California

  • September 10, 2024

    Womble Bond Eyes Growth, Not Layoffs, With New Tie-Up

    The merger between Womble Bond Dickinson and Lewis Roca Rothgerber Christie LLP is not about cutting costs because of mounting competition, the international law firm's U.S. boss told Law360 on Tuesday. It's about growth in the U.S., the U.K. — and beyond.

  • September 10, 2024

    Will Tom Girardi's Age Impact His Sentence?

    Disbarred attorney Tom Girardi's age and mental decline did not help him avoid conviction last month on charges that he stole millions in client funds, but it's an open question how much these factors will affect his sentencing, set for December.

  • September 10, 2024

    Ugg Maker Ends IP Boot Suit Against Costco

    Deckers Outdoor Corp. has dropped its suit in California federal court accusing Costco Wholesale Corp. of infringing a design patent and trade dress for Ugg "Classic Ultra Mini" boots with the retailer's Kirkland-branded footwear.

  • September 10, 2024

    Cybersecurity Co. Beats Suit Over Med Tech Data Breach

    A Massachusetts federal judge declined to hold information security technology company Barracuda Networks Inc. liable over a 2018 data breach that exposed the confidential information of more than 277,000 patients of medical device maker Zoll Medical Corp.

  • September 10, 2024

    Amazon Must Trim 'Halo' TM For EU Market

    Amazon Technologies could not convince the EU's intellectual property office to let it register trademarks for "halo" unscathed, with the office backing a Californian health technology company's bid to trim key protections for medical monitoring devices and health assessment services.

  • September 10, 2024

    McGuireWoods Adds Ex-Prosecutor, Former Fintech GC In SF

    McGuireWoods LLP continues to bolster its West Coast presence, announcing Tuesday that it has added a former federal prosecutor and the former general counsel for a fintech company as partners at its San Francisco office.

  • September 10, 2024

    The Medical-Style Legal Education Model On The Rise In Calif.

    A medical-school style model of legal education is expanding to a second California law school, giving law students the option of a year of hands-on training experience and a head start for post-graduation employment while providing much-needed support for nonprofits and government agencies.

  • September 10, 2024

    House Reps. Float Bill To Limit Patent Invalidations

    A bipartisan bill that would reset patent eligibility standards has been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives, over a year after a similar Senate bill was put forward that drew opposition from much of the tech and retail industry.

  • September 10, 2024

    Free Speech Or Bad Medicine? The Abortion 'Reversal' Battle

    The marketing of abortion pill "reversal" — a treatment doubted by medical groups but touted by anti-abortion advocates — is facing increased scrutiny from state attorneys general, triggering legal skirmishes in at least four states centered on First Amendment rights and consumer protection laws.

  • September 10, 2024

    Phone Maker Vivo Joins Via LA's Audio Patent Licensing Pool

    Via Licensing Alliance said Tuesday it has inked a deal with Chinese smartphone maker Vivo to join its patent pool for standardized audio coding technology.

  • September 10, 2024

    GM Can't Arbitrate Claims Engines Were 'Engineered To Fail'

    General Motors LLC cannot arbitrate class claims that certain engines were "engineered to fail," an Ohio federal judge has ruled, citing recent Sixth Circuit guidance on when a party waives the right to resolve disputes out of court.

  • September 10, 2024

    Kennedys Opens New Offices In LA, Seattle Amid US Growth

    Kennedys Law LLP said Tuesday it has opened new offices in Los Angeles and Seattle as the firm looks to build on its accelerating U.S. growth.

  • September 10, 2024

    Brookfield Pledges Over $1B To Ultra-Low Carbon E-Fuels Co.

    Brookfield will pump up to $1.05 billion into Infinium and its electrofuels platform, in what the asset management giant said Tuesday is its first direct sustainable aviation fuels investment.

  • September 10, 2024

    Womble Bond Dickinson To Merge With Lewis Roca

    Womble Bond Dickinson said Tuesday that its U.S. business is merging with regional law firm Lewis Roca Rothgerber Christie LLP at the start of the new year, the third law firm merger to be announced in the last week.

  • September 09, 2024

    Calif. State Senator's Ex-Staffer Sues For Sexual Harassment

    California State Sen. Marie Alvarado-Gil created a toxic work environment for her former chief of staff, demanding he perform sex acts to prove his loyalty and firing him for objecting to her "sexualized abuse of power," the former staffer alleged in a new complaint filed in Sacramento Superior Court.

  • September 09, 2024

    Exec Denied New Trial In 'Shadow Trading' Case, Fined $321K

    A California federal judge on Monday denied a new trial request from an ex-Medivation Inc. executive found to have used the pharmaceutical company's inside information when he bought a rival's stock, and also ordered him to pay a $321,000 penalty in the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's "shadow trading" case.

  • September 09, 2024

    Yodlee Privacy Class Cert. Bid Faces Uphill Climb

    A California federal judge on Monday said she is "inclined" to find that three consumers claiming Yodlee Inc. unlawfully collected their banking data did not have standing to pursue claims or represent proposed classes alleging their transaction information was sold, even though the idea of the stored data is "creepy."

  • September 09, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Undoes Alice Ax Of Camera Patents In GoPro Case

    The Federal Circuit on Monday reversed a decision invalidating two video camera patents that GoPro Inc. is accused of infringing, ruling that the patents cover technological improvements, and not only an abstract idea, as a California federal judge had ruled.

  • September 09, 2024

    SpaceX Urges Arbitration Of Sex Harassment Suit

    Attorneys for SpaceX urged a California state court judge Monday to rethink a tentative ruling that declined to send a sexual harassment claim by an employee to arbitration but found 10 other claims are arbitrable, arguing the harassment claim predates a statute requiring that it be adjudicated in court. 

  • September 09, 2024

    Ex-Finance Exec To Pay SEC $110K In Insider Trading Action

    A former finance director of pharmaceutical company Inhibrx Inc. has agreed to pay over $110,000 to resolve U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission allegations that he bought his employer's shares as it prepared to announce good news about its principal drug candidate.

  • September 09, 2024

    Siemens To Build $60M Bullet Train Production Facility In NY

    Siemens Mobility will build a $60 million bullet train production facility in Horseheads, New York, that is set to start operating in 2026, according to an official announcement Monday.

  • September 09, 2024

    'Terrorgram' Leaders Charged With Targeting Judge, Senator

    Federal prosecutors unsealed an indictment Monday charging two people with using the social media app Telegram to create a "Terrorgram Collective" of white supremacists who conspired to assassinate a federal judge, a U.S. attorney, a U.S. senator and others, and planned bombings and international hate crimes.

  • September 09, 2024

    No Coverage For BNSF In Flood Suit, Travelers Says

    Two Travelers units told a California federal court that they owe no additional insured coverage to railway giant BNSF over claims that a track relocation project it undertook caused significant flooding on a property owner's land.

  • September 09, 2024

    SeaWorld Strikes Deal To End 401(k) Class Action

    SeaWorld told a California federal court it agreed to settle a class action accusing it of loading its $300 million employee retirement plan with high-cost funds and hiring expensive recordkeepers who charged more than double what similar plans were paying.

  • September 09, 2024

    Red States, Industry Look To Sink EPA Vehicle Emissions Rule

    The federal government's rule requiring reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from cars, trucks and vans must be squashed because it favors electric vehicles in a way only Congress can do, 26 red states and a coalition of business groups have told the D.C. Circuit.

Expert Analysis

  • Opinion

    Now More Than Ever, Lawyers Must Exhibit Professionalism

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    As society becomes increasingly fractured and workplace incivility is on the rise, attorneys must champion professionalism and lead by example, demonstrating how lawyers can respectfully disagree without being disagreeable, says Edward Casmere at Norton Rose.

  • What FTX Case Taught Us About Digital Asset Recoverability

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    FTX's Chapter 11 plan has drawn lots of attention, but the focus should be on the anticipated outcome for investors, which counters several myths about digital currencies, innovation and recoverability, says Kyla Curley at StoneTurn.

  • Series

    Serving In The National Guard Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My ongoing military experience as a judge advocate general in the National Guard has shaped me as a person and a lawyer, teaching me the importance of embracing confidence, balance and teamwork in both my Army and civilian roles, says Danielle Aymond at Baker Donelson.

  • A Midyear Forecast: Tailwinds Expected For Atty Hourly Rates

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    Hourly rates for partners, associates and support staff continued to rise in the first half of this year, and this growth shows no signs of slowing for the rest of 2024 and into next year, driven in part by the return of mergers and acquisitions and the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence, says Chuck Chandler at Valeo Partners.

  • Synapse Bankruptcy Has Ripple Effects For Fintech Industry

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    Synapse Financial Technologies’ recent bankruptcy filing marks a significant moment in the fintech industry's evolution, highlighting that stringent compliance and risk management in fintech partnerships are essential to mitigate risk and protect consumers, say Joann Needleman and Ryan Blumberg at Clark Hill.

  • California Adds A Novel Twist To State Suits Against Big Oil

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    California’s suit against Exxon Mobil Corp., one of several state suits that seek to hold oil and gas companies accountable for climate-related harms, is unique both in the magnitude of the alleged claims and its use of a consumer protection statute to seek disgorgement of industry profits, says Julia Stein at UCLA School of Law.

  • Opinion

    States Should Loosen Law Firm Ownership Restrictions

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    Despite growing buzz, normalized nonlawyer ownership of law firms is a distant prospect, so the legal community should focus first on liberalizing state restrictions on attorney and firm purchases of practices, which would bolster succession planning and improve access to justice, says Michael Di Gennaro at The Law Practice Exchange.

  • Why Justices Should Rule On FAA's Commerce Exception

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    The U.S. Supreme Court should review the Ninth Circuit's Ortiz v. Randstad decision, to clarify whether involvement in interstate commerce exempts workers from the Federal Arbitration Act, a crucial question given employers' and employees' strong competing interests in arbitration and litigation, says Collin Williams at New Era.

  • Tricky Venue Issues Persist In Fortenberry Prosecution Redo

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    Former Rep. Jeff Fortenberry was recently indicted for a second time after the Ninth Circuit tossed his previous conviction for improper venue, but the case, now pending in the District of Columbia, continues to illustrate the complexities of proper venue in "false statement scheme" prosecutions, says Kevin Coleman at Covington.

  • Series

    Solving Puzzles Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Tackling daily puzzles — like Wordle, KenKen and Connections — has bolstered my intellectual property litigation practice by helping me to exercise different mental skills, acknowledge minor but important details, and build and reinforce good habits, says Roy Wepner at Kaplan Breyer.

  • Opinion

    'Trump Too Small' Ruling Overlooks TM Registration Issues

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision last month in Vidal v. Elster, which concluded that “Trump Too Small” cannot be a registered trademark as it violates a federal prohibition, fails to consider modern-day, real-world implications for trademark owners who are denied access to federal registration, say Tiffany Gehrke and Alexa Spitz at Marshall Gerstein.

  • Texas Ethics Opinion Flags Hazards Of Unauthorized Practice

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    The Texas Professional Ethics Committee's recently issued proposed opinion finding that in-house counsel providing legal services to the company's clients constitutes the unauthorized practice of law is a valuable clarification given that a UPL violation — a misdemeanor in most states — carries high stakes, say Hilary Gerzhoy and Julienne Pasichow at HWG.

  • 6 Lessons From DOJ's 1st Controlled Drug Case In Telehealth

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    Following the U.S. Department of Justice’s first-ever criminal prosecution over telehealth-prescribed controlled substances in U.S. v. Ruthia He, healthcare providers should be mindful of the risks associated with restricting the physician-patient relationship when crafting new business models, says Jonathan Porter at Husch Blackwell.

  • Navigating The New Rise Of Greenwashing Litigation

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    As greenwashing lawsuits continue to gain momentum with a shift in focus to carbon-neutrality claims, businesses must exercise caution and ensure transparency in their environmental marketing practices, taking cues from recent legal challenges in the airline industry, say attorneys at Baker McKenzie.

  • In Memoriam: The Modern Administrative State

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    On June 28, the modern administrative state, where courts deferred to agency interpretations of ambiguous statutes, died when the U.S. Supreme Court overruled its previous decision in Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council — but it is survived by many cases decided under the Chevron framework, say Joseph Schaeffer and Jessica Deyoe at Babst Calland.

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