California

  • June 05, 2025

    Calif. Adviser, CEO To Pay $21M To End SEC Theft Claims

    A California investment adviser and its CEO have agreed to pay over $21 million to end U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission claims they misappropriated over $15.3 million from a cannabis industry client — including $4.6 million used to buy a home — and overstated its assets under management in regulatory filings.

  • June 05, 2025

    AI Co. Sues French Tech Biz Over $20M Graphics Content Deal

    An artificial intelligence company is suing a French technology business in California federal court over a more than $20 million deal giving it access to a platform that creates graphics content, accusing it of committing acts of bad faith "at every stage" of their relationship.

  • June 05, 2025

    Latham-Led Virtual Health Startup Omada Prices $150M IPO

    Venture-backed virtual care provider Omada Health Inc. on Thursday priced a $150 million initial public offering within its marketed range, represented by Latham & Watkins LLP and underwriters counsel Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP.

  • June 05, 2025

    Starbucks Can't Scotch $50M Verdict For Tea-Scorched Driver

    A California judge has affirmed a jury verdict awarding $50 million to a gig economy driver who suffered a severely burned penis after scalding hot tea spilled in his lap due to a Starbucks worker's negligence, saying the verdict was not excessive given his "horrific injuries."

  • June 05, 2025

    4 AGs Urge FDA To Lift Abortion Pill Restrictions

    Attorneys general from California, Massachusetts, New York and New Jersey on Thursday urged the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to lift restrictions on the abortion drug mifepristone, saying they aren't necessary under statutory requirements for an FDA drug safety program.

  • June 05, 2025

    Fed, OCC Face Bipartisan Call For Leverage Ratio Reform

    Republican and Democratic lawmakers teamed up Thursday to urge federal banking regulators to revisit their bank leverage rules "with haste," pointing to U.S. Treasury market liquidity concerns and asking for details about potential adjustments under consideration.

  • June 05, 2025

    States, Attys, Groups Push 8th Circ. For ND Tribes' Voting Rights

    Nineteen states, 16 former federal attorneys and a slew of civil rights groups are backing two North Dakota tribes in their efforts for an Eighth Circuit rehearing, arguing the appellate court's semantic shift regarding voting rights presents important questions that merit its full consideration.

  • June 05, 2025

    Music Lyrics Co. Slams $1B Antitrust Suit Over Warner Deal

    Music data company Musixmatch urged a California federal judge to end rival LyricFind Inc.'s $1 billion suit alleging it has a monopoly in the market for providing lyrics to streamers like Spotify after inking an exclusive deal with Warner Music to distribute its titles, arguing Warner is legally allowed to solely license its intellectual property to Musixmatch.

  • June 05, 2025

    States Push To Block Feds From Slashing EV Charging Funds

    Sixteen states have pressed a Washington federal judge to block the Trump administration from cutting off congressionally approved funding for electric-vehicle charging infrastructure projects, saying state budgets and procurement processes are being upended by the administration's unilateral actions.

  • June 05, 2025

    Maryland Judge Halts 'Mass Closure' Of AmeriCorps Programs

    A Maryland federal judge on Thursday temporarily enjoined the Trump administration's "mass closure" of AmeriCorps programs in two dozen states and ordered more than 750 national service members be restored, but declined to vacate the firing of AmeriCorps' paid staff.

  • June 05, 2025

    Actors Ask 9th Circ. To Revive SAG Vax Mandate Fight

    SAG-AFTRA members urged the Ninth Circuit on Thursday to revive their claims that the union betrayed them by allowing studios to impose COVID-19 vaccine mandates against members with medical and religious objections, arguing that the state claims aren't preempted and "not everything that involves these guilds is a federal matter."

  • June 05, 2025

    Orgs. Clash At DC Circ. Over FCC's Spectrum Revamp

    Public safety groups are clashing at the D.C. Circuit over whether the Federal Communications Commission overstepped its authority when it expanded spectrum rights in the 4.9 gigahertz band, a segment of airwaves long relied on by emergency responders.

  • June 05, 2025

    Fired Tesla Worker Drops Class Claims In Favor Of PAGA Case

    A Tesla worker booted amid mass layoffs last year told a California federal judge that under a deal struck with the automaker, he'll drop his putative class action wage and notice claims to pursue most of the same causes of action in state court under the Private Attorneys General Act.

  • June 05, 2025

    CVS Sued Over Health Plan's Tobacco, Spousal Surcharges

    A CVS employee brought the pharmacy retailer into California state court Wednesday alleging in a proposed class action it discriminatorily imposes illegal surcharges to its health insurance participants who use tobacco or want to add their spouses to their plans as dependents, in violation of state and federal benefits laws.

  • June 05, 2025

    Pillsbury Brings On Buchalter IP Co-Leader In San Diego

    Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP is boosting its intellectual property team, announcing Thursday it is bringing on the former co-chair of Buchalter PC's intellectual property practice as a partner in its San Diego office.

  • June 05, 2025

    Background Extra Says Entertainment Cos. Owe Wages

    A production company and an entertainment company failed to pay background extras for all the hours they worked after forcing them to work off-the-clock and through breaks, according to a proposed class action filed in California state court.

  • June 05, 2025

    5 Firms Steer Self-Driving Truck Startup's $1.2B SPAC Merger

    Self-driving truck software maker Plus Automation Inc. plans to go public at an estimated $1.2 billion valuation by merging with special purpose acquisition company Churchill Capital IX Corp., both parties announced Thursday, in a deal guided by five law firms.

  • June 05, 2025

    DOL Head Vows To Fight Wage Theft With Fewer Investigators

    The U.S. labor secretary told a U.S. House committee Thursday that the Department of Labor will continue to combat wage theft even with fewer resources after President Donald Trump's administration proposed cutting the number of wage and hour investigators.

  • June 05, 2025

    Judge Wants Details On Harm From Trump Wind Farm Pause

    A Massachusetts federal judge Thursday asked a coalition of states and a clean-energy advocacy group for more specifics about the harm they allegedly will be caused by the Trump administration's decision to pause wind farm permitting, and said he wanted to move forward with a trial "promptly."

  • June 05, 2025

    Calif. Assembly OKs Exemption For Returned Tribal Land

    California land that is transferred to a federally recognized Native American tribe would be exempt from state real estate transfer tax under a bill passed in the state Assembly. 

  • June 05, 2025

    High Court Drops Class Cert. Clarification Bid

    The U.S. Supreme Court declined Thursday to weigh in on whether federal courts can certify classes that include uninjured members, holding it improperly agreed to hear a disability discrimination case against diagnostics company Labcorp that raised the important question.

  • June 05, 2025

    Justices Revive Bid To Enforce $1.3B Indian Satellite Award

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday overturned a Ninth Circuit decision refusing to enforce a $1.3 billion arbitral award issued to an Indian satellite communications company, ruling that the court's outlier interpretation of a jurisdictional question was incorrect.

  • June 05, 2025

    Justices Nix Mexico's Cartel Violence Suit In Win For Gun Cos.

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday threw out a suit by the government of Mexico against Smith & Wesson and other major gun companies, finding in a unanimous opinion that the alleged ties between the firearms makers and cartel violence south of the border are too speculative to stand up in court.

  • June 05, 2025

    Davis Wright Adds Coblentz Patch Wine Industry Expert In SF

    Davis Wright Tremaine LLP is expanding its food and beverage team, bringing in a Coblentz Patch Duffy & Bass LLP transactional attorney specializing in the wine and hospitality industry as a partner in its San Francisco office.

  • June 04, 2025

    Apple Loses Bid To Pause App Store Order Amid Appeal

    A Ninth Circuit panel Wednesday refused to lift a lower court's injunction mandating certain App Store policy changes while Apple appeals it, saying that it wasn't "persuaded that a stay is appropriate" in the high-profile litigation brought by Epic Games.

Expert Analysis

  • How Cos. Can Navigate Risks Of New Cartel Terrorist Labels

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    The Trump administration’s recent designation of eight drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations gives rise to new criminal and civil liabilities for companies that are unwittingly exposed to cartel activity, but businesses can mitigate such risks in a few key ways, say attorneys at Steptoe.

  • 5 Tribunals' Rules To Help Patent Litigators Avoid AI Disasters

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    Tech-savvy patent litigators are uniquely poised to stay current on the latest developments in artificial intelligence, such that courts may have even higher expectations for their compliance with AI rules, including the standing orders of several patent-heavy fora, say attorneys at Finnegan.

  • Bid Protest Spotlight: Size, Supply Schedules, SINs

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    In this month's bid protest roundup, Alissandra McCann at MoFo examines three recent decisions, two of which offer helpful reminders for U.S. General Services Administration schedule holders drafting blanket purchase agreement proposals, and one for small-business joint ventures to avoid running afoul of the U.S. Small Business Administration's two-year rule.

  • $38M Law Firm Settlement Highlights 'Unworthy Client' Perils

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    A recent settlement of claims against law firm Eckert Seamans for allegedly abetting a Ponzi scheme underscores the continuing threat of clients who seek to exploit their lawyers in perpetrating fraud, and the critical importance of preemptive measures to avoid these clients, say attorneys at Lockton Companies.

  • Maintaining Legal Compliance For GenAI In Life Sciences

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    As companies continue to implement generative artificial intelligence to enhance all phases of drug discovery, they must remain mindful of legal, regulatory and practical considerations as best practices in this space emerge and evolve, say attorneys at Sullivan & Cromwell.

  • Series

    Teaching Business Law Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Teaching business law to college students has rekindled my sense of purpose as a lawyer — I am more mindful of the importance of the rule of law and the benefits of our common law system, which helps me maintain a clearer perspective on work, says David Feldman at Feldman Legal Advisors.

  • Choosing A Road To Autonomous Vehicle Compliance

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    As autonomous vehicle manufacturers navigate the complex U.S. regulatory landscape, they may opt for different approaches to following federal, state and local rules and laws, as they balance the tradeoffs between innovation, compliance and speed of deployment, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Navigating The Expanding Frontier Of Premerger Notice Laws

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    Washington's newly enacted law requiring premerger notification to state enforcers builds upon a growing trend of state scrutiny into transactions in the healthcare sector and beyond, and may inspire other states to enact similar legislation, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

  • Jurisdictional Issues At Play In 9th Circ.'s FCA Trade Case

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    A decision by the Ninth Circuit in Island Industries v. Sigma Corp. could result in the U.S. Court of International Trade’s exclusive jurisdiction over trade-related FCA cases, a big shift in the enforcement landscape just as tariffs take center stage in trade policy, say attorneys at Haynes Boone.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Mastering Discovery

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    The discovery process and the rules that govern it are often absent from law school curricula, but developing a solid grasp of the particulars can give any new attorney a leg up in their practice, says Jordan Davies at Knowles Gallant.

  • Web Tracking Ruling Signals Potential Broadening Of CCPA

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    The Northern District of California's recent decision in Shah v. Capital One Financial Corp. is notable, as it signals a potential broadening of the California Consumer Privacy Act's private right of action beyond data breaches to unauthorized, nonbreach disclosures involving the use of now-ubiquitous tracking technologies, say attorneys at Baker Donelson.

  • What New Study Means For Recycling Compliance In Calif.

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    Companies must review the California recycling agency's new study to understand its criteria for assessing claims of product and packaging recyclability under a law that takes effect next year, and then decide whether the risks of making such claims in the state outweigh the benefits, say attorneys at Keller & Heckman.

  • Series

    Playing Guitar Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Being a lawyer not only requires logic and hard work, but also belief, emotion, situational awareness and lots of natural energy — playing guitar enhances all of these qualities, increasing my capacity to do my best work, says Kosta Stojilkovic at Wilkinson Stekloff.

  • Takeaways From DOJ's Latest FCA Customs Fraud Intervention

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    The U.S. Department of Justice's recent intervention in a case alleging customs-related reverse False Claims Act fraud underlines the government’s increased scrutiny of, and importers’ corresponding exposure from, information related to product classification, country of origin and pricing, say attorneys at Bass Berry.

  • 4 Trends Responsible For Declining FLSA Filings

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    In 2024, the number of Fair Labor Standards Act claims filed in federal courts continued to decrease, reflecting a steady decline in federal FLSA filings since 2015 due to a few trends, including increased compliance and presuit resolution, say attorneys at Seyfarth.

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