California Pulse


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    Experienced Financial Atty Named Wealth Manager's New GC

    Focus Financial Partners Inc. announced that a longtime attorney at LPL Financial was named the New York-based wealth manager's general counsel as part of a series of leadership appointments.

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    Snell & Wilmer Adds Procopio Corporate Atty In San Diego

    Snell & Wilmer LLP has brought in a Procopio Cory Hargreaves & Savitch LLP capital markets expert as a partner in its San Diego office to expand its bench of corporate attorneys in Southern California.

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    Approach The Bench: Judge Rosenthal Praises Zoom Hearings

    While U.S. District Judge Lee Rosenthal calls the pandemic a disaster that "discombobulated" the federal courts, she thinks there was also a silver lining to the experience.

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    How Certifications Became Ubiquitous For Privacy Attorneys

    As privacy has become a more prominent and popular practice area, many attorneys have turned to certifications offered by the International Association of Privacy Professionals to market their skills, with those in the field saying that the popularity is the result of privacy's rapid evolution and the ubiquity is unlikely to diminish.

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    The Psychology Of Top Firms' Growing Partner Pay Spreads

    Dan Binstock, a legal recruiter who works with top law firms, recently said to me about partner pay, "You can never please everybody."

  • Calif. High Court Says Judicial DQ Bids Must Be Timely

    The California Supreme Court on Monday held that an appellate court got it wrong by determining a timeliness requirement doesn't apply when a party alleges that a judge is disqualified due to bias, in a case that resulted in a $43.5 million judgment for hundreds of title company employees.

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    3 Factors Attorneys Should Keep In Mind When Using AI

    Attorneys who hope to leverage new artificial intelligence programs in their legal work should stay mindful of three rules of conduct from the American Bar Association dictating attorney competence, client confidentiality and billing procedures, according to a recently published paper from the International Association of Defense Counsel.

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    Simpson Thacher Taps Atty Duo As 1st Banking Team Leaders

    Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP has named two longtime New York City-based partners, including the co-head of its global banking and credit practice, as the first co-leaders of its global investment banking practice, the firm announced Monday.

  • Maynard Nexsen Creates Business Advisory Services Team

    Maynard Nexsen PC has launched a new business advisory service aimed at privately held and family-owned businesses that will help steer clients through succession planning, mergers, risk management and other needs from both a legal and business perspective, according to a Monday announcement.

  • Tesla Atty Faces Sanctions Bid Over Mediation Appearance

    Tesla and an in-house attorney are facing a sanctions bid in California federal court for reportedly appearing at a mediation in a wrongful death case despite lacking settlement authority, causing "delay and unnecessary expense" to the widow of a man who died when his Tesla allegedly ran off the road, crashed and ignited.

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    Telesis Bio's Chief Legal Officer To Leave Post This Week

    Telesis Bio Inc.'s chief legal officer is exiting his role on Thursday and will be receiving a severance payment of $307,500 under a separation agreement, according to a public filing.

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    Cleary Adds Northern Calif. Deputy Criminal Chief As Partner

    The deputy chief of the criminal division of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California has joined Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP's Bay Area office as a partner in the Americas litigation practice, the firm said Monday.

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    Kennedys' New Head Steps Up In 'Evolving' Insurance World

    Meg Catalano, who was named Kennedys’ new global managing partner this week, joined Law360 Pulse to discuss her vision for the role and how the firm looks to stay on top of client needs in a volatile world under her leadership.

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    National Footprints Scramble Partner Pay's Link To Location

    Law firm partners' increasing pay often varies based on where those attorneys are located, a fact reinforced by a new study out Thursday, but experts say the relationship between compensation and location has become more complicated as more firms operate on a national scale. 

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    Insurers Have Long Used AI; Now Litigation Funders Want In

    As State Farm waded into the nascent field of "artificial intelligence" tools in the mid-1980s, its mainframe computers began to overheat under the strain of calculating the values of claims.

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    Mitchell Silberberg Hires Warner Bros. Discovery Attorney

    Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp LLP has hired Warner Bros. Discovery Inc.'s chief employment counsel to help strengthen the firm's national labor and employment practice and its entertainment bench.

  • Polsinelli Real Estate Shareholder Joins Kilpatrick In SF

    Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP announced on Thursday the hiring of a former principal and shareholder at Polsinelli as a counsel in its San Francisco office.

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    No Reason To Open Discovery, X, Musk Say In Severance Fight

    Elon Musk and X Corp. have urged a California federal court not to acquiesce to former executives' request to open discovery in their severance benefits lawsuit, saying the workers can't show they've been harmed by the court's decision to pause discovery until after ruling on a dismissal motion.

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    New Prez Of Black Women Attys Org On Value Of Camaraderie

    As she prepares to steer the Black Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles toward its 50th anniversary next year, Seyfarth Shaw LLP partner Shardé Skahan said the group is particularly special for its sense of community.

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    Kessler Topaz Founding Partner To Retire At End Of Year

    One of the founding partners of Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check LLP announced this week he is retiring from the Radnor, Pennsylvania-based firm after more than two decades of representing clients in securities class actions.

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    MG+M Lands Former Wilson Elser Litigators In LA, Dallas

    Manning Gross & Massenburg LLP said it has expanded its nationwide reach and boosted its status as a litigation firm by bringing in a pair of partners in Dallas and Los Angeles from Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker LLP who also spent decades at boutique DeHay & Elliston LLP.

  • Voir Dire: Law360 Pulse's Weekly Quiz

    The legal industry had another action-packed week as firms prepared for increased lobbying activity in anticipation of the upcoming election, while lawyers nationwide came together to support a nonpartisan initiative focused on protecting the electoral process. Test your legal news savvy here with Law360 Pulse's weekly quiz.

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    Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

    Kemp Jones LLP, Parker Nelson & Associates and Campbell & Williams lead this week's list of Law360 legal lions with back-to-back wins in ongoing litigation against a bankrupt "alkaline water" company.

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    Pillsbury Brings On Former Federal Prosecutor In San Diego

    Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP is expanding its West Coast litigation team to meet increased client demand, announcing Thursday it is bringing in a former assistant U.S. attorney as counsel in its San Diego office.  

  • Private Enforcer Sues LA-Area Immigration Consulting Firm

    A California organization that acts as a private enforcer of state rules that govern immigration consulting companies has sued a Los Angeles-area business, claiming it falsely presented itself to the public as an immigration law firm.

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Expert Analysis

  • Series

    Ask A Mentor: How Can I Ace My Upcoming Annual Review? Author Photo

    Jennifer Rakstad at White & Case highlights how associates can emphasize achievements and seek support before, during and after their annual review, despite the pandemic’s negative effects on face time with colleagues and business development opportunities.

  • How Your Law Firm's Brand Can Convey Prestige Author Photo

    In order to be perceived as prestigious by clients and potential recruits, law firms should take their branding efforts beyond designing visual identities and address six key imperatives to differentiate themselves — from identifying intangible core strengths to delivering on promises at every interaction, says Howard Breindel at DeSantis Breindel.

  • How Dynamic Project Management Can Help Law Firms Author Photo

    Law firms looking to streamline matter management should consider tools that offer both employees and clients real-time access to documents, action items, task assignee information and more, overcoming many of the limitations of project communications via email, says Stephen Weyer at Stites & Harbison.

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    Ask A Mentor: How Can I Successfully Switch Practices? Author Photo

    Associates who pivot into new practice areas may find that along with the excitement of a fresh start comes some apprehension, but certain proactive steps can help tame anxiety and ensure attorneys successfully adapt to unfamiliar subjects, novel internal processes and different client deliverables, say Susan Berson and Hassan Shaikh at Mintz.

  • A Road Map For Creating Law Firm Sustainability Programs Author Photo

    Amid demands from clients and prospective hires for greater sustainability efforts, law firms should think beyond reusable mugs and create programs that incorporate clear leadership structures, emission tracking and reduction goals, and frameworks for reporting results, says Gayatri Joshi at the Law Firm Sustainability Network.

  • Why Firms Should Help Associates Do More Pro Bono Work Author Photo

    Associates may hesitate to take on the added commitment of pro bono matters, but such work has tangible skill-building benefits, so firms should consider compensation and leadership strategies to encourage participation, says Rasmeet Chahil at Lowenstein Sandler.

  • Confronting The Stigma Of Alcohol Abuse In Legal Industry Author Photo

    The pandemic has likely exacerbated the prevalence of problem drinking in the legal profession, making it critical for lawyers and educators to address alcohol abuse and the associated stigma through issue-specific education, supportive assistance and alcohol-free professional events, says Erica Grigg at the Texas Lawyers' Assistance Program.

  • Opinion

    Lawyers Have Duty To Push For Immigration Court Reform Author Photo

    Attorneys must use their collective voice to urge federal lawmakers to create an Article I immigration court outside executive branch control, helping address the conflicts of interest, political influence and lack of adjudication consistency that prevent migrants from achieving true justice, say Elia Diaz-Yaeger and Carlos Bollar at the Hispanic National Bar Association.

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    ​​​​​​​Ask A Mentor: How Can 1st-Year Attys Manage Remote Work? Author Photo

    First-year associates can have a hard time building relationships with colleagues, setting boundaries and prioritizing work-life balance in a remote work environment, so they must be sure to lean on their firms' support systems and practice good time management, say Jenny Lee and Christopher Fernandez at Kirkland.

  • 5 Ways To Lead Lawyer Teams Toward Better Mental Health Author Photo

    Attorney team leaders have a duty to attend to the mental well-being of their subordinates with intention, thought and candor — starting with ensuring their own mental health is in order, says Liam Montgomery at Williams & Connolly.

  • How Your Summer Associate Events Can Convey Inclusivity Author Photo

    As law firms begin planning next year's summer associate events, they should carefully examine how choice of venue, activity, theme, attendees and formality can create feelings of exclusion for minority associates, and consider changing the status quo to create multiculturally inclusive events, says Sharon Jones at Jones Diversity.

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    Ask A Mentor: How Do I Negotiate Long-Term Flex Work? Author Photo

    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.

  • What I Wish Law Schools Taught Women About Legal Careers Author Photo

    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.

  • 4 Ways To Break Down Barriers For Women Of Color In Law Author Photo

    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.

  • Opinion

    We Need More Professional Diversity In The Federal Judiciary Author Photo

    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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