California Pulse


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    McGuireWoods Names New Office Leaders In 4 US Cities

    McGuireWoods LLP announced Wednesday that it has appointed new office managing partners in Atlanta, Houston, Baltimore and San Francisco, continuing the firm's practice of rotating its staff in and out of key leadership positions.

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    Gordon Rees Taps Calif. Employment Atty As Next Firm Head

    Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani LLP announced Tuesday that a 20-year veteran employment litigator who has long been involved with firm management has been tapped to become the firm's new managing partner effective next year.  

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    Knol Hanly Entertainment Atty Joins Manatt In LA

    Manatt Phelps & Phillips LLP announced Tuesday that it is boosting its entertainment team by bringing in a Knol Hanly PC television ace experienced in unscripted content as a partner in its Los Angeles office.

  • Calif. Bar Seeks 30-Day Suspension For Ex-Exec's Misconduct

    The California State Bar Court has recommended a 30-day "actual" suspension for its onetime executive director, who last year was found culpable for a "significant ethical violation" in making misrepresentations to the State Bar Board of Trustees regarding his 2014 visit to Mongolia, which allegedly cost thousands of dollars in bar funds.

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    Law Firm Lateral Hiring Rebounded In Q2, But Trails 2024 Pace

    Lateral attorney hiring at the 200 largest U.S. law firms by revenue showed a modest rebound in the second quarter of 2025, offering early signs of recovery after a slow start to the year, according to a new report from legal intelligence provider Firm Prospects.

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    Frost LLP Adds Entertainment Vet As Partner

    Longtime entertainment attorney Gary Stiffelman has joined Frost LLP as a partner after several years at his own firm, bringing the experience of four decades representing what the firm said were numerous high-profile artists, cultural leaders and executives.

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    Paul Hastings Lands Wilson Sonsini Emerging Co. Atty In SF

    Paul Hastings LLP has hired a longtime corporate attorney from Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati PC to grow its emerging companies and venture capital practice and expand its talent base in Northern California, the firm announced Tuesday.

  • 9th Circ. Backs Sanctions For Jehovah's Witnesses' Atty

    The Ninth Circuit Monday upheld nearly $160,000 in sanctions against the general counsel for a Jehovah's Witnesses group accused of submitting a misleading affidavit to a Montana federal court in litigation brought by women alleging they endured sexual assault as children at the hands of church officials.

  • Calif. Justices Disbar SF Atty For Defrauding Elderly Client

    The California Supreme Court has ordered the disbarment of a San Francisco lawyer who authorities say overcharged an elderly trust account client with advanced dementia, finding that he "repeatedly failed to uphold the most basic duties of an attorney" and is "unfit to serve as a member of the bar."

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    Law Firm Partners United Co-Founder Joins King & Spalding

    A Goodwin Procter LLP intellectual property partner who earlier this year co-founded a coalition of BigLaw attorneys challenging the Trump administration's attacks on law firms has jumped to King & Spalding LLP.

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    Which GCs Sold Stock In June? Broadcom, US Steel And More

    Mark David Brazeal, chief legal officer at Broadcom Inc., earned $25.76 million selling stock in his company last month. Close behind is Duane Holloway, the former general counsel of U.S. Steel Corp., who is walking away from the company on July 18 with over $18.5 million earned from stock sales in June, when his company was acquired.

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    Kahana & Feld Adds 10 Partners Across Calif., Texas, Nevada

    Kahana & Feld LLP announced Monday that it has continued expanding, noting the recent additions of 10 new partners in California, Texas and Nevada who come from a variety of practice areas and law firms.

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    Weil Adds DLA Piper Entertainment Transactions Co-Chair

    Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP announced Monday it has hired the co-leader of DLA Piper's entertainment transactions practice to enhance its own capacity to handle a wide range of entertainment, sports and media deals.

  • Biopharma Co. Genelux Hires Life Sciences Veteran As GC

    California-based biopharmaceutical company Genelux Corp., which is currently developing a potential cancer treatment called Olvi-Vec, has found its new legal leader in a seasoned life sciences executive who most recently served as general counsel at Rani Therapeutics, according to a Monday announcement.

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    Brownstein Hyatt Breaks Into NY, Adds 5-Atty Crowell Team

    Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck LLP announced Monday that it has hired five partners and a policy director from Crowell & Moring LLP and established its first New York office in the process.

  • Circuit-By-Circuit Recap: Justices Send Message To Outliers

    It was a tough term at the U.S. Supreme Court for two very different circuits — one solidly liberal, one solidly conservative — that had their rulings overturned in eye-popping numbers. But it was another impressive year for a relatively moderate circuit that appears increasingly simpatico with the high court.

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    The Moments That Shaped The Universal Injunction Case

    The U.S. Supreme Court voted along ideological lines when it hindered the ability of federal district court judges to issue nationwide pauses on presidential policies, but that outcome didn't seem like a foregone conclusion during oral arguments earlier this year. What do the colloquies suggest about the justices' thinking? Here are some moments that may have swayed them.

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    Orrick Adds Nixon Peabody Public Finance Atty In LA

    Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP is boosting its finance team, bringing in a Nixon Peabody LLP public finance pro as a partner in its Los Angeles office.

  • Tarter Krinsky Opens Expanded LA Office

    Tarter Krinsky & Drogin LLP announced that in response to its focus on growing its Los Angeles operation, the firm has opened an expanded office in the city's Century City neighborhood.

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    Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

    The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty leads this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a Maryland school district burdened parents' religious rights when it declined to provide opt-outs from a policy that introduced LGBTQ-themed storybooks into its K-12 English curriculum.

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    Disclosing Political Spend Wins Surprising Investor Support

    While most shareholder activists are hitting a brick wall with environmental, social and governance measures at 2025 annual meetings, a proposal asking for increased transparency around corporate political spending has passed at five companies, surprising some experts.

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    Procopio Names M&A Leader To Management Committee

    Procopio Cory Hargreaves & Savitch LLP has tapped one of its longtime corporate partners in California to serve on the firm's management committee.

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    Asian E-Grocery Taps Ex-Skadden Atty As General Counsel

    An attorney with more than 20 years of experience as an in-house counsel for technology companies has recently joined grocery delivery platform Weee! to lead its law department.

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    The Firms That Won Big At The Supreme Court

    The number of law firms juggling three or more arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court this past term nearly doubled from the number of firms that could make that claim last term.

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    Breaking Down The Vote: The High Court Term In Review

    The U.S. Supreme Court once again waited until the term's closing weeks — and even hours — to issue some of its most anticipated and divided decisions.

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Expert Analysis

  • Learning How To Code Can Unleash New Potential In Lawyers Author Photo

    Every lawyer can begin incorporating aspects of software development in their day-to-day practice with little to no changes in their existing tools or workflow, and legal organizations that take steps to encourage this exploration of programming can transform into tech incubators, says George Zalepa at Greenberg Traurig.

  • Supporting Associates Amid Pandemic's Mental Health Toll Author Photo

    As junior associates increasingly report burnout, work-life conflict and loneliness during the pandemic, law firms should take tangible actions to reduce the stigma around seeking help, and to model desired well-being behaviors from the top down, say Stacey Whiteley at the New York State Bar Association and Robin Belleau at Kirkland.

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    Ask A Mentor: Should My Law Firm Take On An Apprentice? Author Photo

    Mentoring a law student who is preparing for the bar exam without attending law school is an arduous process that is not for everyone, but there are also several benefits for law firms hosting apprenticeship programs, says Jessica Jackson, the lawyer guiding Kim Kardashian West's legal education.

  • The Importance Of Client Engagement In Law Firm Innovation Author Photo

    As clients increasingly want law firms to serve as innovation platforms, firms must understand that there is no one-size-fits-all approach — the key is a nimble innovation function focused on listening and knowledge sharing, says Mark Brennan at Hogan Lovells.

  • The Unique Challenges Facing Women-Owned Law Firms Author Photo

    In addition to establishing their brand from scratch, women who start their own law firms must overcome inherent bias against female lawyers and convince prospective clients to put aside big-firm preferences, says Joel Stern at the National Association of Minority and Women Owned Law Firms.

  • The Pursuit Of Wellness In BigLaw: Lessons From My Journey Author Photo

    Jane Jeong at Cooley shares how grueling BigLaw schedules and her own perfectionism emotionally bankrupted her, and why attorneys struggling with burnout should consider making small changes to everyday habits.

  • Why We Must Recruit And Advance More Black Prosecutors Author Photo

    Black Americans make up a disproportionate percentage of the incarcerated population but are underrepresented among elected prosecutors, so the legal community — from law schools to prosecutor offices — must commit to addressing these disappointing demographics, says Erika Gilliam-Booker at the National Black Prosecutors Association.

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    Ask A Mentor: How Can Associates Deal With Overload? Author Photo

    Young lawyers overwhelmed with a crushing workload must tackle the problem on two fronts — learning how to say no, and understanding how to break down projects into manageable parts, says Jay Harrington at Harrington Communications.

  • A Scientific Path For Improving Diversity At Law Firms Author Photo

    Law firms could combine industrial organizational psychology and machine learning to study prospective hires' analytical thinking, stress response and similar attributes — which could lead to recruiting from a more diverse candidate pool, say Ali Shahidi and Bess Sully at Sheppard Mullin.

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    Ask A Mentor: How Can Associates Seek More Assignments? Author Photo

    In the first installment of Law360 Pulse's career advice guest column, Meela Gill at Weil offers insights on how associates can ask for meaningful work opportunities at their firms without sounding like they are begging. 

  • Legal Sector Regulatory Reform Is Key To Closing Justice Gap Author Photo

    In order to improve access to justice for those who cannot afford a lawyer, states should consider regulatory innovations, such as allowing new forms of law firm ownership and permitting nonlawyers to provide certain legal services, says Patricia Lee Refo, president of the American Bar Association.

  • How Attys Can Guard Against Rising Settle-And-Sue Claims Author Photo

    Certain precautions can help lawyers avoid post-settlement malpractice claims and create a solid evidentiary defense, as settle-and-sue lawsuits rise amid pandemic-induced dispute settlements, say Bethany Kristovich and Jeremy Beecher at Munger Tolles.

  • What I Learned As A Virtual Summer Associate Author Photo

    It is necessary in a virtual law firm summer program to think twice about asking questions you may be able to answer on your own, but this independence and other aspects of a remote internship may help to instill habits that would be useful for future full-time associates, says law student Kelley Sheehan, who interned at Patterson & Sheridan this summer.

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