California Pulse


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    Akerman Matches 2023 Partnership Class With 15 Additions

    Akerman LLP announced Tuesday that it has promoted 15 lawyers to its partnership, the same number it promoted to partner in 2023 and five fewer than it tapped in 2024.

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    Magic Circle Firms Enchant Associates With Top-Tier Bonuses

    U.S. associates at Linklaters LLP and Clifford Chance LLP have a lot to be thankful for this holiday season, as the Magic Circle firms Wednesday became the latest to match the BigLaw standard for this year's associate bonuses.

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    Norton Rose's Year-Long Program Aims To Retain Associates

    Norton Rose Fulbright has expanded a yearlong integration program that gives first-year associates, lateral attorneys and business services professionals a universal understanding of who the firm is.

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    Mayer Brown Attys Bear Witness To Immersive Depo Training

    For over two decades, Mayer Brown LLP has hosted a skills workshop for U.S. litigation and intellectual property associates designed to immerse them into the real-life world of depositions.

  • White & Case Promotes 14 Lawyers To Local Partner Roles

    White & Case said Wednesday that it has elevated 14 lawyers from across the globe to local partner, a position that the law firm offers in certain regions and locations as a step toward admission into its partnership.

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    Weil Elects 17 New Partners In US, Europe

    Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP has elected 17 lawyers to join its partnership as part of a wider round of promotions in which the firm has also boosted its counsel numbers.

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    Gordon Rees Adds Healthcare Litigator, Ex-DEI Leader In SF

    Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani LLP is expanding its California team, bringing in a healthcare litigator who recently was the director of diversity, equity and inclusion in the San Franciso City Attorney's office.

  • AI Jury Simulator Says Fired Co-Founder Stole Trade Secrets

    Artificial intelligence jury simulator Juries.ai sued its recently fired co-founder, claiming he has refused to hand over control of a number of the company's accounts or return its source code and other confidential information, according to a complaint filed in California federal court.

  • $255K In Fees To Google For 'Frivolous' Ramey Case Upheld

    The Federal Circuit on Tuesday affirmed a California judge's decision that a client of embattled intellectual property firm Ramey LLP must pay nearly $255,000 in fees and sanctions for bringing a "frivolous" patent suit against Google, finding the award to be "entirely proper."

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    How GCs Are Turning Litigation Into Strategic Profit Tool

    For most general counsel, litigation has meant playing defense to guard their corporations against outside threats. In 2025, however, a growing number have been taking on roles as quarterbacks seeking to score large policy or financial victories for their companies.

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    Beverly Hills Law Firm Heads East With NYC Office

    Ervin Cohen & Jessup LLP has expanded beyond its Beverly Hills roots for the first time in its 70-year history to New York City, with a Rosenberg & Estis PC litigator set to lead its new location.

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    Weil Matches Year-End And Special Bonuses For Associates

    Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP on Tuesday joined a cadre of other firms in matching the BigLaw standard for this year's associate bonuses.  

  • Winston & Strawn Promotes 18 To Partner

    Winston & Strawn LLP has elevated 18 attorneys to partner, two shy of last year's class.

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    Ogletree Deakins Welcomes Saber Law Employment Atty In SF

    Labor and employment firm Ogletree Deakins Nash Smoak & Stewart PC is expanding its West Coast team, bringing in a Saber Law Group employment litigator as a shareholder in its San Francisco office.

  • Calif. Personal Injury Law Firm Sued Over Ransomware Attack

    A former Adamson Ahdoot LLP client lodged a proposed class action in California state court on Friday over a Nov. 3 ransomware attack, alleging the law firm failed to protect his personal information despite touting on its website that it follows industry standards to do so.

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    Picture This: Snap Inc. Woos New GC With $23M In Stock

    Snap Inc., owner of the photo and video social media platform Snapchat, helped lure its new general counsel away from Munger Tolles & Olson LLP with a signing bonus of nearly 3 million shares of class A common stock.

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    Benesch Adds Keker IP Litigator In San Francisco

    Benesch Friedlander Coplan & Aronoff LLP announced Monday that it has added an intellectual property attorney from Keker Van Nest & Peters LLP to enhance its capacity to handle patent, copyright and trade secret matters.

  • UC Law SF Fights Bid To Recuse Judge In Disability Bias Suit

    The University of California College of the Law, San Francisco is pushing back against a bid to recuse U.S. District Judge Edward M. Chen from presiding over a onetime student's disability discrimination lawsuit in California federal court, arguing that the judge's "minimal ties" to the school do not warrant recusal.

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    5 BigLaw Firms Match Prevailing Year-End, Special Bonuses

    BigLaw continues to dole out extra cash for attorneys just in time for the holidays, with five more firms matching the year-end and special bonuses previously announced by their peers.

  • Google Calls Rumble's Recusal Bid Irrelevant To Its Appeal

    Google is urging the Ninth Circuit to disregard concerns Rumble has raised about the trial judge's relationship with the tech giant's litigation vice president, saying Friday that the information is irrelevant to the YouTube rival's appeal of the court's ruling that its antitrust lawsuit was filed too late.

  • Google Calls Rumble's Judge Recusal Bid 'Cynical Maneuver'

    Google argued Friday that a California federal judge need not recuse himself from YouTube rival Rumble's antitrust suit despite his friendship with Google's top in-house litigation chief, saying Rumble's push for the recusal was a "cynical maneuver" for its Ninth Circuit appeal of a summary judgment loss.

  • Ex-DOGE Atty Tapped As GC Of Elon Musk's AI Startup

    James Burnham has been named general counsel for Elon Musk's artificial intelligence startup company, xAI, after spending six months working as the top legal officer for the Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency.

  • Worker Says Morgan & Morgan Fired Her Over Fraud Concern

    Injury law firm Morgan & Morgan PA fired a case manager after she voiced a concern about fraudulent client hospital records she said the firm gave to opposing counsel to snag more favorable settlements and failed to pay overtime, according to a suit in California state court.

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    Munger Tolles Overhauls Summer Associate Program

    Munger Tolles & Olson LLP announced it has completed an overhaul of its summer associate program, driven by the accelerated recruiting timelines that have become increasingly common in the legal industry.

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    DLA Piper Adds Fenwick Emerging Growth, VC Expert In LA

    DLA Piper is boosting its corporate team, bringing in a Fenwick & West LLP venture capital ace as a partner in its Los Angeles office.

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Expert Analysis

  • Ask A Mentor: How Should Departing Partners Approach Pay? Author Photo

    Sabina Lippman at CenterPeak discusses steps BigLaw partners can take when considering a move or announcing their departure to help navigate tricky compensation issues and remain on good terms with their current partners.

  • How 2 Litigators Decided Dad Would Stay Home With The Kids Author Photo

    Jennifer Hoekstra at Aylstock Witkin shares the tough conversations about timing, goals, logistics and values involved in her family's decision that she would build her career as a litigator and law firm partner while her husband stepped back from his own litigation role to stay home with their children.

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    My Nonpracticing Law Job: Legal Commentary Ghostwriter Author Photo

    Wayne Pollock at Copo Strategies shares how he went from overworked Am Law 50 associate to owner of a legal thought leadership ghostwriting service, and provides four lessons for anyone who might be considering launching a business within the legal industry.

  • Ask A Mentor: As Trials Grow Rarer, How Do I Hone My Skills? Author Photo

    Gary Parsons at Brooks Pierce offers advice for young lawyers seeking trial experience in an environment where fewer cases make it to trial, including how to build their reputations, set their expectations and pick the right firm.

  • Talking Mental Health: Managing Depression As A Co. Founder Author Photo

    New Era ADR co-founder Collin Williams discusses his journey navigating a clinical depression diagnosis, how this experience affected his leadership style, and what the legal industry can do to better support attorneys with mental health conditions.

  • Series

    My Nonpracticing Law Job: Career And Wellness Coach Author Photo

    Tara Rhoades at The Sanity Plea shares how she went from BigLaw partner to legal industry career and wellness coach, and explains how attorneys can use their capabilities, knowledge and professional networks to pursue coaching themselves, or bring refreshed meaning and purpose to their current roles.

  • Series

    Talking Mental Health: Tackling Stress As A Practice Leader Author Photo

    Constance Rhebergen at Bracewell discusses how she handles the stress of being a practice chair, how sources of stress have changed in the legal industry over the past decade and what law firms can do to protect attorney mental health.

  • Making Legal Cents: Engaging A Remote, Evolving Workforce Author Photo

    In the face of a dispersed and changing workforce with Generation Z entering the scene, law firms should consider some practical strategies to revitalize their cultures, provide meaningful mentorship and safeguard their knowledge bases, says Shireen Hilal at Maior Strategic Consulting.

  • How Firms Can Effectively Evaluate Their Summer Associates Author Photo

    One of the most effective ways firms can ensure their summer associate programs are a success is by engaging in a timely and meaningful evaluation process and being intentional about when, how and by whom feedback should be provided, say Caroline Cimei and Erica Fine at Shutts & Bowen.

  • Series

    Talking Mental Health: Life As A Lawyer With OCD Author Photo

    Kelly Hughes at Ogletree discusses what she’s learned in the 14 years since she was diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder, recounting how the experience shaped her law practice, what the legal industry and general public get wrong about the disorder, and how law firms can better support employees who have OCD.

  • 3 Innovative Ways AI May Be Used In Legal Practice
    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    Artificial intelligence tools will increasingly be used by outside counsel to better predict the outcomes of litigation — thus informing legal strategy with greater precision — and by clients to scrutinize invoices and evaluate counsel’s performance, says Ronald Levine at Herrick Feinstein.

  • Roundup

    My Nonpracticing Law Job Author Photo

    Not every law degree leads to a law practice. In this Law360 Pulse series, former practicing attorneys share the stories of how they went from practicing corporate law to using their knowledge and background to carve out a nontraditional career path in the legal industry.

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    My Nonpracticing Law Job: Librarian Author Photo

    Lisa A. Goodman at Texas A&M University shares how she went from a BigLaw associate who liked to hang out in the firm's law library to director of a law library herself in just over a decade, and provides considerations for anyone interested in pursuing a law librarian career.

  • Legal Briefs Can Benefit From Cleaned Up Case Citations Author Photo

    Federal courts have recently been changing the way they quote decisions to omit insignificant details and string cites, and lawyers should consider adopting this practice to enhance the readability of their briefs — as long as accuracy stays top of mind, says Diana Simon at the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law.

  • 5 Best Practices For Firms Designing DEI Programs Author Photo

    Nikki Lewis Simon, chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer at Greenberg Traurig, discusses best practices — and some pitfalls to avoid — for law firms looking to build programs aimed at driving inclusion in the workplace.

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