California Pulse


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    How Stanford Law Initiative Is Riding Private Capital 'Wave'

    A new initiative at Stanford Law School is turning a spotlight on the private capital environment, a once-niche area for investors that has grown into a "massive" financial ecosystem.

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    BigLaw Grew More Selective On Second Quarter Lateral Hires

    Lateral hiring at large U.S. law firms slowed in the second quarter of 2026 after a strong start to the year, with associate and counsel moves declining while partner hiring remained relatively steady, according to figures from legal data company Firm Prospects LLC.

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    Buchalter Taps Firmwide Litigation Chair To Lead LA Office

    Buchalter PC has tapped its firmwide chair of litigation, who has spent almost a decade with the firm on complex business disputes, commercial real estate litigation and intellectual property matters, as the new managing partner of its Los Angeles headquarters.

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    Davis Wright Atty Hit With Sanctions After Winning Sanctions

    After defending six-figure sanctions of plaintiffs lawyers for "a reckless course of prolonging litigation," a Davis Wright Tremaine LLP attorney is facing his own six-figure sanctions, with a California magistrate judge finding he "unnecessarily burdened" opposing counsel despite warnings dating back years about "improper litigation tactics."

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    Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

    Greene Broillet & Wheeler LLP and Ludd & Ludd lead this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after a San Diego jury ordered Hyatt to pay $15.5 million over the death of a guest who was left uncontacted for a day after failing to check out.

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    Reed Smith Creates AI-Focused Legal Services Team

    Reed Smith LLP has created a department to bring lawyers, e-discovery and AI professionals and others to support clients and the firm with legal, business and technology-focused guidance, and tapped a partner in Philadelphia to spearhead the effort.

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    MedReview Hires CLO From Aesthetics Co. Peachy

    MedReview Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of the New York County Health Services Review Organization, announced that it has hired the general counsel and chief people officer at preventative aesthetics company Peachy.

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    4 Takeaways From Probe Of Feb. 2025 Calif. Bar Exam Fiasco

    Poor implementation of the February 2025 California Bar Exam resulted in millions of dollars in extra costs and negatively affected "a significant portion" of test-takers, according to a new report by the California State Auditor.

  • Oura Health Swaps In Sidley For Quinn After Ex-CEO's DQ Bid

    A California federal judge granted Oura Health's request to swap in Sidley Austin LLP for Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP in breach-of-contract litigation by the fitness tracker company's former CEO after the ex-executive sought to disqualify Quinn Emanuel for purportedly having access to his confidential data.

  • Voir Dire: Law360 Pulse's Weekly Quiz

    The legal industry had another busy week as BigLaw firms expanded headcounts and practices. Test your legal news savvy here with Law360 Pulse’s weekly quiz.

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    Small Firms Are Billing More Hours, Report Says

    Even amid an explosion of legal technology and artificial intelligence designed to make legal work more efficient, small firms are billing more hours per month on average, and the increase isn't impacting their collections rate, according to a report published Thursday.

  • RICO Defendant Says Claims Target Protected Activity

    An attorney named in a business owner's sprawling racketeering suit against his former business partner and numerous alleged co-conspirators has asked a California federal judge to throw out the claims, arguing the lawyer's actions were protected litigation activity and that the business owner lacks standing to sue.

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    95% Of Surveyed Law Firms Losing Clients, Report Finds

    Hundreds of law firms say they are increasingly losing clients and cite problems delivering their legal services as the top reason for the attrition, according to a report released Thursday.

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    Iridium Offers CLO $873K To Stay Through Rocket Lab Deal

    Global satellite operator Iridium Communications Inc. is offering its top lawyer $873,036 if she doesn't bail out of her job before the company closes its merger with Rocket Lab Corp. next year, according to a securities filing this week.

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    First Tech's New CLO Sees Job As 'Getting On A Moving Train'

    "Getting on a moving train" is how Steven Wright described his transition to chief legal officer at First Technology Federal Credit Union, a merged entity that formed at the beginning of the year. In a recent interview with Law360 Pulse, Wright said the California-based financial institution is in full integration mode.

  • Ex-Associate Says Jackson Lewis Pushed Her Out After Leave

    A former associate attorney who was on the partnership track at Jackson Lewis PC has brought suit against the employment law firm in California state court, alleging that it refused to accommodate her temporary medical restrictions after she returned from leave and pressured her to accept a demotion or resign.

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    Niche AI Legal Tools Gain Ground At Law Firms

    While general legal artificial intelligence assistants like Harvey and Legora dominate headlines, law firms are increasingly betting on practice-specific AI platforms designed for particular legal tasks.

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    Longtime Fed. Prosecutor Joins Sanford Heisler In San Diego

    Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight LLP announced Wednesday a longtime federal prosecutor and former executive counsel at energy equipment company GE Vernova has joined the firm's San Diego office as a partner.

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    Sheppard Adds Transactional, IP Attys In Chicago And San Diego

    Sheppard announced Wednesday that the firm has added an experienced intellectual property attorney focused on life sciences as a San Diego area-based partner, a day after announcing the addition of two Chicago-based transactional partners.

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    Painful Reality — When In-House Counsel Blow The Whistle

    It is exceedingly rare when in-house counsel snitch on their own company. But when they do, in-house whistleblowers often suffer severe consequences.

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    Desire To Be 'Bold,' 'Edgy' Fueled Winston Taylor's New Look

    After announcing their intent to merge last December, leaders from Winston & Strawn LLP and the U.K. arm of Taylor Wessing LLP embarked on a "listening road show" to help guide the visual identity of the new firm. They saw an opening to stand out from other major law firms.

  • Calif. Judge Asks About Standing In Google Antitrust Case

    A California federal judge overseeing an antitrust litigation accusing Google of shutting out rival search engines has asked for evidence showing that the consumers bringing the case have standing.

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    Kilpatrick Hires M&A Pro From Reed Smith In Silicon Valley

    Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP has added a former Reed Smith LLP mergers and acquisitions star to chair its West Coast Mergers & Acquisitions Practice at its Menlo Park, California, office, where he brings deep experience handling complex mergers, cross-border acquisitions, divestitures, stock investments, consolidations and more. 

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    Ex-In-House Counsel Accused In Hospital Takeover Scheme

    American Healthcare Systems Corp. and its founder announced Tuesday that they have filed an amended complaint in California state court against the company's former in-house counsel, alleging he orchestrated a coordinated extortion and takeover scheme to seize control over the corporation.

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    Ogletree Co-Founder Deakins, 'Beacon Of Wisdom,' Dies At 90

    A co-founder of the global labor and employment juggernaut Ogletree Deakins Nash Smoak & Stewart PC died Monday after decades of helping shape the firm's values of honesty and transparency.

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Expert Analysis

  • What GCs Value Most: 7 Tips For Landing The Client Pitch Author Photo

    In today’s competitive legal market, successful attorneys treat the pitch process with general counsel like the beginning of a relationship, not a one-off sale — showing up with curiosity, commercial awareness and the ability to engage in a meaningful way from the start, says Andrew Dick at The L Suite.

  • Making Legal Cents: Strategy That Stays In Motion Author Photo

    Instead of lurching between year-end strategic planning season and springtime panic mode, firms need a framework that helps them identify what clients and the market need throughout the year, and then actually adjust course, says Shireen Hilal at Maior Strategic Consulting.

  • Roundup

    Legal Tech Talks Author Photo

    Company founders, attorneys and other professionals working in the legal tech space share their journeys into the industry, challenges they face when working with law firms and legal departments, and common misconceptions about technology.

  • 4 Tips For Attys To Turn An Interim Job Into A Long-Term Role Author Photo

    As some attorneys seek interim roles amid economic uncertainty, big-picture thinking and a few proactive steps can help to turn those short-term assignments into long-term positions, says Amy Vanderhoof at Major Lindsey.

  • The Augmented Lawyer: AI Exercises For Junior Attorneys Author Photo

    As artificial intelligence tools become increasingly adept at handling entry-level legal tasks, firms and organizations must consider new ways to train and mentor junior attorneys to prepare them for leadership in an AI-integrated profession, say attorneys at KXT Law.

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    Biz Development Tip Of The Month: Embrace LinkedIn Author Photo

    Attorneys who recognize LinkedIn as a powerful professional platform can gain significant competitive advantages in business development via strategic content creation, meaningful industry discussions and consistent visibility within target markets, says Agatha Mouillet at Horvitz & Levy.

  • Guidance For Attorneys As Tariffs Reshape Legal Hiring Author Photo

    As law firms and in-house legal departments grapple with the uncertainty of evolving tariff policies, attorneys at all career stages should consider how to lean into these shifts to best position themselves for long-term opportunities, says Rena Barnett-Matthews at Attorney Career Coach.

  • How Firms Can Plan For Succession Of Admin Professionals Author Photo

    Many law firms are familiar with the need for attorney succession plans, but it’s also essential to plan for the succession of administrative professionals — from human resources personnel to finance leaders — to ensure continuity of critical day-to-day operations, say Eryn Carter and Travis Armstrong at the Association of Legal Administrators.

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    Expanding The Reach Of A Legal Nonprofit Author Photo

    I co-founded the Legal Mentor Network with the goal of providing free legal mentoring to law students and early career attorneys, and the experience has highlighted how nonprofits can grow with the help of strong sponsorships and volunteers who all operate from a positive place, says Chrystal Mauro at the Legal Mentor Network.

  • How 1Ls Can Plan For Sped-Up Summer Associate Hiring Author Photo

    The ever-earlier recruiting of summer associates sets high stakes before new law students may even realize, but 1Ls can better land a good 2L summer fit if they hit their first semester focused on the hiring timeline and ready to ask important questions about their would-be firms, says Kate Reder Sheikh at Major Lindsey.

  • How GCs Can Help Build A Geopolitical Command Center Author Photo

    In the face of sustained regulatory and economic uncertainty, general counsel can help businesses move from reactive to proactive management by building a clear, cross-functional geopolitical command center that monitors and coordinates responses to a wide spectrum of issues, says Lars Faeste at FTI Consulting.

  • For Some Lawyers, Building A New Practice Makes Perfect Author Photo

    Leaving an established law firm to start a boutique business of your own requires not only vision and resilience but also a solid business plan to help mitigate risks and increase your chances of unparalleled personal and professional success, says Rebecca Palmer at the Rebecca L. Palmer Law Group.

  • Beyond Billable Hours: The Unseen Labor Of Women In Law Author Photo

    The legal profession has a critical role to play in reducing attrition of women lawyers by addressing the disproportionate burden of the mental load — the often-unseen work of managing tasks and anticipating needs in both personal and professional realms, says Michelle Browning-Coughlin at Northern Kentucky University’s Chase College of Law.

  • 10 Key Strategies For Successful Lateral Partner Integration Author Photo

    To help ensure new partners and practice groups are successfully integrated, firms should embrace specific structured practices that recognize each lateral's distinct value, personalize their integration plans and proactively address transition complexities long after onboarding ends, say Elizabeth Kennedy at NewEdge BD and Erika Steinberg at CMO2Go.

  • How Firms Can Manage DEI Commitments Amid Headwinds Author Photo

    By recalibrating how they structure and communicate their inclusion efforts, law firms can reduce legal exposure and preserve their values, says Angela Vallot at VallotKarp Consulting.

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