spots in the law firm leadership ranks. Find out if your old legal friends — or rivals — moved up in the second quarter of this year.
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Spencer Fane Says New Structure Intended To Bolster Culture
Spencer Fane LLP's chair and managing partner has told Law360 Pulse that the firm's newly unveiled organizational structure is intended to foster a culture that gives attorneys more decision-making opportunities and control over their career paths.
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Firms' Recruiting Specs Hinder BigLaw Litigator Hiring
Large law firms are hungry for top litigation partners who can bring strong client relationships and big books of business along with them, according to legal recruiters. But many are finding that a tall order in today's legal industry, where everyone is looking for the same thing and portability as a litigator can be a challenge.
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Calif. High Court Says Co-Worker's Slur Can Be Harassment
The California Supreme Court on Monday revived a race bias suit brought by a longtime employee of the San Francisco District Attorney's Office, finding that her co-worker's one-time use of a racial slur may indeed have been so severe that it created a hostile work environment.
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Amex Inks $3M Deal To Settle Girardi Bankruptcy Suit Claims
American Express reached a $3 million deal to settle claims brought by the Girardi Keese bankruptcy trustee accusing the credit giant's banking unit and another subsidiary of enabling $50.25 million in fraudulent transfers as part of the now-defunct law firm's scheme to defraud creditors.
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Calif. Panel Weighs Guidance On Judges' School Fundraising
On Monday, the California Supreme Court Committee on Judicial Ethics Opinions released its latest draft opinion, soliciting public input in proposed guardrails for judicial officers' personal participation in their children's school fundraising efforts.
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Hunter Biden Attys Say They Didn't Mislead Judge In Tax Case
Hunter Biden's attorneys told a Los Angeles federal judge that while several statements in their motion to dismiss tax charges against the president's son were worded "perhaps inartfully," they never intended to mislead the court in a way that would merit sanctions.
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Boxing Manager Nears Default Win In RICO Suit
A boxing manager welcomed a California federal court's decision to award him $9.5 million as part of a default judgment against a now-defunct management company in a racketeering case but requested an increase to the court's award of legal fees.
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ABA's 1st Generative AI Opinion Points Attys To Ethical Duties
The American Bar Association ethics committee published on Monday its first formal opinion on attorney use of generative artificial intelligence tools, saying lawyers should consider their ethical obligations, including those related to model rules on competency, confidentiality and fees.
Expert Analysis
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Series
Ask A Mentor: How Do I Negotiate Long-Term Flex Work?
Though the pandemic has shown the value of remote work, many firms are still reluctant to embrace flexible working arrangements when offices reopen, so attorneys should use several negotiating tactics to secure a long-term remote or hybrid work setup that also protects their potential for career advancement, says Elaine Spector at Harrity & Harrity.
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What I Wish Law Schools Taught Women About Legal Careers
Instead of spending an entire semester on 19th century hunting rights, I wish law schools would facilitate honest discussions about what it’s like to navigate life as an attorney, woman and mother, and offer lessons on business marketing that transcend golf outings and social mixers, says Daphne Delvaux at Gruenberg Law.
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4 Ways To Break Down Barriers For Women Of Color In Law
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Female lawyers belonging to minority groups continue to be paid less and promoted less than their male counterparts, so law firms and corporate legal departments must stop treating women as a monolithic group and create initiatives that address the unique barriers women of color face, say Daphne Turpin Forbes at Microsoft and Linda Chanow at the Institute for Inclusion in the Legal Profession.
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Opinion
We Need More Professional Diversity In The Federal Judiciary
With the current overrepresentation of former corporate lawyers on the federal bench, the Biden administration must prioritize professional diversity in judicial nominations and consider lawyers who have represented workers, consumers and patients, says Navan Ward, president of the American Association for Justice.
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Series
Ask A Mentor: How Do I Retire Without Creating Chaos?
Retired attorney Vernon Winters explains how lawyers can thoughtfully transition into retirement while protecting their firms’ interests and allaying clients' fears, with varying approaches that turn on the nature of one's practice, client relationships and law firm management.
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Why I Went From Litigator To Law Firm Diversity Officer
Narges Kakalia at Mintz recounts her journey from litigation partner to director of diversity, equity and inclusion at the firm, explaining how the challenges she faced as a female lawyer of color shaped her transition and why attorneys’ unique skill sets make them well suited for diversity leadership roles.
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For Asian American Lawyers, Good Mentorship Is Crucial
Navigating the legal world as an Asian American lawyer comes with unique challenges — from cultural stereotypes to a perceived lack of leadership skills — but finding good mentors and treating mentorship as a two-way street can help junior lawyers overcome some of the hurdles and excel, say attorneys at Paul Weiss.
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Coping With Secondary Trauma From Pro Bono Work
As the need for pro bono services continues to grow in tandem with the pandemic, attorneys should assess their mental well-being and look for symptoms of secondary traumatic stress, while law firms must carefully manage their public service programs and provide robust mental health services to employees, says William Silverman at Proskauer.
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How Firms Can Benefit From Creating Their Own ALSPs
As more law firms develop their own legal services centers to serve as both a source of flexible personnel and technological innovation, they can further enhance the effectiveness by fostering a consistent and cohesive team and allowing for experimentation with new technologies from an established baseline, say attorneys at Hogan Lovells.
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Modernizing Legal Education Through Hybrid JD Programs
Amid pandemic-era shifts in education, law schools and other stakeholders should consider the wide geographic and demographic reach of Juris Doctor programs with both online and in-person learning options, and educators should think through the various ways hybrid programs can be structured, says Stephen Burnett at All Campus.
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How BigLaw Can Mirror Small Firm Attorney Engagement
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BigLaw has the unique opportunity to hit refresh post-pandemic and enhance attorney satisfaction by adopting practices that smaller firms naturally employ — including work assignment policies that can provide junior attorneys steady professional development, says Michelle Genet Bernstein at Mark Migdal.
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Ditch The Annual Review To Boost Attorney Job Satisfaction
In order to attract and retain the rising millennial generation's star talent, law firms should break free of the annual review system and train lawyers of all seniority levels to solicit and share frequent and informal feedback, says Betsy Miller at Cohen Milstein.
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How Attorneys Can Narrow LGBTQ Gap In The Judiciary
Lawyers can take several steps to redress the lack of adequate LGBTQ representation on the bench and its devastating impact on litigants and counsel in the community, says Janice Grubin, co-chair of the Judiciary Committee at the LGBT Bar Association of Greater New York.
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Employers Must Heed Rising Attorney Stress And Alcohol Use
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Krill Strategies’ Patrick Krill, who co-authored a new study that revealed alarming levels of stress, hazardous drinking and associated gender disparities among practicing attorneys, highlights how legal employers can confront the underlying risk factors as both warnings and opportunities in the post-COVID-19 era.
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Lawyers Can Get Ready For Space Law To Take Flight
While international agreements for space law have remained relatively unchanged since their creation decades ago, the rapid pace of change in U.S. laws and policies is creating opportunities for both new and veteran lawyers looking to break into this exciting realm, in either the private sector or government, says Michael Dodge at the University of North Dakota.