California Pulse


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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.

  • Jason Femrite

    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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    Legal Sector Jobs Continue To Climb, Nearing All-Time High

    The U.S. legal industry added 2,800 jobs in June, marking four months in a row of job growth in the sector, according to preliminary data released Thursday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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    Sidley Adds DLA Piper Private Credit Expert In San Diego

    Sidley Austin LLP is growing its finance team, announcing Wednesday it is bringing in a DLA Piper specialist in private credit as a partner in its San Diego office.

  • Girardi Asks To Remain Free During Fraud Appeal

    Disbarred attorney Tom Girardi asked a California federal judge on Wednesday to remain free on bond while he appeals his wire fraud conviction, saying he's not a flight risk or danger to the community and there are several issues on appeal that could result in reversal or resentencing.

  • Trump Announces 1st And 9th Circ. Nominees

    President Donald Trump announced nominations for judges on the First and Ninth circuit courts on Wednesday evening.

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    Jay-Z Loses Defamation And Extortion Suit Against Buzbee

    A state court judge in California has granted Texas attorney Tony Buzbee's request to toss claims of defamation and extortion brought by Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter over sexual abuse allegations connected to Sean "Diddy" Combs, finding that the state's free speech statute requires dismissal.

  • SEC Says Ex-Calif. Atty, Execs Facilitated $112M Stock Fraud

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has filed suit against a disbarred California attorney and several CEOs of penny stock companies, claiming that they helped an outside party facilitate a $112 million pump-and-dump fraud scheme.

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    Legal Sector Sees Record Leases As Firms Eye Premium Digs

    Law firm office leasing is off to a red-hot start in 2025, signaling "a long-term commitment to high-quality real estate" in the legal sector even as other industries have reduced their office footprints due to technology and pandemic-driven disruptions, according to a new report.

  • Kevin W. Humphries & Alan E. Schabes

    Benesch Elects Partner Duo To Executive Committee

    Benesch Friedlander Coplan & Aronoff LLP announced Tuesday that a pair of attorneys, including the co-chair of the firm's corporate practice, have been elected to three-year terms as members of the firm's nine-person executive committee.

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    Norton Rose Hires K&L Gates Real Estate Ace In LA

    Norton Rose Fulbright is building on its California footprint, announcing Wednesday it is bringing in a K&L Gates LLP real estate pro as a partner in its Los Angeles office.

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    A&O Shearman To Require US Attys To Work 4 Days In Office

    Allen Overy Shearman Sterling is the latest firm to increase its in-office requirement for U.S. lawyers from three days a week to four, effective Sept. 2.

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    Kaufman Dolowich Adds Another Litchfield Cavo Atty in Calif.

    Kaufman Dolowich continues growing its California team, announcing Tuesday it is bringing in a Litchfield Cavo LLP litigator as a partner in its office in Torrance, California, near Los Angeles, the third Litchfield Cavo attorney to join the firm in the past two months.

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    Weil Patent Pro Jumps To WilmerHale In Silicon Valley

    WilmerHale is expanding its intellectual property team, announcing Tuesday that it is bringing on a longtime Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP patent expert as a partner in its Silicon Valley office.

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    Solo Lawyers Are Surprisingly Happy, New Survey Says

    A new survey of about 300 solo attorneys by insurance company ALPS Malpractice Insurance concluded that sole practitioners are surprisingly happy with their professional lives, with many citing work-life balance as a key factor, the company said this week.

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    Law Firm Mergers Hit A Near-Record Low In First Half

    The number of law firm mergers and acquisitions involving at least one U.S.-based law firm announced in the first half of 2025 landed at 34, down 42% from last year's first half results and marking a near-decade low.

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    ArentFox Schiff Adds 2 FanDuel Sports In-House Counsel

    ArentFox Schiff LLP is growing its sports industry team, bringing in two in-house counsel from FanDuel Sports Network to its Los Angeles office, one as a partner, the other as an associate.

  • Nicole Howell

    Skadden Corporate Pro Jumps To Munger Tolles In LA

    Munger Tolles & Olson LLP is expanding its corporate team, announcing on Monday that it is bringing in a Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP mergers and acquisitions expert as of counsel in its Los Angeles office.

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    Dunn Isaacson Now In NY, Calif. With Latest Paul Weiss Hires

    Two more litigators from Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP who have represented top technology companies and other clients in court battles have joined Dunn Isaacson Rhee LLP.

  • Calif. Panel Chides Attys Who Hid Opponent's Inactive Status

    In a precedential ruling, a California appellate panel found a party whose counsel's license was made inactive should have been treated as though the attorney had died or been suspended, overturning a $70,000 fee award levied against a woman who was not informed that her lawyer was inactive.

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    Kahana & Feld Expands In Texas, Calif. With Firm Tie-Up

    Kahana & Feld LLP announced Monday that Tarle Law PC's team of lawyers and other professionals, including its leader, are joining the firm, increasing the firm's offerings in California and Texas.

  • Baker McKenzie

    M&A Tops Baker McKenzie's 59-Strong Partner Class For 2025

    Baker McKenzie announced that 59 attorneys will be promoted to partner by the start of July, with the number of internal hires decreasing from last year while lateral recruitment remained the same, at 48, over the past 12 months.

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Expert Analysis

  • Series

    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.

  • Series

    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.

  • Series

    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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