California Pulse


  • Ex-Calif. Judge Gets 35 Years For Shooting Wife To Death

    Former California state court judge Jeffrey M. Ferguson lost his bid for a new trial Wednesday and was sentenced to 35 years to life in prison for shooting his wife to death at home in a drunken rage, with the presiding judge expressing sympathy for his "extraordinary" son who tried to save his mother's life.

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    Saul Ewing Lands Greenspoon Marder Enviro Atty Trio In LA

    Saul Ewing LLP is expanding its environmental team, bringing in a trio of Greenspoon Marder LLP litigators in the firm's Los Angeles office.

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    People Skills Helped This GC Grow Role At Grocers Group

    Leticia Espinoza was the first person in her family to go to college and join a specialized profession — an achievement she continues to expand on by becoming a lawyer, then a general counsel, a chief legal and human resources officer, and most recently over the summer, the chief administration officer at Heritage Grocers Group, one of the largest Hispanic and ethnic food retailers in the country.

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    CLOC President Exits To Launch Tech Venture

    The president of the board of directors for the Corporate Legal Operations Consortium, or CLOC, a member-run organization for in-house legal operations professionals, stepped down on Wednesday.

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    Courts Told Head-In-The-Sand Approach To AI Can Backfire

    State courts might be inclined not to implement generative artificial intelligence tools or to ban staff from using them to avoid hallucinations and privacy breaches, but that strategy could backfire, a panelist told a court technology conference Tuesday.

  • UC Groups Sue Trump Admin Alleging Free Speech Violations

    A coalition of faculty, staff and unions affiliated with the University of California system sued the Trump administration in federal court Tuesday, arguing the suspension of $584 million in research projects along with threats to terminate billions more violates the law and is an attempt to violate their free speech.

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    Willkie Taps PE Head To Co-Lead The Firm In 2027

    Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP announced Tuesday that the nearly decade-long head of its private equity practice will step up to co-lead the firm as its joint chairman at the start of 2027.

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    California AG Bonta Names New State Solicitor General

    California Attorney General Rob Bonta has promoted a veteran attorney in the state's Department of Justice to become the state's new solicitor general.

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    Orrick Hires Ex-Chair Of Paul Hastings' Palo Alto Office

    Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP announced on Tuesday that it has hired the former chair of Paul Hastings LLP's Palo Alto office.

  • Stanford Tech Lab Partners With Cleary, Davis Wright, Vorys

    Stanford Law School on Monday announced the official launch of its Legal Innovation through Frontier Technology Lab, whose advisory board founding members include law firms and an artificial intelligence company.

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    Summer Associates Remain On The Fence About AI In Law

    Most summer associates used generative artificial intelligence tools at their firms this year, but views on adoption were mixed. Students told Law360 Pulse the tools were useful for research and drafting, but voiced concerns over reliability, job loss and diminished writing skills.

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    These Firms Were The Top For Their Summer Associates

    Working as a summer associate is a rite of passage for many law students, and these training programs can boost aspiring attorneys' confidence in their career paths. Find out what students valued most and how they rated those experiences in a new survey from Law360 Pulse.

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    What Summer Associates Learned From Working At Firms

    We asked this year's cohort about the most valuable lessons they learned during their summer associateship. Here's the advice they shared for those ready to jump into law firm life.

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    Potomac Law Group Adds Pair Of Litigators In San Francisco

    Two new litigators have joined a Potomac Law Group PLLC affiliate in San Francisco as partners — a business and civil litigator most recently with the Spaulding McCullough & Tansil LLP boutique, and a white collar defense and civil litigator with the Rogers Joseph O'Donnell LLP boutique.

  • 3 Law Firms Want Ford's 'Thermonuclear' RICO Suit Snuffed

    Knight Law Group LLP, the Altman Law Group and Wirtz Law APC have urged a California federal judge to dismantle Ford Motor Co.'s racketeering lawsuit accusing the firms of overzealous billing and conspiring to dupe unsuspecting clients in product liability and personal injury cases against automakers.

  • Calif. Court Issues AI Hallucinations 'Warning,' Sanctions Atty

    A California appeals court has issued a published opinion "as a warning" to Golden State attorneys to personally review case law quotations made by generative artificial intelligence, and imposed a $10,000 monetary sanction on plaintiff's counsel in an otherwise straightforward appeal in an employment case.

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    Calif. Legislators OK Requiring Oversight Of Workplace AI

    The California Senate has approved a bill that would restrict how employers can use tools powered by artificial intelligence to make employment decisions, sending the legislation to Gov. Gavin Newsom's desk despite opposition from business groups.

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    Stradley Ronon Wants Keesal Young's Poaching Suit Tossed

    Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young LLP has moved to nix a suit by California firm Keesal Young & Logan, saying its recruitment of 10 former Keesal Young attorneys was entirely above board and that the noncompete clauses in Keesal Young's partnership agreement were not allowed under California law.

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    Lowenstein Sandler Unveils Tech-Centered Data Privacy Team

    Lowenstein Sandler LLP has rolled out a new multidisciplinary data privacy team, bringing together attorneys with both legal and tech experience to advise on a range of data-related issues.

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    Reed Smith Names Department And Practice Group Leaders

    Reed Smith LLP announced Monday that it has made changes to its department and practice group leadership, including the appointment of attorneys to lead its U.S. global commercial disputes practice group and co-lead its global litigation and dispute resolution department.

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    Raines Feldman Gains 7 New Attys In Calif., NY

    Raines Feldman Littrell LLP announced Friday that it has added seven new attorneys to its ranks, adding bicoastal legal talent across four different practice areas.

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    Weil Adds 2 Acclaimed Trial Attys From Paul Hastings

    Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP announced on Monday that it has welcomed two prominent West Coast litigators from Paul Hastings LLP, highlighting their extensive experience in headline-grabbing cases.

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    Kahana Feld Adds Trio Of New Partners In Calif., NY

    Kahana Feld LLP has expanded its litigation and construction practices with two new partners in California and a third in New York.

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    Former Fed. Prosecutor Returns To Hueston Hennigan In LA

    Hueston Hennigan is expanding its trial team, welcoming a former federal prosecutor, who worked as an associate at the firm early in his career, back as of counsel in its Los Angeles office.

  • Dentons Ducks Chinese Vape-Maker's Hacking Suit

    Dentons has officially escaped allegations it helped the founder of vape distributor Next Level sabotage and usurp manufacturer Avid Holdings' brand, in part by hacking into its founder's laptop to access confidential information, according to newly filed documents.

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Expert Analysis

  • The Augmented Lawyer: Crafting Responsible AI Policies Author Photo

    As the legal industry increasingly looks to impose responsive guardrails for artificial intelligence use, firms and organizations’ internal use policies, outside counsel guidelines and vendor contracts can address confidentiality and data retention concerns in several ways, say attorneys at KXT Law.

  • 6 Ways To Build Pro Bono Culture If You Lack Dedicated Staff Author Photo

    Firms can develop a strong pro bono culture without hiring dedicated professionals through strategies like demonstrating active involvement by leadership, tailoring volunteer tasks to individual professional development needs and building trusted partnerships within the legal aid community, says Stacy Zinken at Paladin.

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    Biz Development Tip Of The Month: Extend Your Content's Life Author Photo

    Attorneys often limit the impact of their thought leadership by letting their content languish after initial publication, but through four easy strategies for retooling existing content, they can maximize its reach and further their business development goals, says Jillian McKenna at Verrill Dana.

  • Why Law Firm Leaders Should Care About Student Debt Crisis Author Photo

    ​​​​​​​As the student debt crisis evolves under changing federal policies, firms that proactively address the burden will have significant advantages in recruiting and retaining the best young lawyers, says Brian Kabateck at Kabateck.

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    Talking Mental Health: Encouraging New Attys To Find Joy Author Photo

    Rudene Haynes at Hunton discusses her experiences as a hiring partner, common sources of stress that newer attorneys face and steps that law firms can take to protect their attorneys' mental health and encourage personal life fulfillment.

  • Fla. Bar's Cyber Incident Response Plan Sets Precedent Author Photo

    The incident response plan developed by the Florida Bar's cybersecurity and privacy committee might not seem all that consequential, but it's a long overdue framework that could go a long way toward protecting the highly sensitive data law firms handle — and could even set a model for other professional organizations to follow, says Chris Boehm at Zero Networks.

  • Why Attorneys Should Write About Justices' Minority Opinions Author Photo

    Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson’s searing dissents this past term serve as a reminder for attorneys to analyze U.S. Supreme Court minority opinions in their thought leadership for three key reasons, says Jessica Kaplan at Legally Penned.

  • 3 Business Development Lessons From Mozart's 'Magic Flute' Author Photo

    Mozart’s opera “The Magic Flute” offers a useful framework for attorneys to build relationships and develop new business, inspired by Prince Tamino’s curiosity, courage and consistency, says Paul Manuele at PR Manuele Consulting.

  • 5 Ways Legal Teams Can Use KPIs To Quantify Their Value Author Photo

    As in-house legal departments are increasingly expected to do more with less, developing a thoughtful framework to measure key performance indicators can help them both maximize and demonstrate their contribution to business success, say co-founders at New Era ADR.

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    Defining The Culture For A Legal Nonprofit Author Photo

    We co-founded The International Academy of Financial Crime Litigators to connect leading trial lawyers, litigation experts and academics, and our experience has shown that embracing opportunity, responding fearlessly to market realities, and relentlessly defining the organization’s culture have all been integral to success, say Stéphane Bonifassi, Lincoln Caylor and Elizabeth Ortega.

  • 5 Emerging Themes Shaping Lateral Partner Moves This Year Author Photo

    A few key trends have arisen in partners’ lateral movements in the first half of 2025, reflecting a legal market defined by macroeconomic uncertainty, shifts in firm structures and rising scrutiny of firm affiliations, say legal recruiters at Macrae.

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    Biz Development Tip Of The Month: Be A Mentor Or Mentee Author Photo

    Mentorship is a powerful tool for business development when both mentors and mentees approach their relationships with strategic purpose, ensuring professional success while supporting broader business goals, say Angela Liu at Dechert and Jessica Lewis at WilmerHale.

  • 4 Biz Dev Steps For Attys Who Don't Know What They Want Author Photo

    Junior attorneys are increasingly expected to start building books of business while they are still figuring out their long-term career goals, but a few pointers can help young lawyers develop business even when they’re uncertain about their future direction, says Lana Manganiello at Practice Growth Partner.

  • Protecting Client Funds From Cyberattacks Author Photo

    As cyberattacks on law firms continue to escalate, bar associations, law firms and individual lawyers must all take steps to protect client funds in attorney trust accounts — from imposing cyber hygiene mandates to reimagining malpractice coverage — because once that money is gone, it’s generally gone for good, says Michael Epstein at The Epstein Law Firm.

  • Making Legal Cents: For Billing, Think Value, Not Time Author Photo

    Pricing strategy is one of the most consistently discussed but underleveraged tools in a firm's arsenal, and rather than keeping hourly billing because it's easy, firms should consider their differentiators when structuring more effective fee models, says Shireen Hilal at Maior Consultants.

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