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California Pulse
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Smith Currie Taps Construction Law Vet As New Leader
Smith Currie Oles LLP announced a new managing partner this week, with a Seattle-based partner who joined as part of a 2023 merger stepping into the role.
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Law Firms Merged At Record Rates In 2025 Amid Talent War
A record 59 law firm combinations were completed in 2025, 21 of which involved the largest 200 firms by revenue, according to statistics released by SurePoint Legal Insights, formerly Leopard Solutions, on Tuesday.
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How Associates Can Financially Prep For Equity Partnership
The transition from steady pay as an associate to dealing with the financial nuances of being an equity partner calls for great diligence in how young attorneys manage their finances.
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Gibson Dunn Mentor Program Sets Up Attys For Success
January is National Mentoring Month. Law360 heard from attorneys who are in Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP’s firmwide mentorship program about its top benefits.
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SEC Blunts Some Shareholder Activists With Policy Reversal
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has reversed course on allowing shareholders with less than $5 million in holdings to publicize information about their proxy ballot proposals through the agency, saying it will object to such voluntary submissions going forward.
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Kelley Drye Adds Ex-23andMe, Facebook Privacy Pros
Kelley Drye & Warren LLP said Monday it is boosting its privacy and information security practice with the addition of a former 23andMe attorney in California and a former Facebook attorney in Texas.
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Law360 Seeks Members For Its 2026 Editorial Boards
Law360 is looking for avid readers of our publications to serve as members of our 2026 editorial advisory boards.
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Marilyn Monroe Homeowners Sue LA Again Over Landmarking
Owners of a home where Marilyn Monroe died sued Los Angeles officials for the second time Friday, alleging in California federal court that designating the property a historic cultural monument prevented them from demolishing the decaying building they still must pay taxes on, which amounts to an unconstitutional government taking without just compensation.
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Vedder Price Shortens Name In Rebranding Effort
Chicago-based law firm Vedder Price PC will now go by the name Vedder and has debuted a new website in an effort to better serve clients and employees.
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Fox Rothschild Updates Leadership Team With Eye On Future
Both the managing partner and chair of Fox Rothschild LLP will start new terms in those positions in the spring, when a firm co-chair will join the leadership team to prepare for a possible transition to serving the role independently.
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Willkie Adds Private Equity Pro From Sidley Austin In LA
Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP has added a partner from Sidley Austin LLP to strengthen its capacity to advise private equity funds, asset managers and other clients about corporate transactions.
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O'Melveny Brings On Proskauer M&A Pro In California
O'Melveny & Myers LLP announced Monday that it added a corporate dealmaker to its Newport Beach, California, office from the Los Angeles office of Proskauer Rose LLP.
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Ex-Calif. Judge Takes Aim At Sex Assault Charge
A former California judge said a count of a federal indictment accusing him of sexual assault should be tossed since the alleged victim viewed him as a friend.
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Law Student Recruiting Moves Further Off Campus
About four-fifths of law school summer associate recruiting in 2025 happened through employer-sponsored channels, as opposed to more traditional law school-sponsored channels, with recruiting also happening increasingly early, according to research unveiled Monday by the National Association for Law Placement.
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AI Fuels Surge In Corp. Data Privacy And Governance Changes
With the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence, a striking shift is occurring in how corporations handle data privacy and governance as some 90% of organizations say they have expanded their privacy programs, according to a new study from tech giant Cisco Systems Inc.
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Ogletree Elects New Managing Director, Names 2 Attys To Board
Management-side labor and employment firm Ogletree Deakins Nash Smoak & Stewart PC has elected one of its San Francisco shareholders as one of the firm's two managing directors and selected another two to join its board of directors.
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Dechert Lands 20-Partner Group From McDermott
Dechert LLP announced Friday it is bringing aboard 20 partners from McDermott Will & Schulte spanning litigation, intellectual property and other practice areas in six cities across the country, including for upcoming firm offices in Chicago and Dallas.
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Qualcomm GC's Comp Up $2M For Fiscal 2025
Qualcomm Inc.'s general counsel saw her compensation jump to roughly $9 million for fiscal year 2025, up from just under $7 million the year prior, mostly due to a spike in stock awards, according to a public filing.
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How Attorneys Can Balance Careers With Caring For Parents
As baby boomers get older and develop more intense healthcare needs, attorneys in the prime of their careers are increasingly pressed to also provide care to their elderly parents.
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Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week
Williams & Connolly LLP leads this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after the U.S. Supreme Court held in a unanimous opinion that restitution is a criminal punishment subject to the Constitution's ban on increasing punishment retroactively.
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Disney's Top Atty's Pay Continues To Climb, Surpassing $16M
The Walt Disney Co.'s top attorney saw his compensation package rise yet again in 2025, nearing almost $16.3 million.
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Voir Dire: Law360 Pulse's Weekly Quiz
This was another action-packed week for the legal industry as law firms launched new practices, hired attorneys and reported record-breaking lobbying figures. Test your legal news savvy here with Law360 Pulse's weekly quiz.
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Kilpatrick's New SF Head Enjoys Thrill Of Patent Work 'Puzzle'
With experiences as both a patent engineer and a lawyer, Kilpatrick's new San Francisco leader, Neslihan "Nesli" Doran-Civan, is thrilled to bridge the gap between both backgrounds in her work at the firm.
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ABA Outlines Limited Atty Duty To Give Info To Former Clients
The American Bar Association said attorneys have a limited responsibility to convey information to former clients or successor counsel that was not within the client's file, when doing so is necessary to protect a client's interests and reasonably practicable, according to a new ethics opinion.
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Simpson Thacher Adds Quinn Emanuel Atty To New SF Office
A Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP attorney who worked on high-profile intellectual property matters representing Google and Jane Street Group has joined Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP as partner in its newly opened San Francisco office, the firm announced Thursday.
Expert Analysis
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Nonequity Partner Frustrations Reflect Erosion Of Opportunity
Nonequity partners report the lowest satisfaction, highest stress and poorest financial outlook of any group of lawyers, highlighting a growing structural disconnect that leaves attorneys at many firms feeling like the ladder has been pulled up behind those who already ascended, says Jake Carroll at Nelson Mullins.
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Series
Building Brand Awareness For A Legal Nonprofit
I co-founded the Bridging the Gap Scholarship as a way to increase minority representation in BigLaw, and my advice for other legal professionals starting a nonprofit is to focus on building brand awareness early on, and to get comfortable delegating work to a dedicated team, says Imani Maatuka at Sidley.
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Learn Your Colleagues To Cross-Sell Their Services Fearlessly
Understanding where colleagues in other practice areas shine can help attorneys confidently cross-sell each other's services and bring in business to keep the firm afloat in hard times, says Joe Calve at Calve Communications.
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Series
Biz Development Tip Of The Month: Advertise Ethically
Business development in the legal industry is about building authentic connections and showcasing expertise in a way that reflects reality, and, when done right, it can elevate a practice, establish credibility and bring in clients without risking an ethics violation, says Melody Jackson at Robinhood.
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Ask A Mentor: How Do I Help After Mental Health Leave?
Molly Ranns at the State Bar of Michigan suggests five ways to smooth a colleague's return to practice after short-term mental health leave, while creating a firm culture that protects employees’ emotional health.
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Tips For Attracting Stellar CLOs In A Competitive Landscape
Amid a rapidly changing regulatory environment and a fierce market for talent, companies hoping to attract the best chief legal officers must have a strong grasp of their roles’ biggest selling points, and any roadblocks that may prevent them from recruiting the strongest choice, says Heather Fine at Major Lindsey.
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'Golden Handcuffs' May Be A Double-Edge Sword For Firms
As law firms increasingly use certain financial incentives to retain partners in a fierce lateral market, managing partners should consider the pros and cons of various deferred compensation schemes, says Tom Hanlon at Buchanan Law.
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The 10-Min. Rule For Building A Business Development Habit
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.
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5 Pointers For Firm Leaders Communicating Tough Decisions
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.jpg)
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.
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Looking Under The Hood Of The $3,000 Billable Hour
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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.
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How Law Firms Can Keep Nonequity Partners Happy
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
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.
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Ask A Mentor: How Can I Promote Thoughtful Use Of AI?
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.
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Making Legal Cents: Firm Culture Is The New Game Plan
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.