California Pulse


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    Disabled Law Students Report Less Support From Schools

    A fifth of law students have disabilities, but they feel less supported by their schools than do their nondisabled peers, according to a first-of-its-kind study from Indiana University.

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    Roku Hires Snap's 1st-Ever GC To Lead Its Legal Team

    Roku Inc. has found as its new top lawyer a former general counsel at Snap Inc. and longtime partner at Hogan Lovells, according to a Wednesday securities filing.

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    Barnes & Thornburg Unveils New Management Committee

    Barnes & Thornburg LLP has announced its 2025-2026 management committee, with Andrew Detherage remaining the firm's managing partner and an Indianapolis-based partner joining the committee as an at-large member.

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    DLA Piper IP Pro Moves To Womble Bond In Silicon Valley

    Womble Bond Dickinson has hired a DLA Piper partner to bolster its national intellectual property litigation practice and its life sciences presence on the West Coast, the firm said Wednesday.

  • Calif. Judge OKs $1.3M Deal Over Houser LLP Data Breach

    A California federal judge on Oct. 31 signed off on final approval of a $1.3 million settlement and $351,000 in attorney fees in a class action against business litigation firm Houser LLP over a 2023 data breach.

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    Visa, Con Ed Among Leaders In Political Disclosure Rankings

    Despite geopolitical pressures — or perhaps because of them — more companies than ever are agreeing to follow robust transparency policies related to their political spending, according to a new study.

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    Jones Day Hires Ex-Coinbase Associate GC In San Diego

    Jones Day has added to its San Diego cybersecurity practice a former member of Coinbase's commercial litigation team, the firm announced.

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    Commerce Dept. Atty Joins Holland & Knight's Trade Team

    A senior counsel at the U.S. Department of Commerce has joined Holland & Knight LLP's international trade group as a partner, the latest in a string of former government officials to join the firm's ranks in the past several months.

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    Mid-Law's Big Leap: The Rise Of The 'Super Mid-Market' Firm

    As consolidation pressure mounts, some Mid-Law firms have bulked up to BigLaw scale without moving away from their focus on midsized clients, with this so-called "super mid-market" tier of firms likely to keep expanding.

  • Fired E-Biz Execs Sue Jackson Walker Over Judge's Romance

    A pair of former executives at e-commerce company Volusion LLC have hit Jackson Walker LLP with the latest in a series of suits accusing the firm of legal malpractice stemming from the undisclosed romance between a former partner and a Texas bankruptcy judge.

  • Senate Confirms Jones Day Partner To 9th Circ. Bench

    The Senate voted 52-45 on Wednesday to confirm Eric Tung, a partner at Jones Day, as a judge on the Ninth Circuit.

  • Robbins Geller's 'Eye-Watering' $28M Fee Bid Cut To $10.4M

    A California federal judge has rejected a $28 million attorney fee request from Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd as part of a $150 million investor settlement with Zoom, calling it an "eye-watering figure," and saying the firm can collect about $10.4 million instead.

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    Corporate Atty Returns To Baker Botts From VC Fund In Calif.

    Baker Botts LLP is growing its corporate team, announcing Wednesday it is bringing back a venture capital expert most recently with BRV Capital Management as a partner in its Silicon Valley office in Palo Alto, California.

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    BakerHostetler Lands Knobbe Martens IP Trio In California

    BakerHostetler continues expanding its West Coast team, announcing Wednesday it is bringing in three Knobbe Martens intellectual property attorneys as partners in its Los Angeles and Orange County offices.

  • Judge DQs Levi & Korsinsky Over 'False Press Releases'

    A California federal judge disqualified Levi & Korsinsky from serving as lead counsel in a proposed investor class action after finding that the firm issued press releases to attract clients with headlines stating it had filed certain suits when in fact, the firm hadn't actually filed those cases.

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    Lagasse Branch Grows With 15 Attys From Boutique In Calif.

    California firm Lagasse Branch Bell & Kinkead LLP is expanding its ranks by almost a third, adding 15 attorneys from the boutique formerly known as Bradley Gmelich & Wellerstein LLP, including one of its name partners, according to an announcement Tuesday.

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    Pierson Ferdinand Adds 6 More Partners In US, London

    Fast-growing Pierson Ferdinand LLP has announced that the firm added six new partners in five U.S. markets and in its London office during the month of October.

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    Which GCs Sold Stock In October? Apple, Strategy And More

    Three top legal officers at tech companies in California, a Washington, D.C., suburb and Austin, Texas, hauled in big stock scores last month.

  • Littler Adds Veteran In-House Atty From Amazon In California

    Employment and labor law firm Littler Mendelson PC has expanded its offerings in San Francisco with a veteran in-house attorney who most recently spent over eight years at Amazon.

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    Haynes Boone Hires First Chief Talent Officer

    Haynes Boone announced this week that it has hired its first chief talent officer to steer attorney development and recruiting efforts as the firm continues to grow and change its senior leadership structure.

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    Wilson Elser Picks Up 6-Atty Team In LA From Booth

    Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker LLP announced Tuesday that it has hired a six-attorney team from the now-shuttered Booth LLP in Los Angeles, including that firm's former managing partner.

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    Dechert Requiring 4 Days In Office For Some Attys, All Staff

    Dechert LLP joined a growing list of BigLaw firms increasing their office attendance requirements, rolling out a new policy requiring rising second-year associates and all nonattorney business professionals to work in person four days a week beginning next year.   

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    Ruli.ai Raises $6M In Seed Funding, Hires Ex-Pinterest GC

    Amid the current race to invest in artificial intelligence-powered legal technology, legal intelligence platform Ruli.ai announced Tuesday that it has raised $6 million in seed funding, bringing its total funding to $8 million in a little more than a year.

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    Boies Schiller Adds 2 Attys From Herrick Feinstein, Disney

    Boies Schiller Flexner LLP this week announced two prominent hires — a Herrick Feinstein LLP attorney with a history of working on multibillion-dollar restructurings and a firm alum from The Walt Disney Co. who brings experience in copyright matters and artificial intelligence.

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    Calif. Prop 65 Expert Joins Carlton Fields In Los Angeles

    Carlton Fields announced Monday that an experienced defense litigator who focuses on California's Proposition 65 matters has joined the firm's Los Angeles office from Steptoe LLP.

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Expert Analysis

  • Talking Mental Health: The View From Life After BigLaw Author Photo

    Life coach and author Wendy Tamis Robbins discusses why she left a career in BigLaw to work in the professional well-being space after finding freedom from anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder and substance use disorders, and highlights two changes the legal industry should implement to address attorneys' mental health.

  • 6 Essential Skills For Summer Associates To Land An Offer
    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    With full-time offer rates at the lowest point since 2012, summer associates must do all they can to distinguish themselves, starting with a few fundamentals — from the importance of asking clarifying questions to being honest about mistakes, says James Argionis at Cozen O'Connor.

  • Making Legal Cents: How Law Firms Can Innovate Faster Author Photo

    To meet the demands of an evolving legal market and changing client expectations, law firms must not only embrace innovation, but also find ways to accelerate adoption and mitigate risks in an industry historically resistant to change, says Shireen Hilal at Maior Strategic Consulting.

  • Ask A Mentor: How Should Departing Partners Approach Pay? Author Photo

    Sabina Lippman at CenterPeak discusses steps BigLaw partners can take when considering a move or announcing their departure to help navigate tricky compensation issues and remain on good terms with their current partners.

  • How 2 Litigators Decided Dad Would Stay Home With The Kids Author Photo

    Jennifer Hoekstra at Aylstock Witkin shares the tough conversations about timing, goals, logistics and values involved in her family's decision that she would build her career as a litigator and law firm partner while her husband stepped back from his own litigation role to stay home with their children.

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    My Nonpracticing Law Job: Legal Commentary Ghostwriter Author Photo

    Wayne Pollock at Copo Strategies shares how he went from overworked Am Law 50 associate to owner of a legal thought leadership ghostwriting service, and provides four lessons for anyone who might be considering launching a business within the legal industry.

  • Ask A Mentor: As Trials Grow Rarer, How Do I Hone My Skills? Author Photo

    Gary Parsons at Brooks Pierce offers advice for young lawyers seeking trial experience in an environment where fewer cases make it to trial, including how to build their reputations, set their expectations and pick the right firm.

  • Talking Mental Health: Managing Depression As A Co. Founder Author Photo

    New Era ADR co-founder Collin Williams discusses his journey navigating a clinical depression diagnosis, how this experience affected his leadership style, and what the legal industry can do to better support attorneys with mental health conditions.

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    My Nonpracticing Law Job: Career And Wellness Coach Author Photo

    Tara Rhoades at The Sanity Plea shares how she went from BigLaw partner to legal industry career and wellness coach, and explains how attorneys can use their capabilities, knowledge and professional networks to pursue coaching themselves, or bring refreshed meaning and purpose to their current roles.

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    Talking Mental Health: Tackling Stress As A Practice Leader Author Photo

    Constance Rhebergen at Bracewell discusses how she handles the stress of being a practice chair, how sources of stress have changed in the legal industry over the past decade and what law firms can do to protect attorney mental health.

  • Making Legal Cents: Engaging A Remote, Evolving Workforce Author Photo

    In the face of a dispersed and changing workforce with Generation Z entering the scene, law firms should consider some practical strategies to revitalize their cultures, provide meaningful mentorship and safeguard their knowledge bases, says Shireen Hilal at Maior Strategic Consulting.

  • How Firms Can Effectively Evaluate Their Summer Associates Author Photo

    One of the most effective ways firms can ensure their summer associate programs are a success is by engaging in a timely and meaningful evaluation process and being intentional about when, how and by whom feedback should be provided, say Caroline Cimei and Erica Fine at Shutts & Bowen.

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    Talking Mental Health: Life As A Lawyer With OCD Author Photo

    Kelly Hughes at Ogletree discusses what she’s learned in the 14 years since she was diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder, recounting how the experience shaped her law practice, what the legal industry and general public get wrong about the disorder, and how law firms can better support employees who have OCD.

  • 3 Innovative Ways AI May Be Used In Legal Practice
    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    Artificial intelligence tools will increasingly be used by outside counsel to better predict the outcomes of litigation — thus informing legal strategy with greater precision — and by clients to scrutinize invoices and evaluate counsel’s performance, says Ronald Levine at Herrick Feinstein.

  • Roundup

    My Nonpracticing Law Job Author Photo

    Not every law degree leads to a law practice. In this Law360 Pulse series, former practicing attorneys share the stories of how they went from practicing corporate law to using their knowledge and background to carve out a nontraditional career path in the legal industry.

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