California Pulse


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    New California Bar Leader Aims To Rebuild Public Trust

    After less than two weeks on the job, Laura Enderton-Speed, the California State Bar's new executive director, is already busy working to strengthen trust in the organization following the botched administration of the February bar exam.

  • Voir Dire: Law360 Pulse's Weekly Quiz

    The legal industry had another busy week with more lateral hires and leadership changes, and one BigLaw firm exploring private equity investments.

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    Longtime Gibson Dunn Litigator Joins Signature Resolution

    The alternative dispute resolution service Signature Resolution is bringing in a retired Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP trial attorney to join its panel of neutrals.

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    Anthropic Judge Rips Opt-Out Law Firm As 'Quick Buck' Ploy

    A California federal judge on Thursday blasted Arizona law firm ClaimsHero Holdings LLC for encouraging authors to opt out of Anthropic PBC's $1.5 billion deal to end copyright infringement claims, saying it looks like the firm is "trying to trick people" for a "quick buck."

  • Rumble Cites Judge's Longtime Friendship With Google VP

    Rumble asked a California federal judge to consider recusal should the Ninth Circuit revive its antitrust lawsuit against Google, citing a yearslong friendship with Google's top in-house litigation chief that involved the judge officiating at her wedding and their ongoing participation in a fantasy football league.

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    Quarles Names New Heads Of Three Major Practice Groups

    Quarles & Brady LLP has appointed new chairs for three of its practice groups, announcing on Thursday new heads for its business law, labor & employment, and immigration & mobility practices.  

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    Coalition Rips Trump Deputy AG's Claim Of 'War' With Judges

    A group of former federal judges on Thursday condemned what they called "inflammatory remarks" last week by Deputy U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche detailing the U.S. Department of Justice's "war" with "rogue activist" judges.

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    Unity CLO Steps Down Amid CEO Transition

    Leadership at video game software company Unity Software Inc. has asked its top in-house attorney to step down from her role and assist with the shifting of her responsibilities until her full departure in the spring, according to documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

  • Calif. Sheriff's Atty Sanctioned Over Discovery In Hemp Suit

    A California federal judge has sanctioned an attorney for a California county and its sheriff's office over bad faith conduct during discovery in a suit over 500 acres of bulldozed hemp crop, saying the attorney's arguments against the sanction show a fundamental misunderstanding of his obligations.

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    Calif. Atty Returns To Lewis Brisbois As Real Estate Co-Leader

    Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP is welcoming back a real estate expert, most recently with Procopio Cory Hargreaves & Savitch LLP, as a partner in its office in Indian Wells, California, in the Coachella Valley and as co-head of its real estate practice.

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    CLOC's New CEO Aims To Lead Legal Ops Into The Future

    From doing a governance audit on the organization to adding vendors and alternative service providers to its board, the Corporate Legal Operations Consortium is making major changes to move itself forward in 2026.

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    Hilgers Graben Revamps Leadership Structure, Changes Name

    Hilgers Graben PLLC said Tuesday that the commercial litigation and discovery counsel services firm has new leadership and a shortened name that reflects both its current status and future goals.

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    Where Are Top Firms Bringing On The Most New Partners?

    Lateral partner hiring data for the last five years paints a surprisingly static portrait of where top law firms are making the most hires, even as they warm up to secondary and tertiary legal markets.

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    Cozen O'Connor E-Discovery Biz Names New Operations Director

    Cozen O'Connor has named the practice technology and e-discovery director at Shepherd Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP as the new operations director for its electronic discovery business unit.

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    Kilpatrick Expands Partnership Class With 14 Attys

    Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP elected 14 attorneys as partners across Georgia, Illinois, Texas, New York, North Carolina, California and China, representing an increase from the 10 attorneys in the firm's partner class promoted last year for 2025.

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    Morgan Lewis Adds Gibson Dunn Tech Transactions Ace In LA

    Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP is expanding its corporate team, announcing Wednesday it is bringing in a Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP technology transactions expert as a partner in its Los Angeles office.

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    McDermott Exploring Selling Stake To Private Equity

    McDermott Will & Schulte on Wednesday acknowledged it is fielding interest from private equity investors, a development that underscores how some of the legal industry's largest players are considering moving to a nontraditional business model.

  • Edelson Enters 'Clean' Dismissal In Girardi Atty Case

    Edelson PC has submitted a "clean and unadulterated" dismissal of its conversion case against two former attorneys from the now-defunct law firm Girardi Keese after an Illinois federal judge took issue with a previous version of the stipulation.

  • Legal Prediction Platform Theo AI Names GC Advisory Board

    Top in-house attorneys for Bristol Myers Squibb, Docusign and GoDaddy are among the members of the newly announced general counsel advisory board for Theo Ai, a company using an artificial intelligence platform to predict outcomes in civil suits.

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    General Counsel AI Raises $60M Series B At $555M Valuation

    General Counsel AI Inc., a legal artificial intelligence platform for in-house counsel, announced on Wednesday a $60 million Series B funding round that values the company at $555 million.

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    Law360 MVP Awards Go To Top Attorneys From 76 Firms

    The attorneys chosen as Law360's 2025 MVPs have distinguished themselves from their peers by securing significant achievements in high-stakes litigation, complex global matters and record-breaking deals.

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    Squire Patton Launches Veterans Business Resource Group

    Squire Patton Boggs LLP announced Monday a new business resource group aimed at connecting employees with military service backgrounds, with a kickoff event planned for Veterans Day.

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    Law Firm Revenue, Demand Are Up, But So Are Expenses

    U.S. law firms saw an average of double-digit growth in both revenue and inventory during the first nine months of 2025, signifying they're on pace to end the year on a positive note, according to the results of a survey released Monday by Citi Global Wealth at Work.

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    Disney's Top Lawyer Gets Contract Extension, New Title

    The Walt Disney Company has extended its top lawyer's contract into 2028 and changed his title to senior executive vice president, chief legal and global affairs officer, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

  • Trump Pardons Giuliani, Others Accused Of Election Crimes

    President Donald Trump has reportedly pardoned scores of lawyers accused of attempting to interfere in the 2020 election, including Rudy Giuliani, John Eastman and Sidney Powell, according to a social media post created by the president's pardon attorney, Ed Martin.

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Expert Analysis

  • The 10-Min. Rule For Building A Business Development Habit Author Photo

    Many lawyers assume that becoming a rainmaker requires a significant investment of time and effort, but the truth is that building a consistent habit of business development can start with just 10 minutes of strategic outreach a day, says Paul Manuele at PR Manuele Consulting.

  • 5 Pointers For Firm Leaders Communicating Tough Decisions Author Photo

    Certain law firm decisions — such as whether to challenge an executive order — cannot be crowdsourced, but leadership can collaboratively communicate these choices using strategies that build trust, reinforce values and preserve cohesion, says John Hellerman at Hellerman Communications.

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    Biz Development Tip Of The Month: Create A Succession Plan Author Photo

    ​​​​​​​Conversations around retirement and succession can be understandably difficult, but when attorneys make a plan for the transition early and effectively, they have the opportunity to not only keep work but also increase it, says Jillian McKenna at Verrill Dana.

  • Looking Under The Hood Of The $3,000 Billable Hour Author Photo

    In recent years, top-tier law firms have pushed hourly rates to unprecedented heights, with some partners commanding $3,000 per hour — but this eye-popping number doesn’t tell the full story, as there are numerous caveats and rigorous winnowing along the way, says Christopher Seck at Squire Patton.

  • How Law Firms Can Keep Nonequity Partners Happy Author Photo

    Law firms that successfully manage two-tiered partnership do so by creating a culture that treats everyone with respect and by establishing financial incentives outside their base compensation to reward performance, says Carol Morganstern at Major Lindsey.

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    Biz Development Tip Of The Month: Leverage Your Atty Bio Author Photo

    If maintained properly, your firm bio can help attract potential clients and create authentic connections, so it's crucial to take steps to write an updated attorney profile that goes beyond a list of credentials, says Raychel Lean at Reputation Ink.

  • Ask A Mentor: How Can I Promote Thoughtful Use Of AI? Author Photo

    Eran Kahana at Maslon discusses how partners can encourage responsible use of artificial intelligence tools within their firms by learning to spot pitfalls common to AI-generated work product and championing firmwide procedures and trainings that address the risks of uncritically relying on this powerful but imperfect technology.

  • Making Legal Cents: Firm Culture Is The New Game Plan Author Photo

    Law firm culture is often dismissed as a soft factor — merely platitudes on a website that seem disconnected from the bottom line — but by intentionally embedding a strong culture into day-to-day operations, law firms can achieve sustainable success, says Shireen Hilal at Maior Strategic Consulting.

  • 5 Questions Firms Must Ask For Successful Lateral Integration Author Photo

    To ensure that lateral partners effectively integrate their books of business, firms should design a structured transition plan based on a few fundamentals, from tracking the right data to implementing meaningful incentives, says Lana Manganiello at Practice Growth Partner.

  • Goldilocks Solution: Why The 4-Day Office Week Is Just Right Author Photo

    As law firms continue to wrestle with return-to-office policies, many are being pulled toward one or the other of two extremes: the rigidity of a five-day in-office schedule and the laissez-faire approach of a flexible three-day hybrid model — but a four-day in-office workweek may be the sweet spot, says Paul Manuele at PR Manuele Consulting.

  • As Attys Adopt Generative AI, 3 Elements Should Be Cardinal Author Photo

    As the legal world increasingly adopts generative artificial intelligence, lawyers and firms must develop and utilize strong prompting skills, keep a pulse on forthcoming tech evolutions, and remain steadfast to ethical obligations, say Michele Carney at Carney & Marchi and Marty Robles-Avila at BAL.

  • Rethinking 'No Comment' For Clients Facing Public Crises Author Photo

    “No comment” is no longer a cost-free or even a viable public communications strategy for companies in crisis, and counsel must tailor their guidance based on a variety of competing factors to help clients emerge successfully, says Robert Bowers at Moore & Van Allen.

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    Biz Development Tip Of The Month: Prioritize Connections Author Photo

    One reason business development in the legal industry seems so mysterious is because human relationships are so complex, but lawyers can reorient their thinking in two important ways to drive the process of connecting with new colleagues and contacts, say Jamie Lawless and Angela Quinn at Husch Blackwell.

  • Overcoming US Law Firms' Hesitancy To Enter Indian Market Author Photo

    Successful private equity exits with strong returns have solidified India's buyout market as an increasingly attractive destination for future investments, offering compelling reasons for the U.S. legal community to overcome its caution on the country's markets, says Vaishali Movva at Eimer Stahl.

  • Biz Development Tip Of The Month: Make A Plan For The Year Author Photo

    While firms are busy allocating resources and assessing client demand, individual attorneys should use the start of the year to slow down and create a personal business plan, which can be accomplished with a few steps, say Elizabeth Gooch, Teri Robshaw and Chris Newman at McDermott.

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