California Pulse


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    'Scare Tactics Work' But Hope Persists For Legal Industry DEI

    The suspension of Diversity Lab's Mansfield Certification program is the latest indication that political threats against BigLaw are working, as the Trump administration targets DEI programs, observers say. Still, some supporters of legal industry diversity initiatives predict law firms will continue to pursue inclusive hiring practices — even if they don't talk about it publicly.

  • Investors Push Apple For Report On China 'Entanglements'

    An investor group is asking Apple Inc. to do an audit on the risks and costs associated with the company's involvement with China, which it calls an "existential risk" to the value of Apple's stock.

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    What's Costing Legal Marketing Officers Sleep

    Finding the best ways to implement artificial intelligence and maximizing employees' business development are some of the things keeping legal industry professionals up at night, according to a new report by public relations firm Greentarget.

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    Synopsys GC Earns Over $3M In First 6 Months On The Job

    Synopsys Inc.'s general counsel, who took on the role in July after the acquisition of Ansys Inc. was complete, earned just over $3.2 million in 2025, according to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission proxy filing.

  • Former Calif. Judge Seeks To End Sex Assault Case

    A former California Superior Court judge facing five criminal counts alleging he sexually assaulted a court staffer and later lied to investigators in an attempt to cover up the encounter and another alleged assault is pushing for a full dismissal of charges.

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    HSF Kramer Wants To Show BigLaw Can Also Be AI-Native

    On the heels of its recent transatlantic merger, Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer LLP is one of the largest law firms seeking to become "AI-native," a term being used by several newly launched smaller law firms that promise to provide cheaper and faster legal services than traditional law firms.

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    Boies Schiller Partner Faces Possible Sanctions For AI Errors

    A Boies Schiller Flexner LLP partner must explain why he should not face monetary sanctions for filing a brief containing artificial intelligence-generated citation errors amid his representation of women who allege the Church of Scientology harassed them for reporting convicted actor Danny Masterson's sexual assaults.

  • Voir Dire: Law360 Pulse's Weekly Quiz

    This was another busy week for the legal industry as law firms hired new talent and named new leaders across the country. Test your legal news savvy here with Law360 Pulse's weekly quiz.

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    Foley & Lardner Brings On 4 IP, Corporate Attys In Calif.

    Foley & Lardner LLP is expanding its California team, announcing Thursday it is adding four partners with technology-related experience — two in San Diego, one in San Francisco and one in Silicon Valley.

  • Ex-LA Atty Faces Possible Suspension Over Billing Scandal

    A California Bar Court said that former Los Angeles chief deputy city attorney James Patrick Clark should be suspended from practicing law for at least two years due to his role in a high-profile customer billing scandal.

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    Ethics Guidance Lags Private Equity's Interest In Legal Field

    More lawyers are expected to seek guidance on the ethical issues surrounding the growing interest in using managed services organizations to allow private equity investment in law firms, but thus far any input on the model from state ethics committees is in short supply.

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    Barnes & Thornburg Adds 35 Ballard Spahr Attys, 3 Offices

    Barnes & Thornburg LLP announced Thursday that it has added all 35 public finance lawyers from Ballard Spahr LLP to its government services and finance department in multiple locations around the country, including three new markets in Baltimore, Denver and Phoenix.

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    Ballard Spahr Adds Litigator From Benesch In New SF Shop

    Ballard Spahr LLP's brand new San Francisco office is already growing, as another Benesch Friedlander Coplan & Aronoff LLP litigator has joined the office as a partner.

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    BakerHostetler Adds Contaminants Pro From DLA Piper

    BakerHostetler announced on Thursday that it has brought a San Francisco-based attorney from DLA Piper onto its product liability and toxic tort and environmental teams, calling him "one of the country's leading emerging contaminants litigators."

  • LA DA Chief Demoted Over View On Juvenile Cases, Suit Says

    A prosecutor in the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office claims that he was demoted from a top position after a spat with District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman over his views on how the office should handle cases involving juveniles.

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    Google's Kent Walker Talks AI, Competition, Digital Regulation

    Kent Walker, general counsel and president of global affairs for Google LLC and its parent company Alphabet Inc., said in a recent speech in Ireland that new technology has given the world "a reset button," similar to the discovery and development of algebra, but that it was incumbent on European Union leaders to streamline regulations and act as a force for growth.

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    Judges' Neutrality Must Extend Beyond Courtroom, ABA Says

    The American Bar Association's ethics committee is guiding judges to maintain the same level of neutrality and impartiality in working with court staff that they exercise when presiding in the courtroom, according to its latest formal opinion on Wednesday.

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    State High Court Chiefs To Review Law School Accreditation

    State supreme court leaders said Wednesday they will conduct a thorough review of law school accreditation practices this year, a move that comes after state justices in Texas and Florida recently ended the American Bar Association's longstanding accreditation monopoly in those states.

  • Former Calif. Judge Can't Escape Sex Assault Case, Feds Say

    A former California state judge cannot duck allegations that he sexually assaulted a court employee "under color of law" by claiming that he wasn't acting in his official capacity at the time of the assault, federal prosecutors said.

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    Benesch Launches State AG-Focused Practice Group

    Benesch Friedlander Coplan & Aronoff LLP has launched a practice to bolster its capacity to represent clients across the U.S. in regulatory, enforcement and litigation matters.

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    Big Workloads Burning Out Mid-Level In-House Legal Execs

    While in-house counsel generally report they are satisfied with their jobs, crushing workloads coupled with shriveling budgets are causing serious burnout among those sandwiched between the top dogs and junior attorneys, experts said.

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    4 Tips For Attys To Climb The In-House Ladder

    With just over one-third of the lawyers who participated in the In-House Counsel Satisfaction Survey saying they’re satisfied with their advancement prospects, Law360 Pulse spoke with seasoned general counsel about how they advanced in their careers.

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    What Lawyers Really Think About Working In-House

    Law360 Pulse asked corporate counsel to identify some common misconceptions about working in-house and share their thoughts on the rewards and challenges of their jobs. Here's what they said.

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    How Happy Are In-House Attorneys At Work?

    Most in-house lawyers remain satisfied with their roles and would choose the career again, but advancement opportunities continue to lag behind other measures of satisfaction, according to a new Law360 Pulse report.

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    Morgan Lewis Adds Fenwick Litigator Duo In LA, Seattle

    Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP continues boosting its West Coast litigation team, announcing Wednesday it is bringing in a pair of Fenwick & West LLP trial attorneys as partners in its Los Angeles and Seattle offices.

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Expert Analysis

  • 5 Best Practices For Firms Designing DEI Programs Author Photo

    Nikki Lewis Simon, chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer at Greenberg Traurig, discusses best practices — and some pitfalls to avoid — for law firms looking to build programs aimed at driving inclusion in the workplace.

  • Former Minn. Chief Justice Instructs On Writing Better Briefs Author Photo

    Former Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Lorie Gildea, now at Greenberg Traurig, offers strategies on writing more effective appellate briefs from her time on the bench.

  • Ask A Mentor: How Do I Juggle Billables And Other Activities? Author Photo

    While involvement in internal firm initiatives can be rewarding both personally and professionally, associates' billable time requirements don’t leave much room for other work, meaning they must develop strategies to ensure they’re meeting all of their commitments while remaining balanced, says Melanie Webber at Fisher Phillips.

  • Making Legal Cents: How To Adapt As Clients Tighten Budgets Author Photo

    Amid a dip in corporate legal spending and client pushback on bills, Shireen Hilal at Maior Consultants highlights specific in-house counsel frustrations and explains how firms can provide customized legal advice with costs that are supported by undeniable value.

  • Spartan Arbitration Tactics Against Well-Funded Opponents Author Photo

    Like the ancient Spartans who held off a numerically superior Persian army at the Battle of Thermopylae, trial attorneys and clients faced with arbitration against an opponent with a bigger war chest can take a strategic approach to create a pass to victory, say Kostas Katsiris and Benjamin Argyle at Venable.

  • General Counsel And Legal Ops Must Work Together Author Photo

    It is critical for general counsel to ensure that a legal operations leader is viewed not only as a peer, but as a strategic leader for the organization, and there are several actionable ways general counsel can not only become more involved, but help champion legal operations teams and set them up for success, says Mary O'Carroll at Ironclad.

  • How Generative AI's Growing Memory Affects Lawyers Author Photo

    A new ChatGPT feature that can remember user information across different conversations has broad implications for attorneys, whose most pressing questions for the AI tool are usually based on specific, and large, datasets, says legal tech adviser Eric Wall.

  • A Model For Optimal Legal Tech Investment Strategy Author Photo

    Legal organizations struggling to work out the right technology investment strategy may benefit from using a matrix for legal department efficiency that is based on an understanding of where workloads belong, according to the basic functions and priorities of a corporate legal team, says Sylvain Magdinier at Integreon.

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    My Nonpracticing Law Job: Recruiter Author Photo

    Self-proclaimed "Lawyer Doula" Danielle Thompson at Major Lindsey shares how she went from Columbia Law School graduate and BigLaw employment associate to a career in legal recruiting — and discovered a passion for advocacy along the way.

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    Ask A Mentor: How Do I Balance Social Activism With My Job? Author Photo

    Corporate attorneys pursuing social justice causes outside of work should consider eight guidelines for finding equilibrium between their beliefs and their professional duties and reputation, say Diedrick Graham, Debra Friedman and Simeon Brier at Cozen O'Connor.

  • Personality Tests And Machine Learning Applications In Law Author Photo

    Mateusz Kulesza at McDonnell Boehnen looks at potential applications of personality testing based on machine learning techniques for law firms, and the implications this shift could have for lawyers, firms and judges, including how it could make the work of judges and other legal decision-makers much more difficult.

  • AI Is Reshaping Lawyering: What To Expect In 2024 Author Photo

    The future of lawyering is not about the wholesale replacement of attorneys by artificial intelligence, but as AI handles more of the routine legal work, the role of lawyers will evolve to be more strategic, requiring the development of competencies beyond traditional legal skills, says Colin Levy at Malbek.

  • Embrace Active Voice In Legal Writing — In Most Cases Author Photo

    Legal writers should strive to craft sentences in the active voice to promote brevity and avoid ambiguities that can spark litigation, but writing in the passive voice is sometimes appropriate — when it's a moral choice and not a grammatical failure, says Diana Simon at the University of Arizona's James E. Rogers College of Law.

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    Ask A Mentor: How Can I Help Associates Turn Down Work? Author Photo

    Marina Portnova at Lowenstein Sandler discusses what partners can do to aid their associates in setting work-life boundaries, especially around after-hours assignment availability.

  • How AI Legal Research Tools Are Shifting Law Firm Processes Author Photo

    Although artificial intelligence-powered legal research is ushering in a new era of legal practice that augments human expertise with data-driven insights, it is not without challenges involving privacy, ethics and more, so legal professionals should take steps to ensure AI becomes a reliable partner rather than a source of disruption, says Marly Broudie at SocialEyes Communications.

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