California Pulse


  • Morgan Lewis Finance Ace Joins Cadwalader

    Financial adviser Robert Hayes joined Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft LLP as a partner and plans to move his practice to Los Angeles after the planned merger with Hogan Lovells next month, the firm announced Monday.

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    Kelley Drye Moves San Diego Office To Larger Digs In Del Mar

    Kelley Drye & Warren LLP announced Monday that it has moved its regional San Diego office from La Jolla, California, to a 5,000-square-foot space designed as a flexible hub for client engagement and collaboration in Del Mar.

  • 'Poor Lawyering': Walmart Flub Haunts Class Attys At 9th Circ.

    Amid warnings of a chilling effect on plaintiffs counsel, a Ninth Circuit panel Friday scrutinized six-figure sanctions against attorneys whose false advertising suit targeting Walmart Inc. collapsed because of crucial fine print in an avocado oil receipt.

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    2026 Associate Bonus And Salary Tracker

    UPDATE June 12, 2026 | Since Milbank LLP announced it was raising its associate base pay scale in early June, a number of law firms have matched or exceeded the compensation scale, which ranges from $235,000 to $455,000.

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    GCs Tell Law Grads To Embrace Uncertain, Nonlinear Careers

    Five speakers, all alumni of the law schools where they addressed graduates this spring, shared their wisdom for a new generation of lawyers as they start to build careers amid rapid artificial intelligence advancements, ongoing wars, strained political climates and global upheaval — all of which create disruption and uncertainty. Their advice is guidance that even the most seasoned attorneys might find useful.

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    More BigLaw Raises Predicted Despite Silence After Milbank

    While boutiques make up many of the law firms that have quickly matched Milbank LLP's recently announced associate raises, recruiters told Law360 Pulse this week that they predict more BigLaw firms will eventually reveal their own salary hikes.

  • Cloudflare Gives New CLO $13M In Stock Awards

    The new legal chief of Cloudflare has had her salary increase by $155,000 to $600,000 and received $13 million in stock awards after her April 1 promotion from deputy chief, according to a recent securities filing.

  • Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

    Kirkland & Ellis LLP leads this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after a Los Angeles jury in a bellwether trial cleared Johnson & Johnson of any liability in the deaths of three women from ovarian cancer.

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    Jackson Lewis Adds Gordon Rees Employment Trio In LA

    Jackson Lewis PC has expanded its offerings in the Golden State with the addition of a trio of employment litigators from Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani LLP.

  • Voir Dire: Law360 Pulse's Weekly Quiz

    The legal industry in the last week saw growing demand for prime office space, while a bevy of firms raised associate pay. Test your legal news savvy here with Law360 Pulse's weekly quiz.

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    Winston & Strawn Employment Partner Joins Davis Wright

    Davis Wright Tremaine LLP announced Thursday that an experienced employment attorney has joined the firm's Los Angeles office after a lengthy stint with Winston & Strawn LLP.

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    Hinshaw Adds Selman Leichenger Insurance Veteran In LA

    Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP has added an insurance law veteran from Selman Leichenger Edson Hsu Newman & Moore LLP to its ranks in Los Angeles, the firm said Thursday.

  • Kellogg Hansen Bests Susman Godfrey's Associate Pay Hikes

    More litigation boutiques are joining the growing number of firms raising their base salaries for associates, with Kellogg Hansen Todd Figel & Frederick PLLC exceeding the scale Susman Godfrey LLP set earlier this week.

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    Largest US Law Firms Saw Biggest Headcount Gains In 2025

    Growth in domestic attorney headcount accelerated among the nation's largest law firms in 2025, with the strongest gains concentrated at the top of the market, according to data collected as part of the Law360 400 ranking.

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    The Law360 400: Tracking The Largest US Law Firms

    Many of the largest U.S. law firms grew their domestic attorney ranks again in 2025, continuing to invest in hiring and talent pipelines while client demand stayed strong.

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    Dykema Elects CEO To 3rd Term Before Centennial Festivities

    Dykema Gossett PLLC has reelected firm Chair and CEO Leonard C. Wolfe to a third three-year term as the firm prepares to celebrate its 100th anniversary this week.

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    Law Firms Fuel Demand For Prime Office Space, Report Says

    Law firm office leasing has started 2026 strong, with firms expanding their footprints and accelerating investments in artificial intelligence as other industries continue to reassess their workplace needs, according to a new report from commercial real estate brokerage Cushman & Wakefield.

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    Disney Atty Reflects On 'Star Wars' Maker Deal, New Starz Job

    After taking part in Disney's transformational transactions for almost three decades, Jim Kapenstein marked his last day at the entertainment conglomerate Wednesday and prepared for his next role as the top lawyer at Starz. Law360 Pulse spoke with Kapenstein before he took the reins of the legal team at the TV network.

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    Manatt Healthcare Pro Jumps To Crowell & Moring In LA

    A Manatt Phelps & Phillips LLP healthcare regulatory partner has joined Crowell & Moring LLP's Los Angeles office, the firm announced Wednesday.

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    Gordon Rees' Managing Partner On A 'Generational Handover'

    Gordon Rees' new managing partner talks with Law360 Pulse about the firm's recent growth, culture, his approach to leadership and the firm's future.

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    Susman Godfrey Beats, Seward & Kissel Matches Milbank Pay

    At least four more firms have joined the associate pay raise bandwagon, with Seward & Kissel LLP matching the salary scale recently set by Milbank LLP, and Susman Godfrey LLP exceeding it.

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    DLA Piper Hires Ex-Investment Co. GC In Palo Alto

    DLA Piper has brought on an emerging growth and venture capital partner in Palo Alto, California, whose most-recent role was working as the first general counsel and chief commercial officer of an investment company.

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    Lowenstein Sandler IP Atty Joins Buchalter In San Francisco

    Buchalter PC announced Monday that an experienced intellectual property attorney with a background in electrical and computer engineering has joined the firm's San Francisco office as a partner from Lowenstein Sandler LLP.

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    Trial Boutiques Roll Out Associate Pay Raises

    Three trial boutiques are planning to bump associate salaries by at least $10,000 next month, the firms confirmed to Law360 Pulse Tuesday.

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    Regulatory Litigator Joins Steptoe In SF From K&L Gates

    Steptoe LLP announced Tuesday that it is growing its U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulatory bench and its West Coast offerings with a San Francisco-based litigator who came aboard from K&L Gates LLP.

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Expert Analysis

  • An After-Placement Plan Maximizes Legal Content's Potential Author Photo

    Before landing a published quote, feature or interview, law firms should articulate the content’s purpose and develop a strategic plan for repurposing it to ensure they’re aligning public relations efforts with measurable business outcomes, says John Hellerman at Hellerman Communications.

  • Ask A Mentor: How Should I Coordinate Pro Bono Projects? Author Photo

    Julie LaEace at Perkins Coie offers tips for attorneys acting as pro bono coordinators, including how to choose appropriate projects, how to encourage participation and why it is important to keep in touch with legal aid partner organizations.

  • 6 Strategies For Navigating Legal Leadership Transitions Author Photo

    Amid uncertainty in the legal job market, attorneys who are considering a transition to a leadership role must fundamentally reimagine their approach to value creation and develop a new set of skills, say Stacy Bratcher at Cottage Health and Michael Watkins at Genesis Advisers.

  • The Augmented Lawyer: Crafting Responsible AI Policies Author Photo

    As the legal industry increasingly looks to impose responsive guardrails for artificial intelligence use, firms and organizations’ internal use policies, outside counsel guidelines and vendor contracts can address confidentiality and data retention concerns in several ways, say attorneys at KXT Law.

  • 6 Ways To Build Pro Bono Culture If You Lack Dedicated Staff Author Photo

    Firms can develop a strong pro bono culture without hiring dedicated professionals through strategies like demonstrating active involvement by leadership, tailoring volunteer tasks to individual professional development needs and building trusted partnerships within the legal aid community, says Stacy Zinken at Paladin.

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    Biz Development Tip Of The Month: Extend Your Content's Life Author Photo

    Attorneys often limit the impact of their thought leadership by letting their content languish after initial publication, but through four easy strategies for retooling existing content, they can maximize its reach and further their business development goals, says Jillian McKenna at Verrill Dana.

  • Why Law Firm Leaders Should Care About Student Debt Crisis Author Photo

    ​​​​​​​As the student debt crisis evolves under changing federal policies, firms that proactively address the burden will have significant advantages in recruiting and retaining the best young lawyers, says Brian Kabateck at Kabateck.

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    Talking Mental Health: Encouraging New Attys To Find Joy Author Photo

    Rudene Haynes at Hunton discusses her experiences as a hiring partner, common sources of stress that newer attorneys face and steps that law firms can take to protect their attorneys' mental health and encourage personal life fulfillment.

  • Fla. Bar's Cyber Incident Response Plan Sets Precedent Author Photo

    The incident response plan developed by the Florida Bar's cybersecurity and privacy committee might not seem all that consequential, but it's a long overdue framework that could go a long way toward protecting the highly sensitive data law firms handle — and could even set a model for other professional organizations to follow, says Chris Boehm at Zero Networks.

  • Why Attorneys Should Write About Justices' Minority Opinions Author Photo

    Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson’s searing dissents this past term serve as a reminder for attorneys to analyze U.S. Supreme Court minority opinions in their thought leadership for three key reasons, says Jessica Kaplan at Legally Penned.

  • 3 Business Development Lessons From Mozart's 'Magic Flute' Author Photo

    Mozart’s opera “The Magic Flute” offers a useful framework for attorneys to build relationships and develop new business, inspired by Prince Tamino’s curiosity, courage and consistency, says Paul Manuele at PR Manuele Consulting.

  • 5 Ways Legal Teams Can Use KPIs To Quantify Their Value Author Photo

    As in-house legal departments are increasingly expected to do more with less, developing a thoughtful framework to measure key performance indicators can help them both maximize and demonstrate their contribution to business success, say co-founders at New Era ADR.

  • Series

    Defining The Culture For A Legal Nonprofit Author Photo

    We co-founded The International Academy of Financial Crime Litigators to connect leading trial lawyers, litigation experts and academics, and our experience has shown that embracing opportunity, responding fearlessly to market realities, and relentlessly defining the organization’s culture have all been integral to success, say Stéphane Bonifassi, Lincoln Caylor and Elizabeth Ortega.

  • 5 Emerging Themes Shaping Lateral Partner Moves This Year Author Photo

    A few key trends have arisen in partners’ lateral movements in the first half of 2025, reflecting a legal market defined by macroeconomic uncertainty, shifts in firm structures and rising scrutiny of firm affiliations, say legal recruiters at Macrae.

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    Biz Development Tip Of The Month: Be A Mentor Or Mentee Author Photo

    Mentorship is a powerful tool for business development when both mentors and mentees approach their relationships with strategic purpose, ensuring professional success while supporting broader business goals, say Angela Liu at Dechert and Jessica Lewis at WilmerHale.

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