California Pulse


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    Ex-Coinbase CLO Grewal Moves To Cognition As Top Lawyer

    Paul Grewal, the former chief legal officer at Coinbase who led the cryptocurrency exchange through a high-profile battle with U.S. regulators, is now the top lawyer at Cognition AI Inc., according to his most recent LinkedIn post.

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    ABA Gives Symbolic Support For Law School DEI Standards

    In a split vote, American Bar Association House of Delegates members on Tuesday elected to uphold a rule requiring law schools to demonstrate DEI standards, but then followed up with a vote allowing another path to removing the standards, in an effort to avoid the Trump administration's threat to strip the ABA of accreditation authority.

  • Timothy Toohey gunnercooke.png

    Gunnercooke Expands To West Coast With Calif. Partner Hire

    U.K.-based law firm Gunnercooke LLP announced Monday that it has hired its first California-based attorney, giving it a formal presence on the West Coast to complement existing offices in Chicago and New York.

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    ABA To Assess Aggressive BigLaw Campus Recruitment

    The American Bar Association's policymaking body on Monday approved a resolution sponsored by law students seeking reprieve from increasingly early BigLaw recruitment drives and clarified rules regarding client confidentiality and prosecutorial responsibility, some of the first votes taken on day one of its annual meeting.

  • Judge Denies Bid To Oust Kirkland From Trade Secret Feud

    A California federal judge has denied a healthcare software company's attempt to disqualify Kirkland & Ellis LLP from representing Commure Inc. in a trade secret lawsuit, ruling that the plaintiff failed to prove that information it disclosed during a prospective client consultation was materially harmful enough to warrant disqualification.

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    What To Know About Initial Rollout Of NextGen Bar Exam

    The NextGen Bar Exam, which is replacing the uniform bar exam across most of the United States, has been successfully administered for the first time in nine jurisdictions July 28-29 and was canceled in Washington state due to technical difficulties.

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    Legal Workplaces Create More Stress For Female Lawyers

    Female lawyers report being more stressed out than their male counterparts, and the reasons they give for that stress largely revolve around structural workplace factors, according to an American Bar Association report released Monday.

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    McGovern Weems Adds Name Partner, West, From Dechert

    The New York firm formerly known as McGovern Weems LLP announced Monday that it has hired another name partner, the former head of Dechert LLP's enforcement and investigations team.

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    Cleary Adds Litigators From White & Case, Orrick

    Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP said Monday that it has added two partners to its litigation practice in Washington, D.C., and California, one from White & Case LLP and the other from Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP.

  • Law360 Names 2026's Top Attorneys Under 40

    Law360 is pleased to announce the Rising Stars of 2026, our list of more than 160 attorneys under 40 whose legal accomplishments belie their age.

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    ABA House Of Delegates Resolutions To Watch

    The American Bar Association is holding its annual conference in Chicago this year, and next week the organization's policymaking body will be tackling a wide range of topics, like student loan reform and establishing a commission to fight antisemitism.

  • Law360 Pulse Spotlight On Mid-Law Work

    Bass Berry and Potter Anderson's work on an investors' suit against Cars.com leads this edition of Law360 Pulse's Spotlight On Mid-Law Work, recapping the top matters for Mid-Law firms from July 17 to 31.

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    Sundance Elevates GC To COO Ahead Of Festival Venue Shift

    Sundance Institute, the nonprofit in charge of running the Sundance Film Festival, announced that its general counsel has been elevated to the role of chief operating officer ahead of its planned move to Colorado.

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    NetApp's Admin And Legal Chief Earned $6.6M Last Year

    The chief administrative officer for NetApp Inc., a data management and software company, earned a total compensation of $6.6 million in fiscal year 2026, according to a recent securities filing.

  • Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

    Two Texas personal injury firms lead this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions for their work securing a $604 million verdict against a freight broker and logistics company for their roles in a deadly 2021 highway collision.

  • Voir Dire: Law360 Pulse's Weekly Quiz

    The legal industry ended July with another busy week as firms doled out associate bonuses and BigLaw shops expanded their bench of talent. Test your legal news savvy here with Law360 Pulse's weekly quiz.

  • Bruce Tobey Lionsgate Studios.png

    Lionsgate Studios GC Sees Pay Rise $1.75M To $4.5M

    Lionsgate Studios' top attorney received a roughly $1.75 million raise to $4.5 million after leading the entertainment company's separation from Starz and guiding transactions around its hit Michael Jackson biopic, according to a new filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

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    ABA Eyes Nixing School DEI Standards To Sway Trump Admin

    The American Bar Association is poised next week to eliminate the first of multiple diversity-related law school standards, a controversial move that it hopes will allow it to remain an accreditor despite an uncertain outcome in the face of a Trump administration increasingly wary of the association's role in legal education.

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    Former Calif. Assistant US Atty Joins Hueston Hennigan In LA

    An experienced trial lawyer who most recently spent nearly a decade as an assistant U.S. attorney with the Central District of California has joined Hueston Hennigan LLP's Los Angeles office as of counsel, the firm announced.

  • Stanley D. Blyth Kaufman Dolowich.png

    Kaufman Dolowich Hires O'Hagan Meyer Partner In LA

    Kaufman Dolowich has hired a Los Angeles labor and employment lawyer, who is joining as a partner to defend employers in complex litigation, the firm recently announced.

  • Law Firm Real Estate Report

    Florida was a hotbed of law firm office activity in July, with at least five firms either opening new locations or moving teams to new spaces.

  • Advocacy Group Says Law Firm Fellowship Program Biased

    A legal advocacy group said Thursday it had lodged U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission charges against a nonprofit and law firms including Jones Day, White & Case and Morgan Lewis, claiming Muslim and Middle Eastern students were getting unlawful preference in a fellowship program.

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    Vinson & Elkins Sees AI Usage Uptick After First Hackathon

    Vinson & Elkins completed its first artificial intelligence hackathon in June, called the V&E GenAI Cup, to generate more staff excitement about AI and gather new ideas for projects.

  • 9th Circ. Vacates Orrick Win In Stock Transfer Deal Dispute

    The Ninth Circuit on Wednesday reversed a lower court's finding that Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP can't be held liable in a battle over a stock transfer agreement gone awry, ruling that California law does allow a party to the transfer to pursue equitable indemnity in the case.

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    DOJ Suit Shows Bar Battles Have Reached New Fronts

    The legal effort seeking to outlaw mandatory bar associations has made little progress in the courts recently. But some lawyers say the challenges have made it easier for the Trump administration and some state legislatures to oppose legal regulators.

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Expert Analysis

  • The Augmented Lawyer: Crafting Responsible AI Policies Author Photo

    As the legal industry increasingly looks to impose responsive guardrails for artificial intelligence use, firms and organizations’ internal use policies, outside counsel guidelines and vendor contracts can address confidentiality and data retention concerns in several ways, say attorneys at KXT Law.

  • 6 Ways To Build Pro Bono Culture If You Lack Dedicated Staff Author Photo

    Firms can develop a strong pro bono culture without hiring dedicated professionals through strategies like demonstrating active involvement by leadership, tailoring volunteer tasks to individual professional development needs and building trusted partnerships within the legal aid community, says Stacy Zinken at Paladin.

  • Series

    Biz Development Tip Of The Month: Extend Your Content's Life Author Photo

    Attorneys often limit the impact of their thought leadership by letting their content languish after initial publication, but through four easy strategies for retooling existing content, they can maximize its reach and further their business development goals, says Jillian McKenna at Verrill Dana.

  • Why Law Firm Leaders Should Care About Student Debt Crisis Author Photo

    ​​​​​​​As the student debt crisis evolves under changing federal policies, firms that proactively address the burden will have significant advantages in recruiting and retaining the best young lawyers, says Brian Kabateck at Kabateck.

  • Series

    Talking Mental Health: Encouraging New Attys To Find Joy Author Photo

    Rudene Haynes at Hunton discusses her experiences as a hiring partner, common sources of stress that newer attorneys face and steps that law firms can take to protect their attorneys' mental health and encourage personal life fulfillment.

  • Fla. Bar's Cyber Incident Response Plan Sets Precedent Author Photo

    The incident response plan developed by the Florida Bar's cybersecurity and privacy committee might not seem all that consequential, but it's a long overdue framework that could go a long way toward protecting the highly sensitive data law firms handle — and could even set a model for other professional organizations to follow, says Chris Boehm at Zero Networks.

  • Why Attorneys Should Write About Justices' Minority Opinions Author Photo

    Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson’s searing dissents this past term serve as a reminder for attorneys to analyze U.S. Supreme Court minority opinions in their thought leadership for three key reasons, says Jessica Kaplan at Legally Penned.

  • 3 Business Development Lessons From Mozart's 'Magic Flute' Author Photo

    Mozart’s opera “The Magic Flute” offers a useful framework for attorneys to build relationships and develop new business, inspired by Prince Tamino’s curiosity, courage and consistency, says Paul Manuele at PR Manuele Consulting.

  • 5 Ways Legal Teams Can Use KPIs To Quantify Their Value Author Photo

    As in-house legal departments are increasingly expected to do more with less, developing a thoughtful framework to measure key performance indicators can help them both maximize and demonstrate their contribution to business success, say co-founders at New Era ADR.

  • Series

    Defining The Culture For A Legal Nonprofit Author Photo

    We co-founded The International Academy of Financial Crime Litigators to connect leading trial lawyers, litigation experts and academics, and our experience has shown that embracing opportunity, responding fearlessly to market realities, and relentlessly defining the organization’s culture have all been integral to success, say Stéphane Bonifassi, Lincoln Caylor and Elizabeth Ortega.

  • 5 Emerging Themes Shaping Lateral Partner Moves This Year Author Photo

    A few key trends have arisen in partners’ lateral movements in the first half of 2025, reflecting a legal market defined by macroeconomic uncertainty, shifts in firm structures and rising scrutiny of firm affiliations, say legal recruiters at Macrae.

  • Series

    Biz Development Tip Of The Month: Be A Mentor Or Mentee Author Photo

    Mentorship is a powerful tool for business development when both mentors and mentees approach their relationships with strategic purpose, ensuring professional success while supporting broader business goals, say Angela Liu at Dechert and Jessica Lewis at WilmerHale.

  • 4 Biz Dev Steps For Attys Who Don't Know What They Want Author Photo

    Junior attorneys are increasingly expected to start building books of business while they are still figuring out their long-term career goals, but a few pointers can help young lawyers develop business even when they’re uncertain about their future direction, says Lana Manganiello at Practice Growth Partner.

  • Protecting Client Funds From Cyberattacks Author Photo

    As cyberattacks on law firms continue to escalate, bar associations, law firms and individual lawyers must all take steps to protect client funds in attorney trust accounts — from imposing cyber hygiene mandates to reimagining malpractice coverage — because once that money is gone, it’s generally gone for good, says Michael Epstein at The Epstein Law Firm.

  • Making Legal Cents: For Billing, Think Value, Not Time Author Photo

    Pricing strategy is one of the most consistently discussed but underleveraged tools in a firm's arsenal, and rather than keeping hourly billing because it's easy, firms should consider their differentiators when structuring more effective fee models, says Shireen Hilal at Maior Consultants.

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