California

  • July 29, 2025

    State & Local Tax Atty Rejoins Pillsbury In San Francisco

    Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP continues expanding its tax team, welcoming a state and local tax expert who worked several years as a solo practitioner back to the firm as a partner in its San Francisco office.

  • July 29, 2025

    9th Circ. Won't Revive Drag Queen's Likeness Claims

    The Ninth Circuit has affirmed Netflix's win in a case brought by a famous Los Angeles drag queen who sued over use of her likeness in an adult animation show, saying it had not been shown that Netflix used that likeness as a mark rather than some other expressive function. 

  • July 29, 2025

    Authors Fight Anthropic's Appeal Of Fair Use Ruling

    Authors battling artificial intelligence firm Anthropic over its use of their books to train a large language model have urged a California federal judge to disallow a mid-case appeal of his ruling that Anthropic could use books it bought legally, but not the millions it purportedly lifted from online libraries of pirated works.

  • July 29, 2025

    Justices Can Fix Circuit Split On Compassionate Release

    The First Step Act drastically reduced the mandatory minimum sentences for certain federal crimes, but it will be up to the U.S. Supreme Court to settle a 6-4 circuit split over whether courts can consider those changes when weighing a prisoner's compassionate release, attorneys tell Law360.

  • July 29, 2025

    Insurer Says Misrepresentations Void Real Estate Co.'s Policy

    Material misrepresentations in a commercial real estate firm's insurance renewal application mean the insurer has no duty to defend the firm or a former director against a $6.5 million claim related to the sale of a client's properties, the insurer told an Indiana federal court.

  • July 29, 2025

    Calif. Allows Retroactive Tax Exclusion For Solar Property

    California will allow the purchaser of a new property a three-year window to apply for a property tax exclusion for solar energy systems under a bill signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom.

  • July 29, 2025

    9th Circ. Clarifies Kickback Boundaries For Referral Bonuses

    A Ninth Circuit opinion affirming a California man's fraud conviction provides some clarity — and a warning — to the owners of medical testing laboratories wondering what sales tactics are allowed under a 2018 kickbacks law.

  • July 28, 2025

    Authors Want Court To Reject Anthropic's Bid To Delay Trial

    A group of authors urged a California federal court Monday to reject Anthropic PBC's request to pause their copyright case while Anthropic appeals the court's recent class certification order, arguing that the company has "no basis for a stay" and is trying to deprive them of their day in court.

  • July 28, 2025

    9th Circ. Wants More Info On Trump Admin's Arrest Policy

    A Ninth Circuit panel doubted Monday the government's request to lift a ruling blocking the Trump administration from relying on people's perceived ethnicity or job to stop individuals amid immigration raids, with one judge ordering the government to submit more details on whether it has a 3,000 arrests per day quota.

  • July 28, 2025

    Cadence To Pay $140M For Illegal Chip Design Exports To China

    Semiconductor technology company Cadence Design Systems agreed to pay over $140 million and plead guilty to criminal conspiracy to commit export control violations to resolve charges that it exported semiconductor design tools to a restricted Chinese military university, U.S. Department of Justice officials announced Monday.

  • July 28, 2025

    Calif. Court Overturns HIV Test Order In Sex Assault Case

    A California appellate court on Monday vacated a trial court judge's order requiring an HIV test for a man convicted of sexually assaulting two teenagers, saying there was insufficient evidence to establish probable cause that the defendant transferred bodily fluids to his victims.

  • July 28, 2025

    Tesla Defends Autopilot Technology At Trial Over Fatal Crash

    Tesla vehicles with autopilot engaged reported fewer crashes than those without, a Tesla corporate representative told jurors Monday in a trial over a fatal Florida Keys crash.

  • July 28, 2025

    Perplexity's TM Infringement Confuses Its Own AI, Comet Says

    Software company Comet ML asked a California federal judge to tighten up a preliminary injunction in its trademark infringement dispute with Perplexity AI to protect against consumer confusion, saying the artificial intelligence company's own chatbot confuses the two companies' services.

  • July 28, 2025

    Birthright Call Cited In Push To Keep TPS For Venezuelans

    The TPS Alliance is arguing to a Ninth Circuit panel that another Ninth Circuit panel's affirmation of a nationwide injunction on President Donald Trump's executive order limiting birthright citizenship weighs in favor of preserving a California federal judge's decision blocking the administration's attempt to end temporary protected status for Venezuelan immigrants.

  • July 28, 2025

    CREXi Wants CoStar's Copyright Claims To Wait

    Commercial Real Estate Exchange Inc. is asking to put CoStar's copyright infringement claims against it on hold so they can be tried alongside its recently revived antitrust claims against the property listing rival.

  • July 28, 2025

    Sony Sues Tencent To Block China Co.'s Video Game 'Rip-Off'

    Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC has sued Tencent Holdings Ltd. and subsidiaries of the Chinese technology giant in California federal court to prevent the release of Tencent's video game Light of Motiram, claiming it's a "clone" of Sony's popular Horizon video game series.

  • July 28, 2025

    Coca-Cola Looks To Drain '100% Natural Flavors' False Ad Suit

    Coca-Cola urged a California federal judge to drain a proposed class action alleging it deceptively labels its Sprite sodas as made with "100% natural flavors" despite containing citric acid, arguing Friday the plaintiff doesn't plausibly allege the citric acid is artificial, and that her claims are preempted by federal law.

  • July 28, 2025

    Firms Rip Ford's 'Retaliatory' RICO Suit Over Lemon Law Bills

    Knight Law Group LLP and other firms urged a California federal judge Friday to toss The Ford Motor Co.'s allegations they conspired to dupe clients and defraud automakers by inflating billing, arguing that the racketeering claims are "retaliatory," insufficient and time-barred, and the firms are shielded under the Noerr-Pennington doctrine.

  • July 28, 2025

    State Justices' Financial Disclosures 'Didn't Get Worse' In '24

    Several states are making information about their Supreme Court justices' finances and potential financial conflicts somewhat more accessible, according to a new report.

  • July 28, 2025

    DLA Piper Adds Real Estate Deals Pro From Katten In LA

    DLA Piper has added a former Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP partner to its Los Angeles office, strengthening its real estate practice with an attorney who guided a client in a $250 million joint venture with a South Korean investment management business, the firm said Monday.

  • July 28, 2025

    Cozen O'Connor Lands 4 IP Attys From Eversheds, Buchalter

    Cozen O'Connor announced Monday that it has added two intellectual property partners from Eversheds Sutherland and another prominent IP attorney from Buchalter PC in the San Diego area, with another Eversheds Sutherland partner set to join the team later this week.

  • July 28, 2025

    9th Circ. Tosses 'Bike+' Infringement Claims Against Peloton

    The Ninth Circuit has declined to revive trademark infringement claims against Peloton brought by a professional cyclist's fitness app company, finding no reasonable factfinder could find a likelihood of consumer confusion between the app and one of Peloton's exercise bikes.

  • July 28, 2025

    Judge Again Cites Bias In NIH Fund Freeze As Gov't Appeals

    A Massachusetts federal judge on Monday reiterated his conclusion that the Trump administration's freeze of $783 million worth of National Institutes of Health grants was based on "palpable" gender and racial discrimination, as he acknowledged a pending request by the government to the U.S. Supreme Court to stay his order that the money be released.

  • July 25, 2025

    Social Media Cos. Score Toss Of 2022 Mass Shooting Suit

    A divided New York state appeals court on Friday dismissed a lawsuit that sought to hold Meta, Google and other social media companies liable for a fatal 2022 mass shooting that targeted Black people in Buffalo, New York, saying federal law shielded the companies from liability for the shooter's acts.

  • July 25, 2025

    OpenAI Urges 9th Circ. To Ax Injunction In Trademark Dispute

    OpenAI has asked the Ninth Circuit to vacate an injunction temporarily blocking it from using the trademark associated with acquired competitor IO Products Inc., slamming the litigation as a "transparent attempt to exploit the recent merger announcement."

Expert Analysis

  • How The Healthline Privacy Settlement Redefines Ad Tech Use

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    The Healthline settlement is the first time California has drawn a clear line in the sand around how website tracking must function in practice, so if your site uses tracking technologies, especially around sensitive content like health or finance, regulators are inspecting your website's back end, not just its banner, say attorneys at Baker Donelson.

  • AI Infrastructure Growth Brings Unique IP Considerations

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    The explosive rise of artificial intelligence has triggered an equally dramatic transformation in the supporting infrastructure required to meet growing AI demand, and the technology used in these data centers has its own intellectual property considerations to navigate, says Vincent Allen at Carstens Allen.

  • Series

    Adapting To Private Practice: From ATF Director To BigLaw

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    As a two-time boomerang partner, returning to BigLaw after stints as a U.S. attorney and the director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, people ask me how I know when to move on, but there’s no single answer — just clearly set your priorities, says Steven Dettelbach at BakerHostetler.

  • Reverse Bias Rulings Offer Warning About DEI Quotas

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    Several recent holdings confirm that targeted or quota-based diversity programs can substantiate reverse discrimination claims, especially when coupled with an adverse action, so employers should exercise caution before implementing such policies in order to mitigate litigation risk, says Noah Bunzl at Tarter Krinsky.

  • 4 In-Flux Employment Law Issues Banks Should Note

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    Attorneys at Ogletree provide a midyear update on employment law changes that could significantly affect banks and other financial service institutions — including federal diversity equity and inclusion updates, and new and developing state and local artificial intelligence laws.

  • New DOJ Penalty Policy Could Spell Trouble For Cos.

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    In light of the U.S. Department of Justice’s recently published guidance making victim relief a core condition of coordinated resolution crediting, companies facing parallel investigations must carefully calibrate their negotiation strategies to minimize the risk of duplicative penalties, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • Influencer Marketing Partnerships Face Rising Litigation Risk

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    In light of recent class actions claiming that brands and influencers are misleading consumers with deceptive marketing practices — largely premised on the Federal Trade Commission's endorsements guidance — proactive compliance measures are becoming more important, say attorneys at Olshan Frome.

  • 7 Ways Employers Can Avoid Labor Friction Over AI

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    As artificial intelligence use in the workplace emerges as a key labor relations topic in the U.S. and Europe, employers looking to reduce reputational risk and prevent costly disputes should consider proactive strategies to engage with unions, say attorneys at Baker McKenzie.

  • Trump Air Emissions Carveouts Cloud The Regulatory Picture

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    President Donald Trump's new proclamations temporarily exempting key U.S. industries from air toxics standards, issued under a narrow, rarely-used provision of the Clean Air Act, will likely lead to legal challenges and tighter standards in some states, contributing to further regulatory uncertainty, say attorneys at GableGotwals.

  • Opinion

    DOJ's HPE-Juniper Settlement Will Help US Compete

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    The U.S. Department of Justice settlement with Hewlett Packard Enterprise clears the purchase of Juniper Networks in a deal that positions the U.S. as a leader in secure, scalable networking and critical digital infrastructure by requiring the divestiture of a WiFi network business geared toward small firms, says John Shu at Taipei Medical University.

  • Anthropic Ruling Creates Fair Use Framework For AI Training

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    A California federal court’s recent ruling that Anthropic’s use of copyrighted books to train its large language model qualified as fair use provides important guidance for both artificial intelligence developers and copyright holders because it distinguishes between transformative uses and unauthorized uses involving pirated or format-shifted works, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

  • How Property Insurers Serve As Climate Change Harbingers

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    Thomas Dawson at McDermott discusses the role that U.S. property insurers may play in identifying and assessing climate risk, as well as in financing climate change adaptation projects, in light of global warming and shifting geopolitical realities.

  • Series

    Playing Baseball Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Playing baseball in college, and now Wiffle ball in a local league, has taught me that teamwork, mental endurance and emotional intelligence are not only important to success in the sport, but also to success as a trial attorney, says Kevan Dorsey at Swift Currie.

  • APA Relief May Blunt Justices' Universal Injunction Ruling

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    The Administrative Procedure Act’s avenue for universal preliminary relief seems to hold the most promise for neutralizing the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Trump v. CASA to limit federal district courts' nationally applicable orders, say attorneys at Crowell.

  • Managing Risks As State AGs Seek To Fill Enforcement Gap

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    Given an unprecedented surge in state attorney general activity resulting from significant shifts in federal enforcement priorities, companies must consider tailored strategies for navigating the ever-evolving risk landscape, say attorneys at Cozen O'Connor.

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