California

  • August 25, 2025

    AI Startup Anthropic Picks Legal Legend As GC

    Anthropic, a multibillion-dollar AI startup and public benefit corporation focused on safety, has hired a much-honored California attorney who was special counsel to former President Barack Obama, a corporate chief legal officer and a law clerk to late Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist.

  • August 25, 2025

    MusclePharm Ex-CEO Pays $175K To End SEC Fraud Claims

    A former CEO of supplements company MusclePharm Corp. will pay the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission $75,000 and reimburse his former company $100,000 as part of an agreement ending the regulator's claims he failed to properly oversee the company's accounting and financial reporting, including by not reporting $231,000 worth of perks he received.

  • August 25, 2025

    Davis Polk Picks Up White & Case Finance Atty In Calif.

    Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP announced Monday that it has added a former White & Case LLP debt finance partner to its Northern California office.

  • August 22, 2025

    Apple Says Ex-Employee Stole Watch Secrets For Oppo

    Apple is going after a former employee on its Apple Watch team in a California federal lawsuit, claiming he stole trade secrets related to the wearable device to share with his new employer, Chinese phone maker Oppo.

  • August 22, 2025

    Intel Says US Will Take 10% Stake In Business

    Intel Corp. announced Friday that it has reached an agreement with the Trump administration for the U.S. government to acquire a 10% stake in its business in exchange for $8.9 billion in previously awarded grants, a move the company says will help it expand the American semiconductor industry.

  • August 22, 2025

    Ex-Tennis Channel Chief Says Sinclair Fired Him To Duck Pay

    The former Tennis Channel president sued the network, the Sinclair Broadcast Group and others in California state court Friday, alleging that after he spent 20 years building the channel into a success, he was fired last year in a pretextual move to avoid paying him his equity options. 

  • August 22, 2025

    DOJ Investigation Of NY AG Condemned By AGs Of 21 States

    A coalition of 21 attorneys general Friday issued an open letter saying the U.S. Department of Justice is investigating New York Attorney General Letitia James and condemning the probe as political payback for the financial fraud claims she pursued against President Donald Trump and his New York-based businesses.

  • August 22, 2025

    9th Circ. Blocks Meta's MDL Discovery Against State Agencies

    The Ninth Circuit blocked an order requiring California's attorney general and third-party state agencies to respond to Meta's discovery demands in multidistrict litigation concerning the company's allegedly addictive designs, ruling Friday the attorney general isn't deemed to possess or control the state agencies' records and Meta must obtain them through subpoenas.

  • August 22, 2025

    Kratom Co. Says False Ad Addiction Suit Should Be Tossed

    The company behind Kryptic Kratom and K-Chill branded supplements is, once again, urging a California federal court to dismiss a lawsuit claiming that it concealed the "opiate-like" addictive nature of its products, arguing that the latest complaint, which now brings RICO claims, is just as weak as the previous ones.

  • August 22, 2025

    Calif. Justices Say Wage Law Ignorance Prompts Damages

    California employers need to show they took reasonable steps to comply with minimum wage laws to support a good faith defense against liquidated damages, the California Supreme Court ruled, flipping a state appellate court decision.

  • August 22, 2025

    9th Circ. Weighs Religious Bias Suit In LGBTQ+ Post Firings

    An attorney for two Christian flight attendants who say they were illegally fired by Alaska Airlines and abandoned by their labor union for opposing the airline's support for LGBTQ+ rights urged the Ninth Circuit Friday to revive their case, saying it is clear from the record that they were fired for their religious beliefs. 

  • August 22, 2025

    Startup Accelerator Backs Epic In Apple Case At 9th Circ.

    Startup accelerator Y Combinator is backing Epic Games as Apple asks the Ninth Circuit to nix an order blocking it from charging commissions on app purchases made outside its payment system, telling the appeals court Apple "blatantly violated" a previous order.

  • August 22, 2025

    Amazon Doesn't Let Viewers Keep Movies They 'Buy,' Suit Says

    Amazon has been hit with a proposed class action in Washington federal court claiming the company deceptively "sells" movies on Amazon Prime Video without disclosing to consumers that its limited digital license to any audiovisual work might be inaccessible down the line.

  • August 22, 2025

    Split 9th Circ. Halts Land Swap With Idaho Tribes' Backing

    A split Ninth Circuit panel on Friday upheld a lower court's decision to invalidate an Interior Department land transfer in Idaho for the expansion of a phosphogypsum plant, saying that a 1900 federal law limits the disposal of treaty-ceded lands.

  • August 22, 2025

    Apple Users' Attys Near OK On $28.5M Fees For Privacy Deal

    A California federal judge indicated Friday he'll grant final approval to Apple's $95 million settlement with tens of millions of users who claimed its voice-activated software Siri eavesdropped on their conversations without consent, and called the plaintiffs' attorneys' request for a 30% cut amounting to $28.5 million "legally appropriate."

  • August 22, 2025

    CFPB Inks Synapse Deal That Opens Door To Consumer Relief

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has reached a settlement with the bankruptcy trustee for Synapse Financial Technologies Inc. that could unlock millions of dollars in relief for consumers whose funds were stranded in the middleware provider's collapse.

  • August 22, 2025

    Under Trump, White Collar Crypto Defense Gets New Playbook

    White collar lawyers are crafting new blueprints for crypto-related civil and criminal defense amid the Trump administration's embrace of the industry and the financial world’s growing acceptance of cryptocurrency as a legitimate asset.

  • August 22, 2025

    OpenAI Wants $10M In Atty Fees After Win In Trademark Case

    After winning a trademark case last month, OpenAI has asked a California federal judge to order a company with a similar name to pay almost $10 million in attorney fees, saying the other litigant had "extraordinarily weak positions" and used unreasonable legal tactics.

  • August 22, 2025

    Judge Can't Become Public Defender After Not Practicing Law

    A California state appellate panel has ruled that a sitting superior court judge is ineligible to serve as public defender because he had not been a practicing attorney in the state's courts for the year before he sought the appointment.

  • August 22, 2025

    Marathon Petroleum Cos. Near Final OK On $7M Wage Deal

    A California federal judge on Friday said he'd grant final approval to a $7.2 million deal by Marathon Petroleum and two related companies to resolve a 2,200-member class action accusing the oil refiners of shorting unionized workers on rest breaks and pay.

  • August 22, 2025

    Jay-Z Aims To Keep Buzbee Suit Alive After Losing Other Case

    Texas attorney Tony Buzbee's request to shut down a federal lawsuit in Alabama based on a state trial court's dismissal of a different action in California related to sexual abuse allegations connected to Sean "Diddy" Combs is a "desperate attempt to evade accountability," rapper Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter has argued.

  • August 22, 2025

    Shopify, Sales Workers End Commission, OT Suit

    A California federal judge agreed to conclude a suit accusing e-commerce company Shopify of a slew of California Labor Code violations, including misclassifying sales employees as overtime-exempt and having an illegal commissions plan.

  • August 22, 2025

    Ex-Calif. Judge Accused Of Sexually Assaulting Court Staffer

    A former California Superior Court judge has been charged with sexually assaulting a court employee and seeking to cover up that purported incident and another alleged assault, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Friday.

  • August 22, 2025

    'Gorilla Mind' Energy Drink Can't Block Rival Amid TM Suit

    A company that sells energy drinks and dietary supplements called "Gorilla Mind" lost its bid to block a rival from selling energy drink products with the word "Gorilla" while its trademark infringement suit plays out in California federal court.

  • August 22, 2025

    DOJ Expands Expedited Docket For Families Facing Removal

    The Executive Office for Immigration Review is expanding a program the Biden administration rolled out in 2021 to fast-track removal proceedings for families facing removal, directing immigration courts nationwide to place more cases on the so-called dedicated docket.

Expert Analysis

  • DOJ Actions Signal Rising Enforcement Risk For Health Cos.

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    The U.S. Department of Justice's announcement of a new False Claims Act working group, together with the largest healthcare fraud takedown in history, underscore the importance of sophisticated compliance programs that align with the DOJ's data-driven approach, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • Brand Protection Takeaways From OpenAI Trademark Case

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    The ongoing battle between IYO and OpenAI offers critical lessons on diligent trademark enforcement and proactive risk management for startups and established players alike navigating branding in the rapidly evolving artificial intelligence sector, say attorneys at Dykema.

  • How Attys Can Use AI To Surface Narratives In E-Discovery

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    E-discovery has reached a turning point where document review is no longer just about procedural tasks like identifying relevance and redacting privilege — rather, generative artificial intelligence tools now allow attorneys to draw connections, extract meaning and tell a coherent story, says Rose Jones at Hilgers Graben.

  • How McKesson Ruling Will Inform Interpretations Of The TCPA

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    Amid the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in McLaughlin Chiropractic Associates v. McKesson, we can expect to see both plaintiffs and defendants utilizing the decision to revisit the Federal Communications Commission's past Telephone Consumer Protection Act interpretations and decisions they did not like, says Jason McElroy at Saul Ewing.

  • Series

    Calif. Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q2

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    The second quarter saw California become a more active protector of consumers in response to federal regulatory pullback, with regulators proposing a licensing framework for digital asset businesses, ending an enforcement exemption and otherwise signaling further expansions of oversight and enforcement, say attorneys at Stinson.

  • Navigating Court Concerns About QR Codes In FLSA Notices

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    As plaintiffs attorneys increasingly seek to include QR codes as a method of notice in Fair Labor Standards Act collective actions, counsel should be prepared to address judicial concerns about their use, including their potential to be duplicative and circumvent court-approved language, say attorneys at Shook Hardy.

  • Justices Rethink Minimum Contacts For Foreign Entities

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    Two recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions, Devas v. Antrix and Fuld v. Palestine Liberation Organization, suggest that federal statutes may confer personal jurisdiction over foreign entities that have little to no contact with the U.S. — a significant departure from traditional due process principles, says Gary Shaw at Pillsbury.

  • Examining TCPA Jurisprudence A Year After Loper Bright

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    One year after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Chevron deference in Loper Bright v. Raimondo, lower court decisions demonstrate that the Telephone Consumer Protection Act will continue to evolve as long-standing interpretations of the act are analyzed with a fresh lens, says Aaron Gallardo at Kilpatrick.

  • Gauging The Risky Business Of Business Risk Disclosures

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    With the recent rise of securities fraud actions based on external events — like a data breach or environmental disaster — that drive down stock prices, risk disclosures have become more of a sword for the plaintiffs bar than a shield for public companies, now the subject of a growing circuit split, say attorneys at A&O Shearman.

  • Series

    Playing The Violin Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Playing violin in a string quartet reminds me that flexibility, ambition, strong listening skills, thoughtful leadership and intentional collaboration are all keys to a successful legal practice, says Julie Park at MoFo.

  • DOJ Enforcement Trends To Watch In 2nd Half Of 2025

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    Recent investigations, settlements and a declination to prosecute suggest that controlling the flow of goods into and out of the country, and redressing what the administration sees as reverse discrimination, are likely to be at the forefront of the U.S. Department of Justice's enforcement agenda the rest of this year, say attorneys at Baker Botts.

  • 'Top Gun' And 'Together' IP Suits Spotlight Similarity Issues

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    The outcome of recent lawsuits revolving around the films "Top Gun: Maverick" and "Together" may set meaningful precedents for how courts analyze substantial similarity in creative works, say attorneys at Greenspoon Marder.

  • State, Fed Junk Fee Enforcement Shows No Signs Of Slowing

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    The Federal Trade Commission’s potent new rule targeting drip pricing, in addition to the growing patchwork of state consumer protection laws, suggest that enforcement and litigation targeting junk fees will likely continue to expand, says Etia Rottman Frand at Darrow AI.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Practicing Self-Care

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    Law schools don’t teach the mental, physical and emotional health maintenance tools necessary to deal with the profession's many demands, but practicing self-care is an important key to success that can help to improve focus, manage stress and reduce burnout, says Rachel Leonard​​​​​​​ at MG+M.

  • Birthright Opinions Reveal Views On Rule 23(b)(2) Relief

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    The justices' multiple opinions in the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 27 decision in the birthright citizenship case, Trump v. CASA, shed light on whether Rule 23(b)(2) could fill the void created by the court's decision to restrict nationwide injunctions, says Benjamin Johns at Shub Johns.

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