California

  • February 06, 2025

    Appellate Group Of The Year: Gibson Dunn

    Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP notched critical wins as the U.S. Supreme Court rejected an Eighth Amendment challenge to a city's public camping law and gave insurers a voice in mass tort bankruptcies, making it one of the 2024 Law360 Appellate Groups of the Year.

  • February 06, 2025

    Judge Puts Atty On Hook For Fees For Conduct In TM Trial

    A California judge ordered an attorney who represented a microphone manufacturer that lost a trade dress infringement trial to be jointly responsible with his client for attorney fees and costs as a sanction for his conduct during the case.

  • February 06, 2025

    Convicted Atty Disbarred In NJ Over LA Utility Billing Scandal

    The New Jersey Supreme Court disbarred an attorney this week who orchestrated a sham lawsuit against the city of Los Angeles on behalf of plaintiffs suing the local water utility and who later made $24 million off contracts with the city reached through a number of bribery schemes.

  • February 06, 2025

    Mich. Man's Challenge To LA Pot Social Equity Program Axed

    A California federal judge has dismissed with prejudice a Michigan man's suit challenging Los Angeles' social-equity cannabis-licensing scheme, finding he can't claim the program is unconstitutional because the dormant commerce clause does not apply to the federally illegal interstate cannabis market.

  • February 05, 2025

    Trump's Immigration Agenda Could Gut Key Workforces

    Immigration raids are threatening harsh consequences for industries that rely heavily on immigrant labor, with economic losses being compared to recession levels if workers are swept up in the raids or don’t show up to work for fear of getting deported.

  • February 05, 2025

    California Tribes Sue Feds Over 'Massive' Casino Project

    The Wintu Tribe of Northern California and the Paskenta Band of Nomlaki Indians hauled several federal agencies into Washington, D.C., federal court for allegedly greenlighting a plan to turn over 220 acres of Indigenous territory into a "massive" casino development without evaluating the environmental impact or the land's cultural significance.

  • February 05, 2025

    Tillis Takes Over Senate IP Subcommittee Again

    Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., will again lead the U.S. Senate subcommittee overseeing intellectual property, while Sen. Adam Schiff of California will be debuting as the subcommittee's top Democrat.

  • February 05, 2025

    Suit Challenges BLM Approvals Of More Calif. Drilling Permits

    Conservation and public health groups have told a California federal judge that the U.S. Bureau of Land Management continues to barrel ahead in approving more oil and gas drilling permits in the polluted San Joaquin Valley and to shirk its public notice and environmental review duties.

  • February 05, 2025

    The Wonderful Co. Hits Rival With TM Suit Over Wonderspread

    The Wonderful Co. sued a competitor for trademark infringement in California federal court Wednesday, accusing it of mimicking its "Wonderful" marks and trying to sow consumer confusion by selling nut-based products in packaging that features similar names, "Wonderspread" and "Wondersquare." 

  • February 05, 2025

    How To Get On A Judge's Good Side? Calif. Jurists Offer Tips

    Four Northern California federal judges gave attorneys a dose of straight talk during a Federal Bar Association panel discussion Tuesday, urging them to pay close attention to standing orders, to consider whether a motion is truly productive, and to steer clear of humor and hyperbole in their briefs.

  • February 05, 2025

    Tesla, Musk, Warner Bros. Ask To Toss 'Blade Runner' AI Suit

    Tesla, its CEO Elon Musk and Warner Bros. Discovery asked a California federal judge Tuesday to throw out Alcon Entertainment's lawsuit alleging the electric vehicle company used an image created by artificial intelligence that infringes "Blade Runner 2049" to promote an autonomous taxicab, saying a "familiar post-apocalyptic scene" is not protectable.

  • February 05, 2025

    RealPage Says Missing Market Power Dooms Antitrust Suit

    RealPage Inc. is making another effort to dodge antitrust allegations after the government expanded its case to rope in half a dozen residential landlords, arguing the amended pleading still falls short of showing the property management software company has enough market power to influence rent prices.

  • February 05, 2025

    LA City Atty Says Rental Startup Price-Gouged During Fires

    The Los Angeles City Attorney's Office on Tuesday accused furnished rental startup Blueground of illegally profiting from the destructive wildfires that broke out in Los Angeles last month, saying in a complaint filed in state court that Blueground jacked up rental prices, including in evacuation zones.

  • February 05, 2025

    Israeli Co. Accused Of Infringing Soap Dispenser Patent

    Bobrick Washroom Equipment Inc. accused Israeli company Y. Stern Engineering (1989) Ltd. of infringing its patent for fluid dispenser technology through the sale of its Lotus Soap Dispenser series in a California federal court Tuesday.

  • February 05, 2025

    Blake Lively Sued By PR Rep Over 'It Ends With Us' Claims

    Another front has opened in the messy legal drama over the movie "It Ends With Us," as an Austin-based public relations consultant filed a defamation suit in Texas federal court alleging Blake Lively falsely roped him into her headline-making sexual harassment and retaliation claims.

  • February 05, 2025

    Entertainment-Focused SPAC Raises $200M To Purse Merger

    Special purpose acquisition company K&F Growth Acquisition II began trading publicly Wednesday after raising $250 million in its initial public offering, which will be used to help the SPAC merge with a target in the in-person and mobile experiential entertainment sector.

  • February 05, 2025

    MoFo Adds BraunHagey Corporate Leader In San Francisco

    Morrison Foerster LLP continues expanding its emerging companies and venture capital team, announcing Wednesday a BraunHagey & Borden LLP startup and venture capital specialist has come aboard as a partner in its San Francisco office.

  • February 05, 2025

    Missile-Defense Firm Karman Launches Plans For $400M IPO

    Missile-defense and space programs company Karman Holdings Inc. launched plans Wednesday for an estimated $400 million initial public offering that would raise fresh funding for the private equity-backed business and its shareholders, represented by Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP and underwriters' counsel Latham & Watkins LLP.

  • February 05, 2025

    Girardi Keese Trustee Sues NY Atty Who Funded Girardi

    The bankruptcy trustee for disgraced California attorney Tom Girardi's defunct law firm is suing to prevent New York attorney Joseph DiNardo from discharging $7.5 million in his own bankruptcy, claiming DiNardo received the money by helping Girardi defraud his own clients.

  • February 05, 2025

    Calif. Panel Revives Malpractice Suit Against Insurer Attys

    A California state appeals court revived an Allstate policyholder's legal malpractice suit against his insurer-appointed attorney, saying the policyholder sufficiently alleged the attorney's drafting of an underlying settlement in a wrongful death suit caused him damages.

  • February 05, 2025

    Paxos' Top Atty Takes CLO Spot At Crypto Co. Kraken

    Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken has tapped the general counsel at crypto trust company Paxos to serve as its new chief legal officer.

  • February 05, 2025

    Meta Can't Ask Mass. AG To Dig Up Docs From State Agencies

    The Massachusetts Attorney General's Office is not obligated to search for and turn over documents held by other state agencies that Meta Platforms is seeking in the state's lawsuit alleging Instagram is harming children and teens, a judge ordered.

  • February 04, 2025

    9th Circ. Revives FCA Suit Over Military Meds Deliveries

    The Ninth Circuit on Tuesday revived a whistleblower lawsuit accusing Express Scripts Inc. of defrauding the U.S. Department of Defense out of billions of dollars in unnecessary medications for military personnel, saying the lawsuit wasn't barred by any public disclosures of the alleged fraud.

  • February 04, 2025

    Wheeling & Appealing: The Latest Must-Know Appellate Action

    February is off to a rip-roaring start in several circuits, and there's plenty more action ahead, including a moment of truth for judiciary policymaking that has managed to anger both the defense and plaintiffs bars. We'll explore all that in this edition of Wheeling & Appealing, which also includes an appellate quiz pegged to recent presidential news.

  • February 04, 2025

    Fortis Says $440M 3D Printing Fraud Suit Can Proceed

    Fortis Advisors LLC is urging a California federal court not to pause its $440 million fraud suit against Israeli-American 3D printer manufacturer Stratasys Ltd. as the two arbitrate related claims over allegedly miscalculated earn-out payments, saying the litigation must proceed now.

Expert Analysis

  • State AG Enforcement Is Poised For Another Pivot In 2025

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    Backed by a Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives and Senate, the Trump administration intends to make substantial policy changes, and attorneys general of both parties around the country are preparing their response playbooks, say attorneys at WilmerHale.

  • Del. Dispatch: Lessons From Failed Albertsons-Kroger Merger

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    The allegations in Albertsons' lawsuit against Kroger following the grocery stores' blocked merger demonstrate how a target company can best ensure that a buyer timely and effectively complies with its obligations to pursue the necessary regulatory approvals for a deal, say attorneys at Fried Frank.

  • Series

    Adventure Photography Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Photographing nature everywhere from Siberia to Cuba and Iceland to Rwanda provides me with a constant reminder to refresh, refocus and rethink the legal issues that my clients face, says Richard Birmingham at Davis Wright.

  • What Vinyl Acetate's Prop 65 Listing Means For Cos.

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    California's recent move to add vinyl acetate to the Proposition 65 list of carcinogens, with enforcement starting later this year, will have sweeping compliance and risk implications for businesses in the retail, food and beverage, paint, adhesive, industrial manufacturing, and personal care product industries, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

  • Opinion

    Commercial Tree Thinning Should Be Part of Wildfire Control

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    The devastating wildfires currently afflicting California make it clear that the U.S. Forest Service should step up its use of methods including commercial tree removal to lower fire risk — but litigation that drags on for years stymies many of these efforts and endangers the public, says Jeffrey Beelaert at Givens Pursley.

  • High Court Could Further Limit Deference With TCPA Fax Case

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    The Supreme Court's decision to hear McLaughlin Chiropractic Associates v. McKesson, a case involving alleged junk faxes that centers whether district courts are bound by Federal Communications Commission rules, offers the court a chance to possibly further limit the judicial deference afforded to federal agency interpretations of statutes, says Samantha Duke at Rumberger Kirk.

  • 5 Ways To Create Effective Mock Assignments For Associates

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    In order to effectively develop associates’ critical thinking skills, firms should design mock assignments that contain a few key ingredients, from messy fact patterns to actionable feedback, says Abdi Shayesteh at AltaClaro.

  • More Environmental Claims, More Greenwashing Challenges

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    As companies prepare for the 2025 greenwashing landscape, they should take heed of a D.C. appellate decision that shows that environmental claims are increasingly subject to attack and provides plaintiffs with a playbook for challenging corporate claims of sustainability, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • And Now A Word From The Panel: How MDLs Fared In 2024

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    A significant highlight of the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation's practice during 2024 was the increase in the percentage of new MDL petitions granted by the panel, with 25 granted and only eight denied — one of the highest grant rates in years, says Alan Rothman at Sidley.

  • Opinion

    Legal Personhood Can Give Natural Entities Their Day In Court

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    Granting legal personhood to natural entities like the River Thames, or vulnerable species like the Pacific bearded seal and Arctic ringed seal, could protect them from ecological threats and the vagaries of politics, and help us transform our relationship with nature, says Sachin Nandha at the International Centre for Sustainability.

  • Calif. Cannabis Decision Deepens Commerce Clause Divide

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    In Peridot Tree v. Sacramento, the Eastern District of California joined a growing minority of courts that have found the dormant commerce clause inapplicable to state-regulated marijuana, and the Ninth Circuit will soon provide important guidance on this issue, say attorneys at Perkins Coie.

  • A Defendant's Guide To 4 Common CFPB Discovery Tactics

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    With the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's recent flurry of new lawsuits showing no signs of stopping, defendants should know the bureau's most relied-upon discovery strategies — and be prepared to resist them, say attorneys at Goodwin.

  • Insurance Considerations For LA Wildfire Recovery

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    Businesses and homeowners affected by the destructive Southern California wildfires must act swiftly and strategically to navigate the complexities of the insurance recovery process, including by identifying all applicable policies, documenting damage thoroughly and keeping abreast of relevant state law, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • 10 Key Worker-Friendly California Employment Law Updates

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    New employment laws in California expand employee rights, transparency and enforcement mechanisms, and failing to educate department managers on these changes could put employers at risk, says Melanie Ronen at Stradley Ronon.

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: Nov. And Dec. Lessons

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    In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy discusses five federal court decisions and identifies practice tips from cases involving takings clause violations, breach of contract with banks, life insurance policies, employment and automobile defects.

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