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California Pulse
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Ex-Benghazi Investigator Sworn In As Interim NorCal US Atty
A longtime Los Angeles attorney and former investigator into the 2012 terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya, that killed four Americans was appointed on Tuesday as interim U.S. attorney in California's Northern District, where he'll be allowed to serve up to 120 days pending Senate confirmation.
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Calif. Ethics Panel Weighs Judge DQs In Racial Justice Cases
A California judge who previously served as a district attorney need not be recused from a case involving California Racial Justice Act claims solely because the judge previously handled cases involving elements that may be subject to discovery under the act, the state's judicial watchdog has put forward in a draft opinion.
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Rate Hikes May Be Masking BigLaw's Financial Vulnerabilities
Revenue and profits have both been on a strong upward trajectory in recent years for large U.S. law firms, but those strides may not tell the whole story when considering factors like inflation and the role that aggressive rate hikes, which some say are unsustainable, have played in the increases.
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Hollywood Attys Put Focus On Assault Victims With New Firm
After a yearslong court battle against hotel tycoon Steve Wynn, attorneys Mike Holtz and Jordan Matthews earned a reputation as dogged fighters on behalf of sexual assault victims and accusers, and this month, they launched their own firm dedicated to handling sexual assault and harassment cases in the entertainment and gaming industries.
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Law Firms Slow To Adopt $225K Associate 1st-Year Salaries
First-year associate salaries of $225,000 may make headlines, but they aren't yet the reality at most law firms surveyed for a new report by the National Association for Law Placement.
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Gibson Dunn Helps 1st-Year Associates Connect With 'Pods'
At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP launched a unique virtual program to connect first-year associates with other young attorneys in different U.S. offices. Five years later, the “New Associate Pods” program is still going strong.
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Hamilton Miller Tops New Ranking Of Midsize Law Firms
Miami-based Hamilton Miller & Birthisel LLP has topped the inaugural ranking of the leading 200 midsize law firms from legal software provider SurePoint Technologies, which scored firms based on factors such as gender and ethnic diversity, and attorney roster growth.
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Anthropic Declaration Partly Stricken Over AI Hallucination
A California federal magistrate judge has partially stricken an expert report filed by Anthropic in copyright infringement litigation that cited a nonexistent study — an error created by the artificial intelligence company's own Claude AI tool — calling the issue "serious," but "not quite so grave as it first appeared."
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Withers Taps London Trusts And Estates Atty As Next Chair
Withers announced Tuesday that its next chair will be a London-based trusts and inheritance disputes lawyer with more than 25 years at the firm, who is set to assume the role in July.
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Goodwin Debt Financing Ace Rejoins Gibson Dunn In LA
Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP is expanding its West Coast team, announcing Tuesday it is welcoming back a debt financing expert, who left for a few years to join Goodwin Procter LLP, as a partner in its Los Angeles office.
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K&L Gates Names New Managing Partner, Committee Chair
K&L Gates LLP has kicked off a leadership transition process that will continue through next summer and will include the appointment of a new managing partner in July and a management committee chair by June 2026.
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Kirkland Lands 12 Litigation Partners From King & Spalding
Twelve former litigation partners from King & Spalding LLP are among close to 30 attorneys who are moving to Kirkland & Ellis LLP, the latter firm told Law360 Pulse Tuesday.
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Calif. Bar Seeks More Remedies After Problematic Feb. Exam
The state bar of California has formally asked the state Supreme Court to approve measures including a limited provisional licensure program and a more direct pathway to admission for out-of-state attorneys, in the state bar's latest attempt to seek equitable remedies amid the fallout from the bungled February 2025 California bar exam.
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California Litigator Joins Pierson Ferdinand From Pillsbury
After over 25 years at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, an experienced, California-based litigator has come aboard Pierson Ferdinand LLP as a partner, the virtual law firm announced Tuesday.
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Paul Hastings Lands 5-Atty LA Real Estate Team From Latham
Paul Hastings LLP's real estate practice is adding an experienced five-partner land use team from Latham & Watkins LLP in Los Angeles, the firm announced Tuesday.
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Why Training Partners To Supervise AI Is Now A Priority
As law firms integrate generative artificial intelligence into their operations and teach attorneys to use it, some are getting their partners up to speed by training them specifically in how to supervise the use of these tools.
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Law360 Reveals Titans Of The Plaintiffs Bar
This past year, a handful of attorneys secured billions of dollars in settlements and judgments for both classes and individual plaintiffs against massive companies and organizations like Facebook, Dell, the National Association of Realtors, Johnson & Johnson, UFC and Credit Suisse, earning them recognition as Law360's Titans of the Plaintiffs Bar for 2025.
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Legendary Calif. Judge Alsup Likely To Go Inactive In 2025
U.S. District Judge William H. Alsup, a larger-than-life jurist who's overseen some of the most consequential litigation in California's Northern District, indicated in a court filing Friday that he'll likely take inactive status before year's end, although the 79-year-old judge warned Law360 that he hasn't made a final decision.
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Atty, Stepdaughter Face $600K Workers' Comp Fraud Charges
The Orange County District Attorney's Office has charged a California attorney and his stepdaughter with conspiring to defraud a police department she was employed at by filing fraudulent workers' compensation payments.
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Voir Dire: Law360 Pulse's Weekly Quiz
The legal industry had another action-packed week as BigLaw firms shifted operations, expanded practices and took on new talent across the country. Test your legal news savvy here with Law360 Pulse’s weekly quiz.
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Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week
Latham & Watkins LLP leads this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after a deadlocked U.S. Supreme Court left in place an Oklahoma state court ruling barring the launch of the nation's first religious charter school.
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Kirkland Partner Joins Investment Group As First CLO
A 20-year partner at Kirkland & Ellis LLP has moved in-house as the first chief legal officer at Lane42 Investment Partners LLC, a new alternative asset management company.
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Foley & Lardner Adds DLA Piper, McDermott Corporate Pros
Foley & Lardner LLP has hired two seasoned attorneys in California who previously practiced at DLA Piper and McDermott to bolster its innovative technology sector and transactions practice group.
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2 Firms Tapped To Lead Visa Derivative Suits Over DOJ Claims
A California federal judge has combined lawsuits accusing Visa's executives and directors of allowing the company to understate the regulatory risk it faced by engaging in anticompetitive actions currently at the center of a lawsuit brought by the U.S. Department of Justice last year, and appointed two law firms to lead the litigation.
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Levi Strauss Calls For Sanctions Against Boies Schiller
Levi Strauss is seeking more than $15,000 from Boies Schiller Flexner LLP and training for the firm's litigation attorneys in the proceeding over a former executive's sex discrimination claims, telling a California federal judge that Boies Schiller flouted deadlines and refused to meet with opposing counsel.
Expert Analysis
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Tips For Persuasive Briefs Beyond The Argument Section
When crafting an appellate brief, the focus for most lawyers is the argument section, but other sections also offer strategic opportunities to shape the court's perception of the case and favorably frame the issues, say attorneys at Frost Brown.
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Ask A Mentor: Is Secondment A Good Career Move?
Kate Driscoll at Morrison Foerster suggests six questions to help candidates evaluate whether a secondment will benefit their career.
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3 Trends Reshaping Chief Marketing Officer Appointments
Recent approaches to hiring chief marketing officers demonstrate how firms are reimagining their marketing and business development frameworks to stay competitive and responsive to evolving client needs, says Murray Coffey at M Coffey.
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Talking Mental Health: Working As A Mom Of An Autistic Son
Sarah Kovit Hanna at Assurant discusses how she balances the demands of her in-house role and the support needs of her son, who was diagnosed with autism, as a single mom, and reflects on how the legal industry can better support caretakers of family members who have special needs.
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Ask A Mentor: How Can I Maximize My Pro Bono Impact?
Debbie Berman at Jenner & Block offers advice on how attorneys can make a meaningful impact on their communities through pro bono work while enhancing their professional development through strengthened client-facing skills, hands-on experience and more.
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Series
My Nonpracticing Law Job: Law Firm Marketer
Liz Bard Lindley at Jaffe PR shares how she went from a family law associate who helped write industry articles to a savvy legal public relations and marketing professional, and offers takeaways for any attorney who might not feel at home in their law practice and is considering alternative career paths.
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The Case For Keeping The Gas On Deputy GC Compensation
In recent years, the deputy general counsel role has expanded and become increasingly vital in organizations across the globe, and companies should consider a few ways to retain this top talent, including by offering competitive compensation that reflects projected increases, says Heather Fine at Major Lindsey.
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Talking Mental Health: The View From Life After BigLaw
Life coach and author Wendy Tamis Robbins discusses why she left a career in BigLaw to work in the professional well-being space after finding freedom from anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder and substance use disorders, and highlights two changes the legal industry should implement to address attorneys' mental health.
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6 Essential Skills For Summer Associates To Land An Offer
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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With full-time offer rates at the lowest point since 2012, summer associates must do all they can to distinguish themselves, starting with a few fundamentals — from the importance of asking clarifying questions to being honest about mistakes, says James Argionis at Cozen O'Connor.
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Making Legal Cents: How Law Firms Can Innovate Faster
To meet the demands of an evolving legal market and changing client expectations, law firms must not only embrace innovation, but also find ways to accelerate adoption and mitigate risks in an industry historically resistant to change, says Shireen Hilal at Maior Strategic Consulting.
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Ask A Mentor: How Should Departing Partners Approach Pay?
Sabina Lippman at CenterPeak discusses steps BigLaw partners can take when considering a move or announcing their departure to help navigate tricky compensation issues and remain on good terms with their current partners.
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How 2 Litigators Decided Dad Would Stay Home With The Kids
Jennifer Hoekstra at Aylstock Witkin shares the tough conversations about timing, goals, logistics and values involved in her family's decision that she would build her career as a litigator and law firm partner while her husband stepped back from his own litigation role to stay home with their children.
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Series
My Nonpracticing Law Job: Legal Commentary Ghostwriter
Wayne Pollock at Copo Strategies shares how he went from overworked Am Law 50 associate to owner of a legal thought leadership ghostwriting service, and provides four lessons for anyone who might be considering launching a business within the legal industry.
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Ask A Mentor: As Trials Grow Rarer, How Do I Hone My Skills?
Gary Parsons at Brooks Pierce offers advice for young lawyers seeking trial experience in an environment where fewer cases make it to trial, including how to build their reputations, set their expectations and pick the right firm.
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Talking Mental Health: Managing Depression As A Co. Founder
New Era ADR co-founder Collin Williams discusses his journey navigating a clinical depression diagnosis, how this experience affected his leadership style, and what the legal industry can do to better support attorneys with mental health conditions.