California Pulse


  • 3 Ways Troutman Used AI Tools To Streamline Its Firm Merger

    In January, Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP merged with Locke Lord LLP to form Troutman Pepper Locke LLP. Leaders of the new firm spoke with Law360 Pulse about how they used artificial intelligence tools to save time and money while combining the two firms.

  • Girardi Hospitalized Ahead Of Mental Evaluation Hearing

    Disbarred attorney Tom Girardi was hospitalized Wednesday for a liver problem and is unable to attend a scheduled hearing Thursday before a California federal judge who is evaluating his mental health to determine if he should be sent to prison, according to a filing with the court by his attorneys. 

  • Perkins Coie's DQ Applies To MoFo Co-Counsel, IP Judge Told

    FaceTec Inc. told a California federal judge it plans to seek to disqualify Morrison Foerster LLP from representing Jumio Corp. in patent infringement litigation involving facial recognition technology, arguing the law firm previously served as co-counsel with recently disqualified Perkins Coie LLP and therefore can't now replace Perkins Coie.

  • Roku's GC Steps Down After Less Than A Year In The Role

    Roku Inc.'s general counsel Louise Pentland is leaving the company to "pursue another opportunity," a move that comes less than a year after Pentland joined the company, according to a disclosure filed Wednesday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

  • Girardi Keese Ex-CFO Will Cop To Client Theft In Chicago

    Girardi Keese's former chief financial officer will plead guilty in federal prosecutors' Chicago case alleging he and a relative of now-disbarred Tom Girardi helped the disgraced former legal titan steal millions from clients, according to his Wednesday request that the judge handling the case accept his anticipated plea remotely.

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    Polsinelli Lands Energy Vet From Pillsbury In San Francisco

    Polsinelli PC said Wednesday it is boosting its new project finance group by bringing in a Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP energy and infrastructure project expert as a principal in its San Francisco office.

  • Ex-Lyft CLO Joins Driverless Truck Co.'s Board Ahead Of IPO

    Kodiak Robotics Inc., which provides AI-powered autonomous vehicle technology, said on Wednesday it had appointed the former general counsel and president of Lyft as one of two new members on its board of directors.

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    LA Firm Sues Fisher Phillips Over 'Ridiculous' SLAPP Suit

    A Los Angeles employment lawyer has sued Fisher Phillips for malicious prosecution, alleging the international labor firm targeted him with a "frivolous Rube Goldberg-esque legal argument" in an attempt to block him from representing workers at a Southern California diner chain in claims against their employer.

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    Healthcare Duo Joins Epstein Becker In California, DC

    Epstein Becker Green announced Wednesday that the firm hired a pair of experienced healthcare regulatory attorneys based in California and Washington, D.C. who came aboard following longtime stints with Crowell & Moring LLP and Reed Smith LLP.

  • Feds Seek 13 Years In Avenatti's California Resentencing

    California federal prosecutors asked a judge Wednesday to sentence Michael Avenatti to 160 months in prison for tax fraud and stealing from clients, to be served atop the five-year term imposed in a pair of New York cases where Avenatti was convicted of trying to extort Nike Inc. and defrauding former client Stormy Daniels.

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    The Law School Legal Industry Job Tracker: Class Of 2024

    Want to know which schools are sending the highest percentage of graduates to BigLaw? How big a slice are landing those prized clerkships in federal or state courts? Explore the ins and outs of law school graduate placement in our interactive graphic.

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    BigLaw Dreams? These Schools Can Make Them Real

    More law school students are finding that a position at a law firm is their preferred landing place after graduation. Here's a look at the choices students are making and the schools that are sending the highest percentage of their students directly to BigLaw.

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    The Top Law Schools For Legal Industry Jobs: A Data Review

    A law degree opens up a range of job opportunities, in private law firms, government, business and beyond, the ABA's data shows. Find out which schools came out on top for job placements in BigLaw, federal and state court clerkships, public interest and more.

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    Nvidia GC's Pay Rises To $19.2M Through Stock Gains

    Silicon Valley-based tech company Nvidia's general counsel saw his compensation top $19.2 million last year, an increase of more than $8 million based largely on stock awards and increases to the company's share price.

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    Lathrop GPM Continues Calif. Focus With Sacramento Office

    Lathrop GPM LLP has launched an office in Sacramento, California, its fourth in the Golden State, to be helmed by three existing partners, the firm said in an announcement Tuesday.

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    Kaufman Dolowich Adds Litchfield Cavo Litigator In SoCal

    Kaufman Dolowich is expanding its West Coast team, bringing in a Litchfield Cavo LLP construction industry litigator as partner in its office in Torrance, California.

  • Temu Says IP Atty Lied To Bag Settlements For Clients

    Chinese e-commerce platform Temu accused a California intellectual property attorney of lying during critical negotiations to get the company to sign settlement deals for a street artist known for using the Mr. Monopoly character and a San Francisco apparel store.

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    Frost LLP Adds 4-Atty Litigation Team From Sklar Kirsh In LA

    Two-year-old litigation boutique Frost LLP is expanding its West Coast team, announcing Tuesday it is bringing in a group of four Sklar Kirsh LLP litigators to work in its Los Angeles office.

  • Calif. Bar Sues Administrator Over February Exam 'Chaos'

    The State Bar of California on Monday sued the vendor it used to administer the February bar exam after "chaos ensued" as a result of pervasive technical glitches, saying the vendor misrepresented its ability to proctor the exam, and it won't hand over data that could shed light on what went wrong.

  • Calif. Atty Gets 21 Months In Prison For $8.8M Investor Scam

    An Orange County lawyer who purported to provide short-term high-interest loans to the rich and famous but used the funds to gamble away about $8.8 million at Las Vegas casinos and live a lavish lifestyle was sentenced to 21 months in prison on Monday in California federal court.

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    Blue Cross Blue Shield Atty Joins VSP Vision Care As CLO

    Vision care health insurance company VSP Vision is bringing in the longtime general counsel of Blue Cross Blue Shield Association to be the head of its legal team, the company announced Monday.

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    Which GCs Sold Stock In April? Amphenol, Apple And More

    U.S. legal chiefs across the country continued to add to their incomes by selling off their stock awards, with Lance E. D'Amico, general counsel of Amphenol Corp. in Connecticut, having one of the largest sales in April, hauling in over $15.6 million.

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    Calif. Justices Adjust Bar Exam Passing Score Amid Turmoil

    In an en banc ruling, the California Supreme Court approved adjustments to the passing score for the state bar's embattled February bar exam in line with a formal request by the California Bar Association, resulting in the highest passing rates for the exam in close to five years.

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    12-Lawyer Pond North Toxic Tort Team Joins Lewis Brisbois

    Lewis Brisbois Brisgaard & Smith LLP has absorbed 12-lawyer product liability and toxic tort boutique Pond North LLP, the law firm announced Monday.

  • Cannabis Drink Co. Accuses Stoel Rives Attorneys Of Fraud

    A startup that develops nonalcoholic cannabis beers has claimed in a California state court action that attorneys from Stoel Rives LLP and others conspired on a scheme to defraud the company out of millions by allegedly trying to sell an unlicensed marijuana business.

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Expert Analysis

  • 5 Life Lessons From Making Partner As A Solo Parent Author Photo

    Laranda Walker at Susman Godfrey, who was raising two small children and working her way to partner when she suddenly lost her husband, shares what fighting to keep her career on track taught her about accepting help, balancing work and family, and discovering new reserves of inner strength.

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    Ask A Mentor: How Can I Turn Deferral To My Advantage? Author Photo

    Diana Leiden at Winston & Strawn discusses how first-year associates whose law firm start dates have been deferred can use the downtime to hone their skills, help their communities, and focus on returning to BigLaw with valuable contacts and out-of-the-box insights.

  • Resume Gaps Are No Longer Kryptonite To Your Legal Career Author Photo

    Female attorneys and others who pause their careers for a few years will find that gaps in work history are increasingly acceptable among legal employers, meaning with some networking, retraining and a few other strategies, lawyers can successfully reenter the workforce, says Jill Backer at Ave Maria School of Law.

  • Law Firm Guardrails For Responsible Generative AI Use Author Photo

    ChatGPT and other generative artificial intelligence tools pose significant risks to the integrity of legal work, but the key for law firms is not to ban these tools, but to implement them responsibly and with appropriate safeguards, say Natalie Pierce and Stephanie Goutos at Gunderson Dettmer.

  • Opinion

    We Must Continue DEI Efforts Despite High Court Headwinds Author Photo

    Though the U.S. Supreme Court recently struck down affirmative action in higher education, law firms and their clients must keep up the legal industry’s recent momentum advancing diversity, equity and inclusion in the profession in order to help achieve a just and prosperous society for all, says Angela Winfield at the Law School Admission Council.

  • Law Firms Cannot Ignore Attorneys' Personal Cybersecurity Author Photo

    Law firms that fail to consider their attorneys' online habits away from work are not using their best efforts to protect client information and are simplifying the job of plaintiffs attorneys in the case of a breach, say Mark Hurley and Carmine Cicalese at Digital Privacy and Protection.

  • Why Writing CLE Should Be Mandatory For Lawyers Author Photo

    Though effective writing is foundational to law, no state requires attorneys to take continuing legal education in this skill — something that must change if today's attorneys are to have the communication abilities they need to fulfill their professional and ethical duties to their clients, colleagues and courts, says Diana Simon at the University of Arizona.

  • How To Find Your Inner Calm When Client Obligations Pile Up Author Photo

    In the most stressful times for attorneys, when several transactions for different partners and clients peak at the same time and the phone won’t stop buzzing, incremental lifestyle changes can truly make a difference, says Lindsey Hughes at Haynes Boone.

  • Series

    Ask A Mentor: How Can I Support Gen Z Attorneys? Author Photo

    Meredith Beuchaw at Lowenstein Sandler discusses how senior attorneys can assist the newest generation of attorneys by championing their pursuit of a healthy work-life balance and providing the hands-on mentorship opportunities they missed out on during the pandemic.

  • Law Firm Cybersecurity Should Not Get Lost In The Cloud Author Photo

    A recent data leak at Proskauer via a cloud data storage platform demonstrates key reasons why law firms must pay attention to data safeguarding, including the increasing frequency of cloud-based data breaches and the consequences of breaking client confidentiality, says Robert Kraczek at One Identity.

  • Advice For Summer Associates Uneasy About Offer Prospects Author Photo

    There are a few communication tips that law students in summer associate programs should consider to put themselves in the best possible position to receive an offer, and firms can also take steps to support those to whom they are unable to make an offer, says Amy Mattock at Georgetown University Law Center.

  • How Law Firms Can Cautiously Wield AI To Streamline Tasks Author Photo

    Many attorneys are going to use artificial intelligence tools whether law firms like it or not, so firms should educate them on AI's benefits, limits and practical uses, such as drafting legal documents, to remain competitive in a rapidly evolving legal market, say Thomas Schultz and Eden Bernstein at Kellogg Hansen.

  • Keys To Managing The Stresses Of Law School Author Photo

    Dealing with the pressures associated with law school can prove difficult for many future lawyers, but there are steps students can take to manage stress — and schools can help too, say Ryan Zajic and Dr. Janani Krishnaswami at UWorld.

  • Can Mandatory CLE Mitigate Implicit Bias's Negative Impacts? Author Photo

    Amid ongoing disagreements on whether states should mandate implicit bias training as part of attorneys' continuing legal education requirements, Stephanie Wilson at Reed Smith looks at how unconscious attitudes or stereotypes adversely affect legal practice, and whether mandatory training programs can help.

  • Ditch The Frills And Start Writing Legal Letters In Plain English Author Photo

    To become more effective advocates, lawyers need to rethink the ridiculous, convoluted language they use in correspondence and write letters in a clear, concise and direct manner, says legal writing instructor Stuart Teicher.

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