California Pulse


  • Google Avoids Data Destruction Sanctions In Ad Privacy Suit

    A California federal judge has declined to sanction and hold Google in contempt for purportedly intentionally destroying key evidence in a putative class action claiming the company's ad auction practices violate privacy rights, saying the consumers' motion came too late after fact discovery closed.

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    Calif. Software Co. Names New Leadership Including GC

    Medallia Inc., an experience management software platform, has hired a new management team, including a general counsel and a CEO who worked for its onetime rival Clarabridge.

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    US Atty In Calif.'s Eastern District To Resign

    In the latest in a string of resignations before the upcoming presidential administration change, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert has announced he will step down as the top federal prosecutor in the Eastern District of California.

  • Jackson Lewis Promotes 20 Attys To Ring In 2025

    Jackson Lewis PC has promoted 20 attorneys to principal to start the new year, a slight dip from the 26 it promoted at the beginning of 2024.

  • Alston & Bird Partner Class Highlights Litigation Bench

    Litigators again dominated Alston & Bird's partner class this year as the firm announced Tuesday that it had promoted a roster of 20 attorneys, slightly fewer than last year's 27.

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    Approach The Bench: Justice Goodwin Liu On Oral Argument

    When Goodwin Liu became a California Supreme Court justice in 2011, the constitutional law professor found the intellectual demands of judging similar to academia, but was surprised to learn that "the art of judging is much more practical than people think."

  • O'Melveny Beats DQ Bid In Hyundai Trademark Dispute

    A California federal judge has denied a bid to disqualify O'Melveny & Myers LLP from representing Hyundai Motor Co. in a trademark dispute with computing company Hyundai Technology Group, saying the firm's failure to destroy a clawed-back document didn't justify booting it from the case.

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    Baker McKenzie Adds Tax Partners In California And New York

    Baker McKenzie is fortifying its tax practice by hiring a partner in San Francisco with experience in planning tax positions and handling controversies for technology-driven companies and rehiring another in New York who is skilled at state taxes and journalism.

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    Here's How Paul Hastings' Big Bet On Finance Paid Off

    As the financial markets swayed between booms and busts in recent years following the waning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Paul Hastings LLP stayed the course, doubling down on its transactional practices by recruiting top-tier talent across key global markets like New York and London, and rising hubs such as Texas.

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    Stoel Rives Adds San Diego Construction Atty As Partner

    Stoel Rives LLP said construction and real estate attorney Kirsten Worley has joined the firm as a partner in its San Diego office.

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    Troutman Pepper Locke Leaders Define A Successful Merger

    What makes for a successful law firm merger? It's more than headcount and profits, according to two leaders of the newly minted Troutman Pepper Locke LLP law firm, which was formed Jan. 2 by the combination of major U.S.-based law firms Troutman Pepper and Locke Lord.

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    Mintz Environmental Atty Joins Crowell & Moring In SF

    Crowell & Moring LLP is boosting its California environmental team, announcing Tuesday it is bringing in an environmental expert from Mintz Levin Cohn Ferris Glovsky and Popeo PC as a partner in its San Francisco office.

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    Tyson & Mendes Names First National Managing Partner

    Tyson & Mendes LLP has elevated a California-based attorney under 40 as its first-ever national managing partner, a position that she hopes will allow her to continue supporting women leaders in the legal industry and beyond.

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    Dentons Adds Ex-Skadden Bankruptcy Pro In Calif.

    Global law firm Dentons is beefing up its restructuring, insolvency and bankruptcy practice with a new Los Angeles partner who spent more than two decades at Skadden, most recently as Skadden's head for corporate restructuring practice in the western United States.

  • Law School Grad Gets 2 Years For JPMorgan Insider Trading

    A law school graduate was sentenced in California federal court Monday to two years in prison for insider trading on tips from a JPMorgan Chase analyst, while another defendant was spared jail time for his role in the same scheme.

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    Holland & Knight Adds Attys From Calif. Private Wealth Firm

    Holland & Knight LLP is vastly expanding its private wealth services, announcing Monday it is adding all eight of the attorneys from 17-year-old Los Angeles-based private wealth services boutique Karlin & Peebles LLP.

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    Which GCs Sold Stock In Dec.? Robinhood, Alphabet, More

    Legal leaders at tech and fintech companies like Robinhood, Alphabet, Coinbase and Meta enriched their holidays as each sold more than $2 million worth of stock in December.

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    Sheppard Mullin Hires University Of Calif. Health Counsel

    Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP announced Monday that it has hired two attorneys who previously served in-house at the University of California to bolster its healthcare industry practice group.

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    Procopio Adds Land Use Leader From Shuttered Boutique

    Procopio Cory Hargreaves & Savitch LLP announced Monday it has brought on a partner to lead its land use practice, who joins the firm after 25 years as a name partner at a recently shuttered boutique.

  • MoFo Boosts Geographic Diversity For 2025 Partner Class

    A year after elevating its largest partner class in a decade, Morrison Foerster LLP announced Monday that it is elevating 21 lawyers in 16 practices for 2025, touting a more geographically diverse roster than the previous year.

  • Hogan Lovells Boosts 28 Partners, 47 Counsel In 3 Continents

    Hogan Lovells announced a slightly smaller promotion class than last year's on Monday, elevating 28 attorneys to partner and 47 to counsel across the U.S., Europe and Asia.

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    Akin Names Largest Partner Class In Firm History

    Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP announced Monday the promotion of 22 lawyers to partnership, its largest ever partner class.

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    Withers Brings On 8-Atty Trusts And Estates Boutique In LA

    International law firm Withers has expanded its Los Angeles office by absorbing the eight-attorney boutique Hoffman Sabban & Watenmaker, Withers announced Monday.

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    Haynes Boone Taps Appellate Leader As New General Counsel

    Haynes Boone announced Monday that it has appointed its Dallas-based appellate practice group chair to the role of general counsel, effective Jan. 1.

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    Girard Sharp Launches Into New Year With New Leadership

    San Francisco-based Girard Sharp has kicked off the new year with a major leadership change, announcing Monday that Daniel C. Girard had stepped down as managing partner of the prominent plaintiffs complex litigation boutique he founded in 1995 and that longtime partner Dena C. Sharp was taking the reins.

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Expert Analysis

  • Bracing For A Generative AI Revolution In Law Author Photo

    With many legal professionals starting to explore practical uses of generative artificial intelligence in areas such as research, discovery and legal document development, the fundamental principle of human oversight cannot be underscored enough for it to be successful, say Ty Dedmon at Bradley Arant and Paige Hunt at Lighthouse.

  • Why I Use ChatGPT To Tell Me Things I Already Know Author Photo

    The legal profession is among the most hesitant to adopt ChatGPT because of its proclivity to provide false information as if it were true, but in a wide variety of situations, lawyers can still be aided by information that is only in the right ballpark, says Robert Plotkin at Blueshift IP.

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    Ask A Mentor: How Can I Use Social Media Responsibly? Author Photo

    Leah Kelman at Herrick Feinstein discusses the importance of reasoned judgment and thoughtful process when it comes to newly admitted attorneys' social media use.

  • Yada, Yada, Yada: The Magic Of 3 In Legal Writing Author Photo

    Attorneys should take a cue from U.S. Supreme Court justices and boil their arguments down to three points in their legal briefs and oral advocacy, as the number three is significant in the way we process information, says Diana Simon at University of Arizona.

  • How Firms Can Stop Playing Whack-A-Mole With Data Security Author Photo

    In order to achieve a robust client data protection posture, law firms should focus on adopting a risk-based approach to security, which can be done by assessing gaps, using that data to gain leadership buy-in for the needed changes, and adopting a dynamic and layered approach, says John Smith at Conversant Group.

  • 5 Life Lessons From Making Partner As A Solo Parent Author Photo

    Laranda Walker at Susman Godfrey, who was raising two small children and working her way to partner when she suddenly lost her husband, shares what fighting to keep her career on track taught her about accepting help, balancing work and family, and discovering new reserves of inner strength.

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    Ask A Mentor: How Can I Turn Deferral To My Advantage? Author Photo

    Diana Leiden at Winston & Strawn discusses how first-year associates whose law firm start dates have been deferred can use the downtime to hone their skills, help their communities, and focus on returning to BigLaw with valuable contacts and out-of-the-box insights.

  • Resume Gaps Are No Longer Kryptonite To Your Legal Career Author Photo

    Female attorneys and others who pause their careers for a few years will find that gaps in work history are increasingly acceptable among legal employers, meaning with some networking, retraining and a few other strategies, lawyers can successfully reenter the workforce, says Jill Backer at Ave Maria School of Law.

  • Law Firm Guardrails For Responsible Generative AI Use Author Photo

    ChatGPT and other generative artificial intelligence tools pose significant risks to the integrity of legal work, but the key for law firms is not to ban these tools, but to implement them responsibly and with appropriate safeguards, say Natalie Pierce and Stephanie Goutos at Gunderson Dettmer.

  • Opinion

    We Must Continue DEI Efforts Despite High Court Headwinds Author Photo

    Though the U.S. Supreme Court recently struck down affirmative action in higher education, law firms and their clients must keep up the legal industry’s recent momentum advancing diversity, equity and inclusion in the profession in order to help achieve a just and prosperous society for all, says Angela Winfield at the Law School Admission Council.

  • Law Firms Cannot Ignore Attorneys' Personal Cybersecurity Author Photo

    Law firms that fail to consider their attorneys' online habits away from work are not using their best efforts to protect client information and are simplifying the job of plaintiffs attorneys in the case of a breach, say Mark Hurley and Carmine Cicalese at Digital Privacy and Protection.

  • Why Writing CLE Should Be Mandatory For Lawyers Author Photo

    Though effective writing is foundational to law, no state requires attorneys to take continuing legal education in this skill — something that must change if today's attorneys are to have the communication abilities they need to fulfill their professional and ethical duties to their clients, colleagues and courts, says Diana Simon at the University of Arizona.

  • How To Find Your Inner Calm When Client Obligations Pile Up Author Photo

    In the most stressful times for attorneys, when several transactions for different partners and clients peak at the same time and the phone won’t stop buzzing, incremental lifestyle changes can truly make a difference, says Lindsey Hughes at Haynes Boone.

  • Series

    Ask A Mentor: How Can I Support Gen Z Attorneys? Author Photo

    Meredith Beuchaw at Lowenstein Sandler discusses how senior attorneys can assist the newest generation of attorneys by championing their pursuit of a healthy work-life balance and providing the hands-on mentorship opportunities they missed out on during the pandemic.

  • Law Firm Cybersecurity Should Not Get Lost In The Cloud Author Photo

    A recent data leak at Proskauer via a cloud data storage platform demonstrates key reasons why law firms must pay attention to data safeguarding, including the increasing frequency of cloud-based data breaches and the consequences of breaking client confidentiality, says Robert Kraczek at One Identity.

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