California Pulse


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    Hinshaw Unveils Rebrand To Show 'Forward Momentum'

    Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP on Wednesday announced a new website and rebranding during what it calls a period of strong financial performance and growth.

  • Calif. Judge Censured For Delayed Rulings, Lying About Them

    A California state judge has been publicly censured for taking more than six months to issue some decisions and lying about those delays on his salary affidavits, according to the state's judicial ethics body.

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    Michelman & Robinson Opens First Overseas Office In London

    Los Angeles-based Michelman & Robinson LLP announced it has made its first expansion outside the U.S. with the launch of a London office.

  • Uber MDL Judge Sets Litigation Funding Disclosure Deadline

    A California federal judge ruled Tuesday in multidistrict litigation accusing Uber Technologies Inc. of failing to prevent drivers from sexually assaulting passengers that plaintiffs' counsel must disclose any ties to third-party litigation funding companies by next week, but stopped short of ordering all plaintiffs' counsel to affirmatively deny any connection.

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    Companies Report Increasingly Gearing Up For AI Risks

    More than a third of major public companies in a study cite AI as a risk factor in their annual financial filings, and 73% report they are aligning with external cybersecurity standards. Both numbers are significantly higher than last year.

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    Wilson Sonsini Adds Cooley Capital Markets Pro In Calif.

    Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati PC continues adding Cooley LLP attorneys to its corporate team, announcing Tuesday it is bringing in a capital markets expert as a partner in its San Francisco office.

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    LA Entertainment Firm Adds Ex-Lionsgate VP To Nonlegal Arm

    Los Angeles boutique Newell Law Group has hired an entertainment industry veteran in a new role bolstering its nonlegal television and film packaging and sales arm, the firm announced Monday.

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    Fisher Phillips Expands Across Country With 4 New Partners

    Fisher Phillips has continued its recent growth throughout the last month with the addition of four partners at offices across the country, the firm said Tuesday.

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    The 2025 Law360 Pulse Prestige Leaders

    Check out our Prestige Leaders ranking, analysis and interactive graphics to see which firms stand out for their financial performance, attractiveness to attorneys and law students, ability to secure accolades and positive legal news media representation.

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    What It Takes to Stay Elite As Legal Market Shifts

    The law firm market has undergone unprecedented change in recent years, allowing for more upward mobility for some firms yet presenting risks for the longtime stalwarts of prestige. Here's how law firms navigate those shifting dynamics.

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    Prestige Leaders: The Firms In The Billionaires' Club

    As BigLaw firms continue to post record-breaking revenues, we're highlighting the firms that reported more than $1 billion in gross revenue in the most recent calendar year.

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    These Firms Are The 2025 Prestige Leaders

    Clients gravitate towards firms with sterling reputations, and so does exceptional legal talent. Here are this year's Law360 Pulse Prestige Leaders — the 100 firms the industry recognizes for their prominence, power and distinction.

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    Ropes & Gray Names 21 New Partners, Keeps 1-Tier Structure

    Ropes & Gray LLP has announced that it will stick to its unique one-tier partnership structure and is promoting 21 attorneys from four offices to partner as of Nov. 1.

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    Latham Adds Gibson Dunn IP Transactions Ace In SF Bay Area

    Latham & Watkins LLP is expanding its corporate team, bringing in a Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP intellectual property transaction expert as a partner in its San Francisco Bay Area offices.

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    How GCs Can Keep The 'Essence' Of Their DEI Efforts

    While shifts this year in federal diversity, equity and inclusion guidelines may have changed the way corporate legal teams track and share demographic information — including for their external counsel — a panel of in-house attorneys who spoke Monday said their work on the issue continues.

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    Katten Names Real Estate Finance Atty As New Leader In LA

    Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP has promoted a longtime real estate finance attorney to be the new head of its Los Angeles office.

  • Spiro Can't Be Witness And Musk Atty, Twitter Investors Say

    Elon Musk's informed written consent does not mean that Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP partner Alex Spiro can serve as both his lead counsel and witness in the trial over a class of investors' allegations that Musk tried to tank Twitter's stock, those investors told a California federal judge on Friday.

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    Paul Weiss, NFL And FIFA Defender, Launches Sports Practice

    Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP, whose attorneys have represented the National Football League and FIFA, and have helped lead multibillion-dollar transactions on the acquisition of sports teams and businesses, has launched a formalized sports practice, the firm announced Monday.

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    Goodwin Elects PE Pro As Incoming Managing Partner

    Goodwin Procter LLP has elected private equity partner Joshua Klatzkin as the firm's next managing partner to take over next year from Mark Bettencourt, who has held the role since 2019, the firm announced Monday.

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    Squire Patton Brings Back Corporate Ace In San Francisco

    A transactional attorney who started her legal career at Squire Patton Boggs LLP more than 20 years ago has rejoined the firm as a San Francisco-based partner.

  • LA County Commits An Added $828M For Sex Abuse Victims

    Los Angeles County Friday said it has tentatively agreed to shell out an additional $828 million to settle hundreds of cases alleging childhood sexual abuse that occurred in county facilities, an amount that follows a $4 billion settlement announced earlier this year.

  • Workday Says Ex-Atty Doesn't Have A Valid Fraud Claim

    A former in-house attorney for Workday Inc. cannot pursue his claim alleging the company made fraudulent promises about his compensation, Workday has told a California federal judge, saying the attorney is trying to impermissibly repackage a breach of contract claim into a tort claim.

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    Federal Courts To Scale Back Operations Amid Shutdown

    The federal court system has run out of money and will scale back operations beginning Monday as a result of the ongoing government shutdown, possibly leading to case delays.

  • Law360 Pulse Spotlight On Mid-Law Work

    Robinson & Cole's handling of a $146.5 million healthcare transaction and Munger Tolles' defense of OpenAI in a trade secrets suit lead this edition of Law360 Pulse's Spotlight On Mid-Law Work, recapping the top matters for Mid-Law firms from Oct. 3 to 17. 

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    Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

    Caldwell Cassady & Curry PC and Miller Fair Henry PLLC lead this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after a Texas federal jury found Samsung must pay nearly $445.5 million for infringing four wireless communication patents.

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Expert Analysis

  • What GCs Value Most: 7 Habits Of Great Relationship Partners Author Photo

    When seeking outside legal advisers, general counsel want commercially savvy lawyers who cultivate relationships of trust with their in-house counterparts, back up the GC's authority and focus on actionable advice instead of abstract legal analysis, say Andrew Dick at The L Suite and Rob Morvillo at Olo.

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    Generating Confidence In A Legal Nonprofit Author Photo

    I started LawWithoutWalls to change the way legal professionals see and think about their world, and it taught me the importance of giving people a reason to believe in your nonprofit mission, as well as how to achieve work-life integration, says Michele DeStefano at the University of Miami.

  • Nonequity Partner Frustrations Reflect Erosion Of Opportunity Author Photo

    Nonequity partners report the lowest satisfaction, highest stress and poorest financial outlook of any group of lawyers, highlighting a growing structural disconnect that leaves attorneys at many firms feeling like the ladder has been pulled up behind those who already ascended, says Jake Carroll at Nelson Mullins.

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    Building Brand Awareness For A Legal Nonprofit Author Photo

    I co-founded the Bridging the Gap Scholarship as a way to increase minority representation in BigLaw, and my advice for other legal professionals starting a nonprofit is to focus on building brand awareness early on, and to get comfortable delegating work to a dedicated team, says Imani Maatuka at Sidley.

  • Learn Your Colleagues To Cross-Sell Their Services Fearlessly Author Photo

    Understanding where colleagues in other practice areas shine can help attorneys confidently cross-sell each other's services and bring in business to keep the firm afloat in hard times, says Joe Calve at Calve Communications.

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    Biz Development Tip Of The Month: Advertise Ethically Author Photo

    Business development in the legal industry is about building authentic connections and showcasing expertise in a way that reflects reality, and, when done right, it can elevate a practice, establish credibility and bring in clients without risking an ethics violation, says Melody Jackson at Robinhood.

  • Ask A Mentor: How Do I Help After Mental Health Leave? Author Photo

    Molly Ranns at the State Bar of Michigan suggests five ways to smooth a colleague's return to practice after short-term mental health leave, while creating a firm culture that protects employees’ emotional health.

  • Tips For Attracting Stellar CLOs In A Competitive Landscape Author Photo

    Amid a rapidly changing regulatory environment and a fierce market for talent, companies hoping to attract the best chief legal officers must have a strong grasp of their roles’ biggest selling points, and any roadblocks that may prevent them from recruiting the strongest choice, says Heather Fine at Major Lindsey.

  • 'Golden Handcuffs' May Be A Double-Edge Sword For Firms Author Photo

    As law firms increasingly use certain financial incentives to retain partners in a fierce lateral market, managing partners should consider the pros and cons of various deferred compensation schemes, says Tom Hanlon at Buchanan Law.

  • The 10-Min. Rule For Building A Business Development Habit Author Photo

    Many lawyers assume that becoming a rainmaker requires a significant investment of time and effort, but the truth is that building a consistent habit of business development can start with just 10 minutes of strategic outreach a day, says Paul Manuele at PR Manuele Consulting.

  • 5 Pointers For Firm Leaders Communicating Tough Decisions Author Photo

    Certain law firm decisions — such as whether to challenge an executive order — cannot be crowdsourced, but leadership can collaboratively communicate these choices using strategies that build trust, reinforce values and preserve cohesion, says John Hellerman at Hellerman Communications.

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    Biz Development Tip Of The Month: Create A Succession Plan Author Photo

    ​​​​​​​Conversations around retirement and succession can be understandably difficult, but when attorneys make a plan for the transition early and effectively, they have the opportunity to not only keep work but also increase it, says Jillian McKenna at Verrill Dana.

  • Looking Under The Hood Of The $3,000 Billable Hour Author Photo

    In recent years, top-tier law firms have pushed hourly rates to unprecedented heights, with some partners commanding $3,000 per hour — but this eye-popping number doesn’t tell the full story, as there are numerous caveats and rigorous winnowing along the way, says Christopher Seck at Squire Patton.

  • How Law Firms Can Keep Nonequity Partners Happy Author Photo

    Law firms that successfully manage two-tiered partnership do so by creating a culture that treats everyone with respect and by establishing financial incentives outside their base compensation to reward performance, says Carol Morganstern at Major Lindsey.

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    Biz Development Tip Of The Month: Leverage Your Atty Bio Author Photo

    If maintained properly, your firm bio can help attract potential clients and create authentic connections, so it's crucial to take steps to write an updated attorney profile that goes beyond a list of credentials, says Raychel Lean at Reputation Ink.

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