California Pulse


  • 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.

  • 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.

  • DTLA Sheppard Mullin_reception.jpg

    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.

  • John B. Scherling

    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.

  • 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." 

  • Bob Stupar

    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.

  • 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.

  • Jon G. Daryanani & Jill L. Ripke

    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.

  • Richard Beattie Headshot.jpg

    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.

  • Judge Kenneth R. Freeman

    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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

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Expert Analysis

  • Future Lawyers Expect DEI Commitments Beyond Recruiting Author Photo

    To attract future lawyers from diverse backgrounds, firms must think beyond recruiting efforts, because law students are looking for diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives that invest in employee professional development and engage with students year-round, says Lauren Jackson at Howard University School of Law.

  • Series

    Ask A Mentor: How Can Law Students Build Real-World Skills? Author Photo

    Allison Coffin at Akin Gump discusses how summer associates going back to school can continue to develop real-world lawyering skills by leveraging the numerous law school resources that support professional development both inside and outside the classroom.

  • How Firm Leaders Can Build And Sustain Culture Author Photo

    In uncertain and challenging times, law firm leaders can build and sustain culture by focusing attention on mission, values and leadership development, and applying a growth mindset across their firms, says Scott Westfahl at Harvard Law.

  • The Case That Showed Me The Value Of E-Discovery Plans Author Photo

    Robert Keeling at Sidley reflects on leading discovery in the litigation that followed the historic $85 billion AT&T-Time Warner merger and how the case highlighted the importance of having a strategic e-discovery plan in place.

  • Opinion

    CLE Accreditation Should Be Tied To Learning Outcomes Author Photo

    Given the substantial time and money lawyers put toward mandatory continuing legal education, CLE regulators and providers should be held to accreditation standards that assess learning outcomes, similar to those imposed on law schools and continuing medical education providers, says Rima Sirota at Georgetown Law.

  • Why You Should Leverage AI For Privilege Review Author Photo

    While many lawyers still believe that a manual, document-by-document review is the best approach to privilege logging, certain artificial intelligence tools can bolster the traditional review process and make this aspect of electronic document review more efficient, more accurate and less costly, say Laura Riff and Michelle Six at Kirkland.

  • Persuading The Court With Visual Aids In Written Argument Author Photo

    Robert Dubose at Alexander Dubose describes several categories of visuals attorneys can use to make written arguments easier to understand or more persuasive, and provides tips for lawyers unused to working with anything but text.

  • BigLaw Vs. Mid-Law Summer Programs: The Pros And Cons Author Photo

    There are major differences between BigLaw and Mid-Law summer associate programs, and each approach can learn something from the other in terms of structure and scheduling, the on-the-job learning opportunities provided, and the social experiences offered, says Anna Tison at Brooks Pierce.

  • Series

    Ask A Mentor: How Do I Take Time Off? Author Photo

    David Kouba at Arnold & Porter discusses how attorneys can prioritize mental health leave and vacation despite work-related barriers to taking time off.

  • Law Firms Must Prioritize Mental Health In Internal Comms Author Photo

    The traditional structure of law firms, with their compartmentalization into silos, is an inherent challenge to mental wellness, so partners and senior lawyers should take steps to construct and disseminate internal action plans and encourage open dialogue, says Elizabeth Ortega at ECO Strategic Communications.

  • Our Current Approach To Trial Advocacy Training Is Lacking Author Photo

    The key to trial advocacy is persuasion, but current training programs focus almost entirely on technique, making it imperative that lawyers are taught to be effective storytellers and to connect with their audiences, says Chris Arledge at Ellis George.

  • How Women In Law Can Advance Toward Leadership Roles Author Photo

    Female attorneys in leadership roles inspire other women to pursue similar opportunities in a male-dominated field, and for those who aspire to lead, prioritizing collaboration, inclusivity and integrity is key, says Kim Yelkin at Foley & Lardner.

  • The Case That Took Me From Prosecutor To Defense Attorney Author Photo

    Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Moira Penza, now at Wilkinson Stekloff, recalls the challenges of her first case as a civil defense attorney — a multibillion-dollar multidistrict class action against Allergan — and the lessons she learned about building rapport in the courtroom and with co-counsel.

  • The Importance Of Legal Macroeconomics Education For Attys Author Photo

    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.

  • What ABA Student Well-Being Standards Mean For Law Firms Author Photo

    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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