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California Pulse
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9th Circ. Says Legal Co.'s $1.7M Chase Check Suit Is Too Late
The Ninth Circuit affirmed a California federal court's ruling dismissing a suit by legal support company Nationwide Legal against JPMorgan Chase, saying its suit claiming Chase Bank acted negligently when it allowed a Nationwide Legal employee to deposit fraudulent checks was time-barred.
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Farella Braun Wins Partial Fee Award In FDIC Dispute
A California federal judge has awarded Farella Braun & Martel LLP around $10,000 in attorney fees for the work its lawyers did for the bankrupt parent of Silicon Valley Bank, finding the receiver for the bank, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., failed to comply with discovery orders.
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Office Snapshot: Sheppard Mullin's New Digs In Downtown LA
Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP was founded in downtown Los Angeles nearly a century ago, so when its office lease there was expiring at the end of last year, the firm knew it wouldn't go very far. In fact, it just moved two blocks away to a fresh space at California Plaza.
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Retired San Diego Judge Joins JAMS
The alternative dispute resolution service JAMS has expanded its mediation team, announcing this week that it has added a former San Diego County Superior Court judge as a neutral.
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AI Helping Legal Professionals Tackle Feelings Of Burnout
The majority of surveyed legal professionals think that using AI has helped reduce feelings of burnout at work, according to contract management platform Ironclad's second annual State of AI in Legal report released Tuesday.
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FEMA Dodges Atty's Bias And Retaliation Suit, For Now
A California federal judge dismissed an attorney's lawsuit alleging two federal agencies fired her after she complained that a male colleague harassed her, saying the excessive length and repetitiveness of her claims makes an adequate response a "practical impossibility."
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BCLP Real Estate Finance Pros Join Kilpatrick In Atlanta, SF
Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP is boosting its real estate finance team, announcing Monday it is bringing in two Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP attorneys, one of them returning to Kilpatrick as a partner in Atlanta, the other joining as counsel in San Francisco.
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Alibaba Wants Patent Suit Axed Over Atty's 'Extreme' Conduct
Cloud products and services company Alibaba Cloud US LLC has moved to dismiss a patent suit against it by Cooperative Entertainment Inc. as a sanction for "extreme" conduct by its attorney, which continued after he was referred to a disciplinary committee.
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Squire Patton Lands Ex-Perkins Coie LA Head In Duo Pickup
Squire Patton Boggs said Monday that it has bolstered its global labor and employment practice by adding two attorneys from Perkins Coie LLP, including its former Los Angeles office leader.
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Law Firm Data Breaches Hit New High As Threats Escalate
Despite years of warnings and heavy cybersecurity spending, law firms remain prime targets for cybercriminals, with breaches hitting record highs in 2024, according to a Law360 Pulse analysis that found even top firms struggling to contain the fallout.
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Longtime Loeb & Loeb Corporate Atty Joins Raines Feldman
Raines Feldman Littrell LLP announced that an experienced attorney who's spent over 25 years working on a wide range of corporate and restructuring matters has joined the firm's Los Angeles office as a partner from Loeb & Loeb LLP.
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Simpson Thacher Mourns Chair, Pioneering Dealmaker Beattie
Richard "Dick" Beattie, the senior chairman of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP whose pioneering deal work helped cement private equity's place in mergers and acquisitions, died on Friday at 86, the firm announced.
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Early Support Key To Fixing Legal Profession's Diversity Gap
A lack of early support and systemic barriers continue to block underrepresented students from entering the legal profession, attorneys and legal educators warned at a Friday panel, calling for expanded investment in pipeline programs despite recent legal challenges to diversity initiatives.
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Baker McKenzie Names Int'l Trade Chief As Global Chair
Baker McKenzie said Monday that it has elected the head of its international trade practice to become its new global chair.
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LA Complex Civil Litigation Judge Joins JAMS As Mediator
JAMS has welcomed a retired Los Angeles County Superior Court judge to its roster who spent more than three decades on the bench, where he presided over individual matters, as well as complex civil litigation from mass torts, labor, toxic contamination and insurance disputes.
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Buchalter Lands Duane Morris Securities Litigator In SF
Buchalter PC is expanding its litigation team, bringing in a Duane Morris LLP securities litigation ace as a shareholder in its San Francisco office.
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Flaws Remain In Bar Fitness Queries, Summit Panelists Say
Many current state bar character and fitness tests fail to identify bad actors, and at the same time, certain aspects of the queries can hurt efforts to increase diversity in the profession, according to panelists at the American Bar Association's 2025 Virtual Equity Summit on Friday.
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Calif. Bar Hires Investigator To Review Exam Snafu
The State Bar of California's board of trustees voted to approve a $185,000 contract with a nonprofit to review "exam scoring irregularities and testing accommodations" from its fraught February 2025 bar exam.
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Legal Sector Jobs Ticked Up In May Amid Uncertain Economy
The U.S. legal industry added 1,100 jobs in May, holding steady in the midst of economic uncertainty, according to preliminary data released Friday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week
The University of Virginia School of Law Supreme Court Litigation Clinic and attorney Edward Gilbert lead this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after the U.S. Supreme Court vacated the Sixth Circuit's ruling that plaintiffs claiming anti-heterosexual workplace discrimination need to provide extra "background circumstances" evidence.
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Expert Witness Biz Says Ex-Worker Stole Trade Secrets
Litili, a company that connects expert witnesses to attorneys working on civil cases, has brought a lawsuit in California state court against its former account representative, alleging she took the firm's confidential proprietary business information and used it in her new role at a competing business.
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Calif. Panel Remands Fee Claims Over Evidence Exclusion
A California trial court erred when it blocked any reference to underlying legal malpractice allegations in a trial for recovery of fees brought by a San Francisco lawyer against his former clients, according to a Golden State appeals panel, which found the malpractice claims, though "effectively abandoned," had not reached final judgment on the merits.
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Why Guided Talks Are Key To Retaining Women Attys
At an American Bar Association summit session on inclusive workplace practices on Thursday, one panelist noted that one of the ABA's recent recommendations is to engage in guided conversations throughout law firms and across the legal profession. But what exactly is a guided conversation?
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Greenberg Traurig Adds Perkins Coie Tech Transactions Pro
Greenberg Traurig LLP is expanding its technology team, bringing in a Perkins Coie LLP transactions whiz as a shareholder in its San Diego office.
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Voir Dire: Law360 Pulse's Weekly Quiz
The legal industry began June with another action-packed week as BigLaw firms expanded their presence and offerings. Test your legal news savvy here with Law360 Pulse’s weekly quiz.
Expert Analysis
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The Importance Of Legal Macroeconomics Education For Attys
Most legal professionals lack understanding of the macroeconomic trends unique to the legal industry, like the rising cost of law school and legal services, which contributes to an unfair and inaccessible justice system, so law school courses and continuing legal education requirements in this area are essential, says Bob Glaves at the Chicago Bar Foundation.
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What ABA Student Well-Being Standards Mean For Law Firms
While the American Bar Association's recent amendments to its law school accreditation standards around student well-being could have gone further, legal industry employers have much to learn from the ABA's move and the well-being movement that continues to gain traction in law schools, says David Jaffe at the American University Washington College of Law.
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Series
Ask A Mentor: How Do I Build Rapport In New In-House Role?
Tim Parilla at LinkSquares explains how new in-house lawyers can start developing relationships with colleagues both within and outside their legal departments in order to expand their networks, build their brands and carve their paths to leadership positions.
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What Attys Should Consider Before Taking On Pro Bono Work
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
Piper Hoffman and Will Lowrey at Animal Outlook lay out suggestions for attorneys to maximize the value of their pro bono efforts, from crafting engagement letters to balancing workloads — and they explain how these principles can foster a more rewarding engagement for both lawyers and nonprofits.
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7 Ways Attys Can Improve Their LinkedIn Summaries
Lawyers can use LinkedIn to strengthen their thought leadership position, generate new business, explore career opportunities, and better position themselves and their firms in search results by writing a well-composed, optimized summary that demonstrates their knowledge and experience, says Guy Alvarez at Good2bSocial.
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How Law Firms And Attys Can Combat Imposter Syndrome
Imposter syndrome is rampant in the legal profession, especially among lawyers from underrepresented backgrounds, leading to missed opportunities and mental health issues — but firms can provide support in numerous ways, and attorneys can use therapeutic strategies to quiet their inner critic, says Helen Pamely at Rosling King.
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The Law Firm Qualities Partners Seek In Lateral Moves
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In 2022, partners considering lateral moves have new priorities, and firms that hope to recruit top talent will need to communicate their strategy for growth, engage on hot issues like origination credit and diversity initiatives, and tailor their integration plans toward expanding partners’ client base, says Gloria Sandrino at Lateral Link.
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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.