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California Pulse
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What Summer Associates Learned From Working At Firms
We asked this year's cohort about the most valuable lessons they learned during their summer associateship. Here's the advice they shared for those ready to jump into law firm life.
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Potomac Law Group Adds Pair Of Litigators In San Francisco
Two new litigators have joined a Potomac Law Group PLLC affiliate in San Francisco as partners — a business and civil litigator most recently with the Spaulding McCullough & Tansil LLP boutique, and a white collar defense and civil litigator with the Rogers Joseph O'Donnell LLP boutique.
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3 Law Firms Want Ford's 'Thermonuclear' RICO Suit Snuffed
Knight Law Group LLP, the Altman Law Group and Wirtz Law APC have urged a California federal judge to dismantle Ford Motor Co.'s racketeering lawsuit accusing the firms of overzealous billing and conspiring to dupe unsuspecting clients in product liability and personal injury cases against automakers.
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Calif. Court Issues AI Hallucinations 'Warning,' Sanctions Atty
A California appeals court has issued a published opinion "as a warning" to Golden State attorneys to personally review case law quotations made by generative artificial intelligence, and imposed a $10,000 monetary sanction on plaintiff's counsel in an otherwise straightforward appeal in an employment case.
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Calif. Legislators OK Requiring Oversight Of Workplace AI
The California Senate has approved a bill that would restrict how employers can use tools powered by artificial intelligence to make employment decisions, sending the legislation to Gov. Gavin Newsom's desk despite opposition from business groups.
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Stradley Ronon Wants Keesal Young's Poaching Suit Tossed
Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young LLP has moved to nix a suit by California firm Keesal Young & Logan, saying its recruitment of 10 former Keesal Young attorneys was entirely above board and that the noncompete clauses in Keesal Young's partnership agreement were not allowed under California law.
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Lowenstein Sandler Unveils Tech-Centered Data Privacy Team
Lowenstein Sandler LLP has rolled out a new multidisciplinary data privacy team, bringing together attorneys with both legal and tech experience to advise on a range of data-related issues.
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Reed Smith Names Department And Practice Group Leaders
Reed Smith LLP announced Monday that it has made changes to its department and practice group leadership, including the appointment of attorneys to lead its U.S. global commercial disputes practice group and co-lead its global litigation and dispute resolution department.
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Raines Feldman Gains 7 New Attys In Calif., NY
Raines Feldman Littrell LLP announced Friday that it has added seven new attorneys to its ranks, adding bicoastal legal talent across four different practice areas.
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Weil Adds 2 Acclaimed Trial Attys From Paul Hastings
Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP announced on Monday that it has welcomed two prominent West Coast litigators from Paul Hastings LLP, highlighting their extensive experience in headline-grabbing cases.
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Kahana Feld Adds Trio Of New Partners In Calif., NY
Kahana Feld LLP has expanded its litigation and construction practices with two new partners in California and a third in New York.
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Former Fed. Prosecutor Returns To Hueston Hennigan In LA
Hueston Hennigan is expanding its trial team, welcoming a former federal prosecutor, who worked as an associate at the firm early in his career, back as of counsel in its Los Angeles office.
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Dentons Ducks Chinese Vape-Maker's Hacking Suit
Dentons has officially escaped allegations it helped the founder of vape distributor Next Level sabotage and usurp manufacturer Avid Holdings' brand, in part by hacking into its founder's laptop to access confidential information, according to newly filed documents.
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Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week
Kaplan Martin LLP leads this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after the Second Circuit upheld an $83.3 million award against President Donald Trump for defaming writer E. Jean Carroll in 2019 in the wake of her sexual assault allegations, rejecting his claims of presidential immunity.
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Greenberg Traurig Co-Founder Placed Firm Above Himself
Larry J. Hoffman cared so much about the firm now known as Greenberg Traurig LLP that he wanted to remove himself from its name.
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Hagens Berman Doubles Down On AI-Tainted Brief Correction
Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP said that the firm has an ethical duty to correct briefs tainted by artificial intelligence errors and that the corrected versions shouldn't be stricken from a proposed class action against online platform OnlyFans' parent company.
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Calif. Bill Blocking Fee Sharing With ABS Firms Heads To Gov.
A bill heading to California Gov. Gavin Newsom's desk is poised to tighten rules to restrict alternative business structure law firms from operating in the Golden State by blocking lawyers from sharing fees with out-of-state firms owned by non-lawyers.
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LA Lawyer Disbarred For Overcharging Inmate Clients
The Golden State's Supreme Court has disbarred a Los Angeles attorney who repeatedly collected "unconscionable legal fees" after misleading inmate clients about their chances for resentencing, the State Bar of California has announced.
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Frost Adds In-House Compliance Pro As New Group Leader
Frost LLP has added an experienced former chief compliance officer and in-house counsel to serve as the leader of its new investigations, compliance and privacy practice.
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AI Company GCs Talk Of Being In The Belly Of The Beast
Five general counsel who are deeply involved in artificial intelligence, including from Microsoft and Anthropic, recently spoke of its impact on their legal departments, and of the ever-present need for trust, judgment and good people skills during this "inflection point with AI."
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Atty As CEO: How Biz Thinking Drives Ferguson Braswell
It's rare to meet lawyers who describe themselves as CEOs, but Kyle Ferguson, who studied business before law, applies that title to himself as leader of Ferguson Braswell Fraser Kubasta PC, or FBFK Law, which has grown from a small into a midsize firm in just a few years.
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Law Firms Push Back On AI Vendors' All-Or-Nothing Pricing
Law firms exploring legal generative artificial intelligence tools want flexible contract terms, but some report that vendors are pushing firmwide licenses tied to multiyear commitments.
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Voir Dire: Law360 Pulse's Weekly Quiz
A BigLaw firm naming its next managing partner and the parent company of an NBA team hiring a new legal chief were among the industry's key moves this week. Test your legal news savvy here with Law360 Pulse's weekly quiz.
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Davis Wright Adds Stradling Yocca M&A Pro In LA
Davis Wright Tremaine LLP is boosting its Southern California corporate team, bringing in a Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth PC mergers and acquisitions expert as a partner in its Los Angeles office.
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Retired Federal Judges Throw Shade On Shadow Docket
Retired federal judges speaking at a Federal Bar Association panel in California Thursday criticized the U.S. Supreme Court's increasing use of "shadow docket" emergency rulings that offer little or no explanation, with retired Ninth Circuit Judge Paul Watford saying the high court has "an obligation to give more of a ruling."
Expert Analysis
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Small Steps Can Help Employers Beat Attorney Burnout
Lawyers are experiencing burnout on a massive, unprecedented scale due to the pandemic, but law firms and institutional players can and should make a difference by focusing on small, practical solutions that protect their attorneys’ most precious personal resource and professional commodity — time, says Chad Sarchio, president of the District of Columbia Bar.
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The Evolving Role Of The Law Firm Legal Secretary
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Technological shifts during the pandemic and beyond should force firms to rethink how legal secretaries can not only better support timekeepers but also participate in elevating client service, bifurcating the role into an administrative support position and a more elevated practice support role, says Lauren Chung at HBR Consulting.
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Series
Ask A Mentor: How Can I Ace My Upcoming Annual Review?.jpg)
Jennifer Rakstad at White & Case highlights how associates can emphasize achievements and seek support before, during and after their annual review, despite the pandemic’s negative effects on face time with colleagues and business development opportunities.
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How Your Law Firm's Brand Can Convey Prestige
In order to be perceived as prestigious by clients and potential recruits, law firms should take their branding efforts beyond designing visual identities and address six key imperatives to differentiate themselves — from identifying intangible core strengths to delivering on promises at every interaction, says Howard Breindel at DeSantis Breindel.
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How Dynamic Project Management Can Help Law Firms
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Law firms looking to streamline matter management should consider tools that offer both employees and clients real-time access to documents, action items, task assignee information and more, overcoming many of the limitations of project communications via email, says Stephen Weyer at Stites & Harbison.
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Series
Ask A Mentor: How Can I Successfully Switch Practices?
Associates who pivot into new practice areas may find that along with the excitement of a fresh start comes some apprehension, but certain proactive steps can help tame anxiety and ensure attorneys successfully adapt to unfamiliar subjects, novel internal processes and different client deliverables, say Susan Berson and Hassan Shaikh at Mintz.
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A Road Map For Creating Law Firm Sustainability Programs
Amid demands from clients and prospective hires for greater sustainability efforts, law firms should think beyond reusable mugs and create programs that incorporate clear leadership structures, emission tracking and reduction goals, and frameworks for reporting results, says Gayatri Joshi at the Law Firm Sustainability Network.
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Why Firms Should Help Associates Do More Pro Bono Work
Associates may hesitate to take on the added commitment of pro bono matters, but such work has tangible skill-building benefits, so firms should consider compensation and leadership strategies to encourage participation, says Rasmeet Chahil at Lowenstein Sandler.
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Confronting The Stigma Of Alcohol Abuse In Legal Industry
The pandemic has likely exacerbated the prevalence of problem drinking in the legal profession, making it critical for lawyers and educators to address alcohol abuse and the associated stigma through issue-specific education, supportive assistance and alcohol-free professional events, says Erica Grigg at the Texas Lawyers' Assistance Program.
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Opinion
Lawyers Have Duty To Push For Immigration Court Reform
Attorneys must use their collective voice to urge federal lawmakers to create an Article I immigration court outside executive branch control, helping address the conflicts of interest, political influence and lack of adjudication consistency that prevent migrants from achieving true justice, say Elia Diaz-Yaeger and Carlos Bollar at the Hispanic National Bar Association.
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Series
Ask A Mentor: How Can 1st-Year Attys Manage Remote Work?
First-year associates can have a hard time building relationships with colleagues, setting boundaries and prioritizing work-life balance in a remote work environment, so they must be sure to lean on their firms' support systems and practice good time management, say Jenny Lee and Christopher Fernandez at Kirkland.
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5 Ways To Lead Lawyer Teams Toward Better Mental Health
Attorney team leaders have a duty to attend to the mental well-being of their subordinates with intention, thought and candor — starting with ensuring their own mental health is in order, says Liam Montgomery at Williams & Connolly.
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How Your Summer Associate Events Can Convey Inclusivity
As law firms begin planning next year's summer associate events, they should carefully examine how choice of venue, activity, theme, attendees and formality can create feelings of exclusion for minority associates, and consider changing the status quo to create multiculturally inclusive events, says Sharon Jones at Jones Diversity.
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Series
Ask A Mentor: How Do I Negotiate Long-Term Flex Work?
Though the pandemic has shown the value of remote work, many firms are still reluctant to embrace flexible working arrangements when offices reopen, so attorneys should use several negotiating tactics to secure a long-term remote or hybrid work setup that also protects their potential for career advancement, says Elaine Spector at Harrity & Harrity.
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What I Wish Law Schools Taught Women About Legal Careers
Instead of spending an entire semester on 19th century hunting rights, I wish law schools would facilitate honest discussions about what it’s like to navigate life as an attorney, woman and mother, and offer lessons on business marketing that transcend golf outings and social mixers, says Daphne Delvaux at Gruenberg Law.