California Pulse


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    Smith Currie Taps Construction Law Vet As New Leader

    Smith Currie Oles LLP announced a new managing partner this week, with a Seattle-based partner who joined as part of a 2023 merger stepping into the role.

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    Law Firms Merged At Record Rates In 2025 Amid Talent War

    A record 59 law firm combinations were completed in 2025, 21 of which involved the largest 200 firms by revenue, according to statistics released by SurePoint Legal Insights, formerly Leopard Solutions, on Tuesday.

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    How Associates Can Financially Prep For Equity Partnership

    The transition from steady pay as an associate to dealing with the financial nuances of being an equity partner calls for great diligence in how young attorneys manage their finances.

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    Gibson Dunn Mentor Program Sets Up Attys For Success

    January is National Mentoring Month. Law360 heard from attorneys who are in Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP’s firmwide mentorship program about its top benefits.

  • SEC Blunts Some Shareholder Activists With Policy Reversal

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has reversed course on allowing shareholders with less than $5 million in holdings to publicize information about their proxy ballot proposals through the agency, saying it will object to such voluntary submissions going forward.

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    Kelley Drye Adds Ex-23andMe, Facebook Privacy Pros

    Kelley Drye & Warren LLP said Monday it is boosting its privacy and information security practice with the addition of a former 23andMe attorney in California and a former Facebook attorney in Texas.

  • Law360 Seeks Members For Its 2026 Editorial Boards

    Law360 is looking for avid readers of our publications to serve as members of our 2026 editorial advisory boards.

  • Marilyn Monroe Homeowners Sue LA Again Over Landmarking

    Owners of a home where Marilyn Monroe died sued Los Angeles officials for the second time Friday, alleging in California federal court that designating the property a historic cultural monument prevented them from demolishing the decaying building they still must pay taxes on, which amounts to an unconstitutional government taking without just compensation.

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    Vedder Price Shortens Name In Rebranding Effort

    Chicago-based law firm Vedder Price PC will now go by the name Vedder and has debuted a new website in an effort to better serve clients and employees.

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    Fox Rothschild Updates Leadership Team With Eye On Future

    Both the managing partner and chair of Fox Rothschild LLP will start new terms in those positions in the spring, when a firm co-chair will join the leadership team to prepare for a possible transition to serving the role independently.

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    Willkie Adds Private Equity Pro From Sidley Austin In LA

    Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP has added a partner from Sidley Austin LLP to strengthen its capacity to advise private equity funds, asset managers and other clients about corporate transactions.

  • O'Melveny Brings On Proskauer M&A Pro In California

    O'Melveny & Myers LLP announced Monday that it added a corporate dealmaker to its Newport Beach, California, office from the Los Angeles office of Proskauer Rose LLP.

  • Ex-Calif. Judge Takes Aim At Sex Assault Charge

    A former California judge said a count of a federal indictment accusing him of sexual assault should be tossed since the alleged victim viewed him as a friend.

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    Law Student Recruiting Moves Further Off Campus

    About four-fifths of law school summer associate recruiting in 2025 happened through employer-sponsored channels, as opposed to more traditional law school-sponsored channels, with recruiting also happening increasingly early, according to research unveiled Monday by the National Association for Law Placement.

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    AI Fuels Surge In Corp. Data Privacy And Governance Changes

    With the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence, a striking shift is occurring in how corporations handle data privacy and governance as some 90% of organizations say they have expanded their privacy programs, according to a new study from tech giant Cisco Systems Inc.

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    Ogletree Elects New Managing Director, Names 2 Attys To Board

    Management-side labor and employment firm Ogletree Deakins Nash Smoak & Stewart PC has elected one of its San Francisco shareholders as one of the firm's two managing directors and selected another two to join its board of directors.

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    Dechert Lands 20-Partner Group From McDermott

    Dechert LLP announced Friday it is bringing aboard 20 partners from McDermott Will & Schulte spanning litigation, intellectual property and other practice areas in six cities across the country, including for upcoming firm offices in Chicago and Dallas.

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    Qualcomm GC's Comp Up $2M For Fiscal 2025

    Qualcomm Inc.'s general counsel saw her compensation jump to roughly $9 million for fiscal year 2025, up from just under $7 million the year prior, mostly due to a spike in stock awards, according to a public filing.

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    How Attorneys Can Balance Careers With Caring For Parents

    As baby boomers get older and develop more intense healthcare needs, attorneys in the prime of their careers are increasingly pressed to also provide care to their elderly parents.

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    Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

    Williams & Connolly LLP leads this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after the U.S. Supreme Court held in a unanimous opinion that restitution is a criminal punishment subject to the Constitution's ban on increasing punishment retroactively.

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    Disney's Top Atty's Pay Continues To Climb, Surpassing $16M

    The Walt Disney Co.'s top attorney saw his compensation package rise yet again in 2025, nearing almost $16.3 million.

  • Voir Dire: Law360 Pulse's Weekly Quiz

    This was another action-packed week for the legal industry as law firms launched new practices, hired attorneys and reported record-breaking lobbying figures. Test your legal news savvy here with Law360 Pulse's weekly quiz.

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    Kilpatrick's New SF Head Enjoys Thrill Of Patent Work 'Puzzle'

    With experiences as both a patent engineer and a lawyer, Kilpatrick's new San Francisco leader, Neslihan "Nesli" Doran-Civan, is thrilled to bridge the gap between both backgrounds in her work at the firm.

  • ABA Outlines Limited Atty Duty To Give Info To Former Clients

    The American Bar Association said attorneys have a limited responsibility to convey information to former clients or successor counsel that was not within the client's file, when doing so is necessary to protect a client's interests and reasonably practicable, according to a new ethics opinion.

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    Simpson Thacher Adds Quinn Emanuel Atty To New SF Office

    A Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP attorney who worked on high-profile intellectual property matters representing Google and Jane Street Group has joined Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP as partner in its newly opened San Francisco office, the firm announced Thursday.

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Expert Analysis

  • How Law Firms Can Cautiously Wield AI To Streamline Tasks Author Photo

    Many attorneys are going to use artificial intelligence tools whether law firms like it or not, so firms should educate them on AI's benefits, limits and practical uses, such as drafting legal documents, to remain competitive in a rapidly evolving legal market, say Thomas Schultz and Eden Bernstein at Kellogg Hansen.

  • Keys To Managing The Stresses Of Law School Author Photo

    Dealing with the pressures associated with law school can prove difficult for many future lawyers, but there are steps students can take to manage stress — and schools can help too, say Ryan Zajic and Dr. Janani Krishnaswami at UWorld.

  • Can Mandatory CLE Mitigate Implicit Bias's Negative Impacts? Author Photo

    Amid ongoing disagreements on whether states should mandate implicit bias training as part of attorneys' continuing legal education requirements, Stephanie Wilson at Reed Smith looks at how unconscious attitudes or stereotypes adversely affect legal practice, and whether mandatory training programs can help.

  • Ditch The Frills And Start Writing Legal Letters In Plain English Author Photo

    To become more effective advocates, lawyers need to rethink the ridiculous, convoluted language they use in correspondence and write letters in a clear, concise and direct manner, says legal writing instructor Stuart Teicher.

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    Ask A Mentor: How Can I Negotiate My Separation Agreement? Author Photo

    Kate Reder Sheikh at Major Lindsey discusses how a law firm associate can navigate being laid off, what to look for in a separation agreement and why to be upfront about it with prospective employers.

  • DoNotPay Cases Underscore Hurdles For AI-Fueled Legal Help Author Photo

    Recent legal challenges against DoNotPay’s "robot lawyer” application highlight pressing questions about the degree to which artificial intelligence can be used for legal tasks while remaining on the right side of both consumer protection laws and prohibitions against the unauthorized practice of law, says Kristen Niven at Frankfurt Kurnit.

  • For The Future Of Legal Practice, Let's Learn From The Past Author Photo

    At some level, every practicing lawyer is experiencing the ever-increasing speed of change — and while some practice management processes have gotten more efficient, other things about the legal profession were better before supposed improvements were made, says Jay Silberblatt, president of the Pennsylvania Bar Association.

  • Why All Law Firms Should Foster Psychological Capital Author Photo

    Law firms will be able to reap great long-term benefits if they adopt strategies to nurture four critical components of their employees' psychological wellness and performance — hope, efficacy, resilience and optimism, says Dennis Stolle at the American Psychological Association.

  • A GC's Guide To Litigation, Inspired By Sun Tzu's 'Art Of War' Author Photo

    With caseloads and spending increasing, in-house counsel might find themselves called to opine on the risks and benefits of litigation more often, and they should look at five Sun Tzu maxims from the ancient Chinese classic "The Art of War" to inform their approach to any suit, says Jeff Golimowski at Womble Bond.

  • Mentorship Is Key To Diversity In The Legal Industry Author Photo

    Not only can effective mentorship have a profound impact on women and people of color entering the legal field, but it also benefits mentors and the legal profession as a whole, creating a true win-win situation for all involved, says Natasha Cortes at Grossman Roth.

  • ChatGPT Is A Cool Trick, But AI Won't Replace Lawyers Author Photo

    Generative AI applications like ChatGPT are unlikely to ever replace attorneys for a variety of practical reasons — but given their practice-enhancing capabilities, lawyers who fail to leverage these tools may be rendered obsolete, says Eran Kahana at Maslon.

  • Pro Bono Work Is Valuable In IP And Continued Learning Author Photo

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's recent elimination of a rule that partially counted pro bono work toward continuing legal education highlights the importance of volunteer work in intellectual property practice and its ties to CLE, and puts a valuable tool for hands-on attorney education in the hands of the states, say Lisa Holubar and Ariel Katz at Irwin.

  • Increasing Public Access To Legal Services: A Practical Plan Author Photo

    Recommendations recently issued by a special committee of the Florida Bar represent a realistic, pragmatic approach to increasing the accessibility and affordability of legal services, at a time when the disconnect between the legal profession and the public at large has widened considerably, says Gary Lesser, president of the Florida Bar.

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    Ask A Mentor: How Do I Relay Shortcomings To Associates? Author Photo

    Michael Cohen at Duane Morris discusses the best ways to articulate how an associate is not meeting expectations, and why documentation of performance management is crucial for their growth and protecting the firm from discrimination suits.

  • 10 Principles For Effective Partner Reward Systems Author Photo

    Several forces are reshaping partners’ expectations about profit-sharing, and as compensation structures evolve in response, firms should keep certain fundamentals in mind to build a successful partner reward system, say Michael Roch at MHPR Advisors and Ray D'Cruz at Performance Leader.

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