California

  • January 16, 2026

    SEC Fines Adviser Over Black Rifle Coffee SPAC Deal Conflict

    Engaged Capital LLC was fined $200,000 by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and agreed to a censure Friday over allegations the investment adviser failed to disclose conflicts of interest related to a special purpose acquisition company merger with Black Rifle Coffee Co. in 2022.

  • January 16, 2026

    Calif. Defeats Trump Admin Suit Demanding Private Voter Data

    A federal judge has thrown out the U.S. Department of Justice's suit claiming that California is required to fork over statewide voter registration lists with voters' driver's license and Social Security numbers, calling the Trump administration's request "antithetical to the promise of fair and free elections."

  • January 16, 2026

    9th Circ. Upholds Ax Of RNC Suit Over Google Email Filtering

    The Ninth Circuit on Friday refused to revive the Republican National Committee's lawsuit accusing Google of illegally sending RNC fundraising emails to Gmail users' spam folders, finding that the committee had failed to establish the type of user relationship necessary to sustain its claims. 

  • January 16, 2026

    Stolen Google AI Info Valuable To Rivals And China, Jury Told

    Federal prosecutors questioned a foreign policy expert and an MIT computer science professor Friday in the trial of an ex-Google engineer accused of stealing AI trade secrets to help China, seeking to show that artificial intelligence is a major priority for the Chinese government and that Google's technology was nonpublic and extremely valuable.

  • January 16, 2026

    Immigrant Visa Pause Could Test Limits Of Executive Power

    The Trump administration's indefinite pause on immigrant visas for applicants from 75 countries may test the outer bounds of executive control over visa issuance and prompt court battles in a rarely litigated area of immigration law.

  • January 16, 2026

    Littler Adds Epstein Becker Employment Litigator In Calif.

    Littler Mendelson PC announced that an attorney from Epstein Becker Green is joining its Century City, California, office as a shareholder, bringing a wealth of experience in employment law. 

  • January 16, 2026

    Calif. AG Orders xAI To Stop Enabling Sexualized Deepfakes

    California's attorney general on Friday sent xAI a cease and desist letter demanding the artificial intelligence company immediately stop the creation and distribution of nonconsensual, sexualized deepfakes, days after U.S. senators announced they had demanded that leading tech companies disclose how they are preventing such images on their platforms.

  • January 16, 2026

    Calif. Resident Pleads Guilty To Shipping AI Chips To China

    A Chinese national living in Southern California pled guilty Friday in Los Angeles federal court to a conspiracy charge for unlawfully exporting computer chips for artificial intelligence applications worth "tens of millions of dollars" to China.

  • January 16, 2026

    Rapper Xzibit's Ex-Wife Sues Over Cannabis TM Transfers

    The ex-wife of rapper Xzibit filed a trademark infringement suit in California federal court Thursday alleging he assigned the marks of the couple's cannabis brand to his associate without her consent, in violation of an automatic temporary restraining order in their divorce proceedings.

  • January 16, 2026

    NuVasive Loses Appeal Over Ex-Exec's Ties To Competitor

    The Delaware Supreme Court on Friday affirmed the dismissal of NuVasive Inc.'s long-running lawsuit accusing a former top executive of breaching fiduciary duties and contractual obligations while planning to move to a rival spine-surgery company, ending nearly a decade of litigation over alleged conflicts and disloyal conduct.

  • January 16, 2026

    Squires Ends Chinese Chip Co. IPRs In Informative Order

    U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director John Squires has stopped Yangtze Memory Technologies Co.'s challenges to two Micron Technology Inc.-owned patents, saying the Chinese chipmaker did not address concerns over its precise identity.

  • January 16, 2026

    OpenAI, Microsoft Must Face Musk Fraud Fight In April Trial

    A California federal judge denied OpenAI Inc.'s request for summary judgment on Elon Musk's claims OpenAI duped him into donating $38 million with false promises of remaining a nonprofit, while trimming some claims against Microsoft Corp. and sending the bifurcated dispute to an April jury trial.

  • January 16, 2026

    ChatGPT Users Say Microsoft Can't Duck Antitrust Suit

    ChatGPT subscribers urged a California federal judge Friday not to dismiss their lawsuit accusing Microsoft of undermining OpenAI by forcing the artificial intelligence giant into using its cloud computing exclusively, a day after they said Microsoft has no claim to alternatively force the proposed class action into arbitration.

  • January 16, 2026

    9th Circ. Upholds County Fines For Illegal Short-Term Rentals

    The Ninth Circuit on Friday refused to stop a Nevada county from enforcing ordinances that don't allow unlicensed short-term rentals to operate, ruling that the lower court rightfully sided against a local company by determining that the related county fines weren't unconstitutionally excessive.

  • January 16, 2026

    Calif. Atty Wins Fee Appeal In Dispute With Ex-Firm

    A California appellate panel on Thursday approved an attorney fee award for a lawyer in dispute with his former firm but also denied that attorney's attempt to get attorney fees for a post-arbitration hearing.

  • January 16, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Won't Revive Patent Suit Against Nintendo Switch

    The Federal Circuit on Friday affirmed a California federal judge's conclusion that Nintendo's popular Nintendo Switch system did not infringe Gamevice Inc. patents, although it remanded an invalidity ruling that one judge feared could result in "really wacky case law."

  • January 16, 2026

    High Court Takes Up Intel Workers' Bid To Revive 401(k) Suit

    The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Friday to hear Intel workers' challenge to a Ninth Circuit decision backing an end to their proposed class action alleging 401(k) mismanagement, a case that gives the justices a chance to clarify the pleading standards for retirement fund underperformance. 

  • January 16, 2026

    Oregon Judge Strikes Down Exclusion Feds Cited For Logging

    An Oregon federal judge has vacated a decades-old categorical exclusion the U.S. Forest Service enacted to exempt forest thinning and wildlife habitat projects from environmental reviews after it was used to allow thousands of acres of commercial logging in Fremont-Winema National Forest.

  • January 16, 2026

    TaylorMade Claims Golf Rival's UV 'Test' Misleads Consumers

    TaylorMade Golf Co. Inc. in a California federal lawsuit accused its rival Topgolf Callaway Brands of running a disparaging smear campaign meant to convince consumers it has inferior, poor-performing products, in violation of the Lanham Act.

  • January 16, 2026

    Dykema Adds Former Assistant US Attorney In Los Angeles

    Dykema Gossett PLLC is growing its litigation team, bringing in a former assistant U.S. attorney as senior counsel in its Los Angeles office.

  • January 15, 2026

    Google Worker In IP Theft Trial Impersonated Exec, Jury Hears

    An ex-Google engineer accused of stealing artificial intelligence trade secrets to help China used a fake email account to impersonate a Google vice president that he'd listed as a business reference, and also had voice modification software on his computer, an FBI agent told jurors Thursday.

  • January 15, 2026

    Epic CEO, Google Execs To Testify At Play Store Deal Hearing

    Epic Games and Google plan to call Epic CEO Tim Sweeney, an economist, a Google executive and in-house counsel during an upcoming evidentiary hearing into their proposed Android app distribution settlement, which has drawn skepticism from the judge, who has appointed an economist to independently evaluate the deal.

  • January 15, 2026

    Jenner Atty And Ex-Newsom Aide O'Leary Heads To OpenAI

    Jenner & Block LLP public policy partner Ann O'Leary, who previously worked as chief of staff for California Gov. Gavin Newsom, has joined OpenAI in the newly created role of vice president of global policy, according to an announcement this week.

  • January 15, 2026

    Bang Energy Co. Founder's Bid To Avoid Paying $308M Denied

    A Florida federal judge denied a motion brought by the founder of the company that makes Bang energy drinks to avoid paying Monster Beverage Corp. $308 million stemming from a false advertising lawsuit, saying the request must be brought in California. 

  • January 15, 2026

    Gov't Contractor Says Insurers Wrongfully Inflated Premiums

    A contractor for the federal government said it should not have to pay an additional $1.7 million premium for workers' compensation policies issued by units of the Hartford, telling a Connecticut federal court that the retroactive charge was caused by the wrongful reclassification of hundreds of employees.

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    Muay Thai Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Muay Thai kickboxing has taught me that in order to win, one must stick to one's game plan and adapt under pressure, just as when facing challenges by opposing counsel or judges, says Mark Schork at Feldman Shepherd.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Intentional Career-Building

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    A successful legal career is built through intention: understanding expectations, assessing strengths honestly and proactively seeking opportunities to grow and cultivating relationships that support your development, say Erika Drous and Hillary Mann at Morrison Foerster.

  • Key Trends In PFAS Regulation And Litigation For 2026

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    As 2026 begins, the legal and regulatory outlook for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances is defined less by sweeping federal initiatives and more by incremental adjustments, judicial guardrails and state-driven regulations — an environment in which proactive risk management and close monitoring of policy developments will be essential, say attorneys at MG+M.

  • Navigating Workplace AI When Federal, State Policies Clash

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    Two recent federal bills and various state laws concerning employers' artificial intelligence use may clash with an executive order calling for minimal regulation, so employers should proactively monitor their AI usage and stay apprised of legislative updates while awaiting further direction from the federal government, say attorneys at Foley & Lardner.

  • Series

    A Day In The In-House Life: Chime GC Talks Pathfinding

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    On a recent Tuesday in the office, Chime's general counsel Adam Frankel shares his typical work day, tackling everything from strategically guiding product launches and testing AI tools to mastering the perfect latte and making time for extracurricular interests.

  • Reviewing 2025's Artificial Intelligence Disputes Over IP

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    2025 brought the first major fair use rulings involving generative artificial intelligence, and in 2026 courts will weigh in on more discovery disputes, renewed motions to dismiss, class certification challenges and fair use defenses that could shape the course of future AI litigation, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • Key Trends Shaping ESG And Sustainability Law In 2026

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    2025 saw a chaotic regulatory landscape and novel litigation around environmental, social and governance issues and sustainability — and 2026, while perhaps more predictable, will likely be no less challenging, with more lawsuits and a regulatory tug-of-war complicating compliance for global companies, say attorneys at Crowell.

  • 3 Securities Litigation Trends To Watch In 2026

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    Pending federal appellate cases suggest that 2026 will be a significant year for securities litigation, with long-standing debates about class certification, new questions about the risks and value of artificial intelligence features, and private plaintiffs' growing role in cryptocurrency enforcement likely to be major themes, say attorneys at Willkie.

  • For Data Centers, Both Hyperscale And Edge Are Key In 2026

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    Recent trends in development of data centers highlight the importance of proactive attention to the zoning, permitting, interconnection and contractual issues associated with both hyperscale and edge facilities, in order to position projects for responsible growth in 2026 and protect their long-term value amid rapid technological and regulatory change, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Top 5 Antitrust Issues For In-House Counsel To Watch In 2026

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    With Trump administration enforcement policy having largely taken shape last year, antitrust issues that in-house counsel should have on the radar range from scrutiny of technology-assisted pricing to the return of merger remedies, say attorneys at Squire Patton.

  • 4 Developments That Defined The 2025 Ethics Landscape

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    The legal profession spent 2025 at the edge of its ethical comfort zone as courts, firms and regulators confronted how fast-moving technologies and new business models collide with long-standing professional duties, signaling that the profession is entering a period of sustained disruption that will continue into 2026, says Hilary Gerzhoy at HWG Law.

  • 5 Trade Secret Developments To Follow In 2026

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    Watch for major developments in trade secret law this year, especially as courts clarify the reach of U.S. law internationally, the availability of trade secret damages and more, say attorneys at Faegre Drinker.

  • Top 10 Employer Resolutions For 2026

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    Heightened regulatory attention, shifting enforcement priorities and increased litigation risk mean that routine workplace decisions in 2026 will require greater discipline and foresight, including in relation to bias and inclusion training, employee resource groups, employee speech, immigration compliance, workplace accommodations, and shadow artificial intelligence, say attorneys at Krevolin & Horst.

  • Navigating AI In The Legal Industry

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    As artificial intelligence becomes an increasingly integral part of legal practice, Law360 guest commentary this year examined evolving ethical obligations, how the plaintiffs bar is using AI to level the playing field against corporate defense teams, and the attendant risks of adoption.

  • 4 California Insurance Law Decisions To Know From 2025

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    California continued to shape the national insurance landscape in 2025, issuing a series of decisions that may recalibrate claims handling, underwriting strategy and policy drafting in areas from property damage claims after a wildfire to automobile coverage for delivery drivers in the gig economy, say attorneys at Nicolaides Fink.

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