California Pulse


  • California State Judge Admonished For Acts Of Misconduct

    A California state judge has been hit with a public admonishment by a judicial watchdog for "numerous acts of misconduct," including discussing litigants and pending cases "in an area of the courthouse where she could be overheard."

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    Education Firms Fagen Friedman, Kriha Boucek To Combine

    Fagen Friedman & Fulfrost LLP and Kriha Boucek LLC will combine next year, creating an education law practice with more than 150 lawyers in 11 offices across the country, according to an announcement this week.

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    Habba Cites Essayli Ruling To Defend Role In NJ Cases

    The U.S. Department of Justice has urged the Third Circuit to reinstate Alina Habba's authority in two criminal prosecutions, arguing a recent California ruling backs her power to supervise cases as first assistant, even if she's barred from acting as U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey under federal vacancy law.

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    Law Firm Real Estate Report

    Mergers and lateral hires helped some law firms expand their footprints around the U.S. in October, including Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP's new office in Charlotte, North Carolina, and Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP's plans for a new office in West Palm Beach, Florida.

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    This CLO Says The Process Is As Important As The Answer

    Engaging the right people and building alignment is as crucial as reaching solutions, Anirma Gupta, the top lawyer at technology company Unity, told Law360 Pulse this week.

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    Merchant & Gould Taps IP Boutique Leader To Head LA Office

    Intellectual property firm Merchant & Gould PC is boosting its West Coast team with a copyright and trademark litigator becoming the managing partner of its 4-year-old Los Angeles office, the firm said Wednesday.

  • Netflix Settles Former India Legal Director's Gender Bias Suit

    Netflix has settled a wrongful termination and gender discrimination suit filed by the company's former director of business and legal affairs in India, according to a Los Angeles County Superior Court filing.

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    Cisco CLO's Pay Jumps $3.3M To $15.8M In Fiscal 2025

    The chief legal officer at technology giant Cisco Systems Inc. earned $15.8 million in total compensation for fiscal year 2025, according to a recent securities filing, keeping her firmly planted among the top 20 highest paid general counsel in the U.S.  

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    Alston & Bird Sanctioned $10K For LinkedIn Juror Research

    A California federal judge has sanctioned Alston & Bird LLP $10,000 for conducting juror research on LinkedIn ahead of a trial in which it fended off $174 million in patent infringement claims against GoPro, saying privacy has been eroded in the age of the internet, and he considers LinkedIn research to be juror contact because of the notifications it sends to users.

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    Mid-Law Firms Exercise Caution In Limited Spending For AI

    With smaller legal technology budgets than their BigLaw cousins, Mid-Law firms are cautiously making investments in AI tools with an eye on utilizing the technology in low-risk and cost-effective ways.

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    4 Ways Associates Can Ace Their Annual Review This Year

    It’s year-end review time. How can associates put themselves in the best position possible to advance their careers? Here are four tips.

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    LA's Acting US Atty Essayli 'Not Lawfully Serving,' Judge Says

    Bill Essayli "is not lawfully serving" as the acting U.S. attorney in Los Angeles, a federal judge ruled Tuesday evening, disqualifying President Donald Trump's pick from serving in that role while declining to outright toss indictments in three criminal cases under his supervision.

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    Next Era Legal Duo Take 'Fractional GC' Model To The Bank

    California lawyers Eric Proos and Jeff Monahan started a law firm this year to help early-stage growth companies build out their in-house legal operation, but the ambitious founders are leveraging home-grown AI and eyeing the possibility of outside investment as they seek to grow themselves.

  • Calif. Atty Seeks $25K As Fee Sanction For AI Error

    A California attorney representing a mobile app platform in a small-time copyright and contract suit playing out in Oakland federal court has asked for $25,000 as reimbursement for work he said went into responding to an error-ridden motion and subsequent time spent on the matter.

  • Kirkland Litigator Joins Benesch In San Francisco

    Benesch Friedlander Coplan & Aronoff LLP announced that an experienced San Francisco-based litigator has joined the firm after over a decade with Kirkland & Ellis LLP.

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    Barnes & Thornburg Partner Class Dips To 16 Attys

    Barnes & Thornburg LLP has elevated 16 attorneys to partners who are based in eight of the firm's offices including in Georgia, Illinois, New Jersey and California, marking a slight decline from the firm's 2024 partner class of 19.

  • Texas Co.'s Lack Of Counsel Sinks Perplexity AI TM Suit

    A Texas company suing Perplexity AI Inc. for trademark infringement had its case tossed by a California federal judge who said it had ignored warnings that it couldn't proceed without representation.

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    The 2025 Law360 Pulse Leaderboard

    Check out the Law360 Pulse Leaderboard to see which firms are leaders in all-around excellence this year.

  • How Leaderboard Firms Define Success

    The 2025 Law360 Pulse Leaderboard law firms are balancing business strength with social responsibility, global reach with local impact, and the ability to lead complex matters while meeting clients' evolving needs. Law360 caught up with firm leaders from this year’s Leaderboard to discuss what success looks like, and how they are positioning their firms for the future.

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    These Firms Top The 2025 Law360 Pulse Leaderboard

    What makes a law firm stand out in a crowded field of top-tier competitors? What does it take to be a well-rounded firm? Presenting the 2025 Law360 Pulse Leaderboard — showcasing the firms that demonstrate excellence on measures of prestige, responsible business practices, and the reach of their legal work.

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    The Litigation Reach Of The 100 Practice Footprint Firms

    The top 100 firms on Law360's 2025 Practice Footprint ranking have left a clear mark across federal district courts. Our interactive map shows where each firm has appeared in district court cases over the past three years — revealing the breadth of each firm's national reach.

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    The 2025 Practice Footprint Ranking: How Firms Stack Up

    These 100 firms stand out for their impressive litigation footprints and transactions work. See who's leading the pack across four categories: variety of cases, range of jurisdictions, closing large merger and acquisition deals, and handling registered offerings.

  • Robinhood User Attys Forgo Fee Over 'Unusually High' Costs

    Attorneys representing Robinhood users said they will forgo fees after racking up "unusually high" costs brokering the $2 million settlement of a consolidated class action alleging the investing platform failed to disclose financial interests, affecting how customers' orders were handled.

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    Gordon Rees Adds Clark Hill Litigator In Sacramento

    Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani LLP is expanding its West Coast team, bringing in a Clark Hill PLC litigator as a partner in its Sacramento office.

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    Fired DOJ Attys' Suits May Test Gov't Workers' Protections

    Two lawsuits from fired U.S. Department of Justice attorneys may set the U.S. Supreme Court up to decide between presidential authority and civil service job protections, giving the justices an "unprecedented" chance to reassess the nearly 50-year-old safeguards for lower-ranking government workers.

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Expert Analysis

  • NY's Cybersecurity CLE Rule Is A Sign Of Changing Times Author Photo

    New York's recently announced requirement that lawyers complete cybersecurity training as part of their continuing legal education is a reminder that securing client information is more complicated in an increasingly digital world, and that expectations around attorneys' technology competence are changing, says Jason Schwent at Clark Hill.

  • Opinion

    Law Firms Stressing Work-Life Balance Are Missing The Mark Author Photo

    Law firms struggling to attract and retain lawyers are institutionalizing work-life balance through hybrid work models, but such balance is elusive in a client services and tech-dependent world, underscoring the need for firms to instead aim for attorney empowerment and true balance within — not outside — the workplace, says Joe Pack at Pack Law.

  • A Law Student's Guide To Thriving As A Summer Associate Author Photo

    Summer associates are expected to establish a favorable reputation and develop genuine relationships in a few short weeks, but several time management, attitude and communication principles can help them make the most of their time and secure an offer for a full-time position, says Joseph Marciano, who was a 2022 summer associate at Reed Smith.

  • Burnout Prevention Requires Effort From Attys And Firms Author Photo

    To avoid physical and emotional exhaustion, attorneys must respect their own and their colleagues' personal and professional boundaries, but law firms must also play a role in discouraging burnout culture — especially if they are struggling with attorney retention, say attorneys at Lowenstein Sandler.

  • How I Owned My Power As An Asian American Woman In Law Author Photo

    Gibson Dunn's Debra Yang shares the bumps in her journey to becoming the first female Asian American U.S. attorney, a state judge and a senior partner in BigLaw, and how other women can face their self-doubts and blaze their own trails to success amid systemic obstacles.

  • Successful In-House Alt Legal Services Start With 4 Questions Author Photo

    Law firms that are considering creating an in-house alternative legal service provider should focus not on recapturing revenue otherwise lost to outside vendors, but instead consider how a captive ALSP will better fulfill the needs of their clients and partners, say Beatrice Seravello and Brad Blickstein at Baretz & Brunelle.

  • 3 Reasons To Embrace Jargon In Legal Marketing Content Author Photo

    Ignore what you've been told about jargon — adding insider industry terms to your firm's marketing and business development content can persuade potential clients that you have the specialized knowledge they can trust, says Wayne Pollock at Law Firm Editorial Service.

  • 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.

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