News

A Continuing Trend: Lawyers Ditching Big Law for Small Firm Freedom

Xiumei Dong | September 21, 2018

Litigators from Cooley and Jackson Lewis have left each firm to branch out on their own.

News

L.A. Immigration Judge Calls Jeff Sessions' Rules for Courts ‘Unprecedented’

Ellis Kim| September 21, 2018

Judge Ashley Tabaddor, the president of the National Association of Immigration Judges, said new rules from U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions compromise the integrity of the nation's immigration courts.

Quick Takes

On the Move: Tracking the Ins and Outs of California Lawyers

Pearl Wu | September 21, 2018

New hires, leadership changes, and bar association news from around the state.

News

PTO Gives Iancu More Control Over PTAB Precedents

Scott Graham | September 21, 2018

The agency is aiming to create more precedential opinions while steering away from the practice of "stacking" its judicial panels.

News

Yahoo Settles Series of Data Breach Consumer Class Actions

Amanda Bronstad | September 21, 2018

Yahoo's attorney and lead plaintiffs’ counsel told U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh in the multidistrict litigation in federal court in California that both sides had reached an “agreement in principle.”

Podcast

Post Quinn Emanuel Split, Faith Gay Dishes on Boutique Ambitions

Leigh Jones | Vanessa Blum | September 21, 2018

The Careerist Vivia Chen talks with the Selendy & Gay partner as part of a podcast series focused on the successes and struggles of prominent women lawyers.

Analysis

Why Are So Many In-House Professionals Joining AI Contract Startups?

Rhys Dipshan | September 21, 2018

They helped transform the legal departments at Microsoft, Google and Hewlett-Packard. But now they’re looking to make a bigger impact on corporate law by joining legal tech disruptors.

News

Shearman & Sterling Nabs McDermott IP Litigator

Xiumei Dong | September 20, 2018

L. Kieran Kieckhefer will help the Wall Street firm expand its offices in the Bay Area.

Expert Opinion

#MeToo Takes Aim at Secret Settlements

Alexis McKenna| September 20, 2018

Long before the hashtag #MeToo became part of the national vernacular, corporations commonly wielded an effective weapon to keep workplace sexual harassment…

Expert Opinion

New WOTUS Rule Could Have Widespread Impact

Samuel L. Brown and J. Tom Boer| September 20, 2018

Since the Supreme Court’s 2006 split-decision in United States v. Rapanos, successive administrations have struggled to define the extent of federal jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act (CWA).

Commentary

Law Profs Say the Stupidest Things: A Guide to Recent Controversies

Karen Sloan | September 20, 2018

Some academic types just can't avoid controversy, whether through a misguided Halloween costume, racially charged language in the classroom, or a pattern of throwing bombs that shake up students and fellow faculty members.

Q&A

'The Law Is Trying to Catch Up': Newly Minted ShapeShift CLO Veronica McGregor on Advising a Cryptocurrency Client

Caroline Spiezio| September 20, 2018

"The biggest challenges are, as with any new technology, figuring out which, if any, existing laws apply to you," said the former Goodwin Procter lawyer.

Diving In: Inside the Evolution of Law Firm Cybersecurity Practices

Rhys Dipshan | September 20, 2018

Cybersecurity practices used to be focused solely on post-breach legal matters. Now they’ve matured to point where they’re comfortable handling more technical demands.

News

Judge Greenlights Ashley Judd's Suit Against Weinstein But Dismisses Sexual Harassment Claim

Ian Lopez | September 19, 2018

A federal judge in Los Angeles denied Harvey Weinstein’s motion to toss a defamation lawsuit filed by actress Ashley Judd. Weinstein had argued that the claims were barred by applicable statutes of limitations.

News

Crypto Company Coinbase Hires Legal Leader From Fannie Mae as New CLO

Caroline Spiezio | September 19, 2018

Brian Brooks is leaving decades-old Fannie Mae for a much less old school type of financial institution.

Judicial Discipline Records Face First-Ever Audit After Deal Ends Dustup

Cheryl Miller | September 19, 2018

State lawmakers in 2016 ordered the first audit of the commission in its 56-year history.

News

Apple Faces Certified Class in Suit Over FaceTime Glitch in Older iPhones

Ross Todd | September 19, 2018

U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh certified a class of California iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S owners who claim their phones lost value when the phone's video-calling feature stopped working with older versions of the phone's software. She, however, declined to certify a nationwide class.

News

Contra Costa Judge Accused of Sexual Harassment, Improper Comments

Cheryl Miller | September 19, 2018

A lawyer for Judge John Laettner said his client denies the charges, and that complaints stem from an ongoing dispute between the judge and the public defender's office over the use of cash bail.

News

What Pushes Undergrads to Law School? It Ain't the Money

Karen Sloan | September 19, 2018

A new study commissioned by the Association of American Law Schools looks at the motivations of aspiring law students and how they approach their search for the right school.

News

Glassdoor Urges Court to Protect Online Anonymity

Erin Mulvaney | September 19, 2018

Major internet technology companies and advocates backed Glassdoor, which was urging the Texas Supreme Court Wednesday to protect the anonymity of online reviews.

News

Monsanto Asks Judge to Vacate $289M Roundup Verdict, Citing Lack of Evidence

Amanda Bronstad | September 18, 2018

Monsanto cited a 2017 ruling in a case involving Johnson & Johnson's powder, in which the judge vacated a $417 million verdict due to lack of evidence.

News

Qualcomm Asks to Pull the Plug on Apple's San Diego Patent Claims

Scott Graham | September 18, 2018

The wireless giant has promised not to sue over the nine patents Apple identified. That moots all of the disputes over infringement, validity, FRAND royalties and patent exhaustion, Qualcomm says, leaving only contract and competition claims.

News

Midwest Law Firms Make Lateral Moves in LA

Xiumei Dong | September 18, 2018

Barnes & Thornburg and Lathrop Gage have raided a pair of local firms to expand in the City of Angels.

Expert Opinion

Pay Attention to Statutes of Repose

Shari L. Klevens and Alanna Clair| September 18, 2018

While there can be many defenses that can be asserted in response to an alleged failure to comply with the applicable statute of limitation, there are typically very few defenses to a failure to comply with the statute of repose. Thus, where it applies, the statute of repose is a big deal.

Employers Can't Shortchange Service-Industry Workers With Dual Responsibilities

Erin Mulvaney | September 18, 2018

The Ninth Circuit's en banc decision Tuesday "will help millions of waitresses, waiters, bartenders, and other hard-working servers get paid a decent wage and reasonable tips," said Outten & Golden's Jahan Sagafi, who argued for the workers.

Q&A

Parsing Prop 65: Compliance Hurdles, Liability and More

Cheryl Miller | September 18, 2018

What are the biggest potential pitfalls for companies under these new rules? How are lawyers advising clients? We caught up with Alston & Bird's Maureen Gorsen, former director of California's Department of Toxic Substances Control, for her perspective.

Analysis

Will This Crypto Case Push Federal Regulators to Tackle More ICO Fraud?

Ian Lopez | September 18, 2018

A U.S. district court of New York ruling allowing a jury to apply securities laws in an ICO fraud case may set the stage for regulators to heighten actions in the nascent marketplace.

News

Visa, Mastercard Agree to Pay $6.2B to Merchants in Settlement of Antitrust Litigation

Andrew Denney | September 18, 2018

Visa, Mastercard and a number of U.S. banks have reached an agreement to pay $6.2 billion to settle a long-running class action suit brought by millions of merchants over card swipe fees.

Facebook Is Hit With Gender Bias Claims Over Ad Practices

Erin Mulvaney | September 18, 2018

“We can’t let gender-based ad targeting online give new life to a form of discrimination that should have been eradicated long ago,” says Galen Sherwin, a senior staff attorney at the ACLU's Women’s Rights Project.

News

With Eyes on L.A. Expansion, Baker McKenzie Sets Sights on US Merger

Rose Walker| September 18, 2018

“We are looking for a merger partner in the U.S.," global chairman Paul Rawlinson said. "It's a question of when, not if."

News

O’Melveny Helps Electric Car Startup Secure $1B Saudi Investment

Xiumei Dong | September 17, 2018

Lucid Motors, not Tesla, tapped the firm to advise on a $1 billion investment from Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund.

Q&A

Lawyers Who Guided Anita Hill Offer Advice to Kavanaugh's Accuser

Marcia Coyle | September 17, 2018

"The brutality of the political arena is merciless," says Georgetown Law's Emma Coleman Jordan, who was on the team advising and guiding Anita Hill in 1991 when she testified against Clarence Thomas at his U.S. Supreme Court confirmation hearing. Jordan and a colleague, Susan Deller Ross, offer insight, as Congress prepares for the possibility of the airing of misconduct claims against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

News

Musk Hit With Defamation Suit by British Caver He Called 'Pedo Guy' on Twitter

Ross Todd | September 17, 2018

The lawsuit marks the second time this month that Musk's tweeting has resulted in a lawsuit following earlier securities suits based on his tweets about taking Tesla private.

News

Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Finds Its First GC in Former Kilpatrick Townsend Partner

Caroline Spiezio | September 17, 2018

The nonprofit medical research organization, co-founded by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, his wife Dr. Priscilla Chan and LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, announced longtime litigator Maureen Sheehy as its GC Monday.

News

Uber Judge Steers Data Breach Cases to Arbitration, Cutting the MDL in Half

Amanda Bronstad | September 17, 2018

The judge rescheduled a hearing on lead counsel motions for next month.

News

Multistate Bar Exam Scores Sink to 34-Year Low, Pass Rates Sag

Karen Sloan | September 17, 2018

Upticks in the average MBE scores in July 2017 and 2016 had fueled hopes of a recovery in bar exam pass rates, but the latest figure indicate otherwise.

News

Police Find Body of Berkeley Law Student Who Fell Down Oregon Waterfall

Karen Sloan | September 17, 2018

Equal Justice America, a nonprofit organization that funds fellowships for law students who work in civil legal services, has established a scholarship fund in honor of Brian Lewinstein, who had been missing and presumed dead since August 12.

News

Lucasfilm Prevails in Dispute With App Maker Over Rights to 'Sabacc'

Ross Todd | September 17, 2018

The card game plays a pivotal role in the "Star Wars" universe as it was during a game of Sabacc that Han Solo won the iconic Millennium Falcon spaceship.

News

Rimon Reels in 8-Strong Silicon Valley IP Team

Xiumei Dong | September 17, 2018

The firm is taking on an intellectual property group from Duane Morris led by the latter's Silicon Valley leader.

News

Kavanaugh Accuser, Speaking Publicly, Puts New Pressure on Republicans

Marcia Coyle | September 16, 2018

A spokesman for the Senate Judiciary Committee said in a statement Sunday: "It’s disturbing that these uncorroborated allegations from more than 35 years ago, during high school, would surface on the eve of a committee vote after Democrats sat on them since July."

News

Big Law Donates $15 Million to Global Environmental Pro Bono Effort

Xiumei Dong | September 14, 2018

Nine large law firms have pledged to deliver $15 million in free legal services by 2020 in order to advance sustainability around the world.

News

Changing of the Guard at Glaser Weil's IP Group

Scott Graham | September 14, 2018

Group chairwoman Adrian Pruetz has retired, while partners Andrew Choung and Erica Van Loon have joined the L.A. office of Lathrop Gage.

News

Firm That Won Landmark Monsanto Verdict Allowed to Remain on Roundup MDL Leadership Team

Ross Todd | September 14, 2018

Although U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria previously found Baum Hedlund had committed misconduct, at a hearing Thursday he allowed the firm to stay on—with a warning that any future missteps could result in "very, very severe sanctions."

Research

ALM Survey on Mental Health and Substance Abuse: Big Law’s Pervasive Problem

Patrick Krill| September 14, 2018

ALM Intelligence's survey of Am Law 200 firm leaders about their attitudes and actions regarding addiction and mental health challenges reveals much work remains to be done to deal with the problem.

Podcast

Paul Clement Is Stoked for Brett Kavanaugh and the Term Ahead

Vanessa Blum | Leigh Jones | September 14, 2018

The Kirkland & Ellis partner reflects on Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation hearings, his judicial philosophy and what to expect in the coming Supreme Court term.

News

Announcing The Recorder's 2018 Women Leaders in Tech Law

Ross Todd | September 14, 2018

The Recorder is pleased to announce the 2018 Women Leaders in Tech Law. Each year we recognize recent work by California-based lawyers who practice…

Analysis

Blank Rome Case Raises Sticky Questions on Law Firm Mergers

Lizzy McLellan | September 14, 2018

When is a law firm merger not a merger? In demanding millions of dollars from Blank Rome, former Dickstein Shapiro partners may help drum up answers.

News

McManis Faulkner Hires Former FEC Chair

Xiumei Dong | September 14, 2018

The litigation-focused firm has brought on Ann Ravel, a former head of the Federal Election Commission.

News

Berkeley Law Is Deeply Divided on 'Boalt' Name, Chemerinsky Says

Karen Sloan | September 14, 2018

The University of California, Berkeley School of Law dean discusses the movement to remove references to John Boalt from the law school, and why people on both sides feel so strongly about the issue.

Expert Opinion

SCOTUS Justices Feed Cake to Employers This Term

Katherine P. Sandberg| September 14, 2018

The several decisions that negatively impact employers are largely procedural or very limited in their application. Think of them as vegetables along what was otherwise a cakewalk term.

News

SF Goodwin Procter Partner Moves In-House to Crypto Company

Caroline Spiezio| September 14, 2018

Switzerland-based cryptocurrency exchangeShapeshift hired Goodwin Procter partner Veronica McGregor as chief legal officer last month.

Quick Takes

On the Move: Tracking the Ins and Outs of California Lawyers

Pearl Wu | September 14, 2018

Bar association news and new hires from across the California legal market.

News

Bill Reshaping 9th Circuit Passes House Committee

Ellis Kim | September 13, 2018

The bill passed 16-5. Previous efforts to reshape the nation's largest circuit have failed.

News

Federal Judicial Misconduct Rules Could Get a Significant Makeover

Tony Mauro | September 13, 2018

Proposed changes in the rules governing judicial misconduct and disability would expand the definition of "cognizable misconduct" that could lead to sanctions against judges.

News

California's Bar Exam Evaluated Again, This Time on Job Skills

Karen Sloan | September 13, 2018

AccessLex Institute has given the state bar $515,000 to look at how California lawyers do their jobs and how the bar exam tests those skills.

News

Google, Twitter Among Companies Accused of Keeping Tabs on Kids' Data

Ian Lopez | September 13, 2018

New Mexico AG Hector Balderas filed a lawsuit that alleges the tech companies are using algorithms to monitor children's web activity for marketing.

News

Ninth Circuit Cannabis Ruling Gives Biz Owner New Chance to Fight Charges

Cheryl Miller | September 13, 2018

A new Ninth Circuit ruling confronts the clash between federal and state marijuana laws. "If [Charles] Lynch was not compliant with state law, he is not covered by the rider and is subject to the penalties of his conviction," the Ninth Circuit said.

Event

Learn More: Why GCs Are Coming Together to Help Women Perfect Their Pitch

Law.com Editors| September 13, 2018

Join ALM’s editors for a free call on Monday, Sept. 17 to learn more about “Perfecting Your Pitch”— a training and networking opportunity for women lawyers this fall in New York and San Francisco.

Expert Opinion

Make Nice to the Court: Tips on How to Be Considerate

Myron Moskovitz| September 13, 2018

Recently, I was brought in by an appellant’s attorney to review his draft opening brief. I noticed that the precise language of a settlement agreement would play a very important role in how the appellate court decided the case.

News

Valeant, Mylan Go to War Over Katten Disqualification

Scott Graham | September 13, 2018

Valeant's attempt to disqualify a team of Katten Muchin Rosenman patent litigators led to a showdown Wednesday at the Federal Circuit.

News

Senators Press Kavanaugh Over Kozinski Clerkship, Mueller Contacts

Tony Mauro | Marcia Coyle | September 12, 2018

Brett Kavanaugh responded to more than 1,000 written questions—more than any recent Supreme Court nominee. Here are some highlights from 263 pages of records released late Wednesday.

News

RBG Laments 'Partisan Show' of SCOTUS Confirmation Hearings

Cheryl Miller | September 12, 2018

"I wish I could wave a magic wand and have it go back to the way it was," Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said in a conversation with California Justice Goodwin Liu, one of her former law clerks.

News

Google CLO Kent Walker Discusses Election Shock in Leaked 2016 Video

Caroline Spiezio | September 12, 2018

A video of a 2016 all-hands meeting at Google posted Wednesday on website Breitbart.com shows a number of Google's senior executives addressing employees following the presidential election.

News

Ex-Goldman Sachs VP Joins Pillsbury Winthrop's Bay Area Base

Xiumei Dong | September 12, 2018

Timothy Brugh, a former vice president at The Goldman Sachs Trust Co., has joined the firm as a partner in San Francisco and Silicon Valley.

News

Ninth Circuit Rejects DNC's Push to Block Arizona Ballot Rules

Ellis Kim | September 12, 2018

The DNC argued the state's practice of tossing votes cast in the wrong precinct, and a law limiting third-party collection of early ballots, placed unconstitutional burdens on Arizona voters.

Update

Former Dickstein Shapiro Lawyers Sue Blank Rome Seeking $4 Million in Unreturned Capital

Ross Todd | September 12, 2018

The lawsuit, filed in California state court Wednesday, claims that Blank Rome styled its 2016 merger with Dickstein Shapiro as an “asset sale” to avoid paying out capital contributions to departed partners.

News

House Committee to Take Up Measure to Reconfigure the Ninth Circuit

Ross Todd | September 12, 2018

The House Judiciary Committee is set to consider Rep. Darrell Issa's proposal to divide the nation's largest circuit court into three regional divisions and one circuit-wide division at a markup hearing Thursday morning.

News

How Gunderson Dettmer Stays Steady Through Silicon Valley's Boom-Bust Cycles

Xiumei Dong | September 12, 2018

Formed 23 years ago this month by a group of lawyers fleeing a now-defunct legal giant, Gunderson Dettmer Stough Villeneuve Franklin & Hachigian may have a full shingle, but a focused strategy has helped it survive.

News

Zoom Video Communications Hires Aparna Bawa as First GC

Caroline Spiezio| September 12, 2018

Zoom announced that it brought on Bawa, a veteran of the in-house legal departments at Magento Commerce and Nimble Storage, to lead its legal department.

Analysis

There's Been a Rise in Securities Lawsuits Over Cryptocurrencies, and SEC Cases Are Behind It

Amanda Bronstad | September 11, 2018

A Lex Machina report found that securities lawsuits filed over cryptocurrencies or bitcoin have tripled so far this year as SEC chairman Jay Clayton announced a crackdown on that industry.

News

California Agricultural Law Firm Absorbs L&E Boutique

Xiumei Dong | September 11, 2018

The Saqui Law Group, an outfit with offices in Salinas and Sacramento, has joined up with Fresno-based Dowling Aaron.

News

Uber May Be Saving $500M a Year in California by Misclassifying Drivers, Suit Says

Ross Todd | September 11, 2018

The lawsuit, filed on behalf of livery services by lawyers at Robins Kaplan and Keller Lenkner, seeks an injunction barring Uber from pricing rides below cost and treble damages for Uber's allegedly anti-competitive activity.

Venture Capitalists Pour Another $115M into Legal Tech Platforms

Dan Packel | September 11, 2018

With big new infusions from Andreessen Horowitz and others, San Francisco-based Atrium and Toronto's Kira Systems are the latest New Law ventures to win VC's attention.

News

Ninth Circuit Deals Blow to Koch Brothers’ Nonprofit

Ellis Kim | September 11, 2018

A conservative nonprofit organization must hand over the names of its top contributors to the California attorney general, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday in a legal blow for the group’s founders, brothers Charles and David Koch.

Does 'Googleyness' Disfavor Older Workers? Google Says No

Erin Mulvaney | September 11, 2018

Google is fighting an age-bias case that provides a peek into the hiring practices of the company, where candidates are evaluated on, among other things, their "Googleyness."

Expert Opinion

Unemployed and Panicked: What Should You Do?

Julie Q. Brush| September 11, 2018

A state of panic is unproductive and only bad decisions stem from it, like “taking any job.” So you’ll need to apply logic rather than fear in this next leg of your job search.

News

In Cryptocurrency Fraud Case, Judge OKs Feds Use of Securities Laws

Colby Hamilton| September 11, 2018

A federal judge in Brooklyn said the cryptocurrency fraud allegations, "[s]tripped of the 21st-century jargon," were run-of-the-mill schemes.

Law Firm Leaderships’ Biggest Challenge: Equality Of Outcome

David J. Parnell| September 11, 2018

Aggressive poaching in the market is forcing leadership to contend with the delicate balance of equality, culture and compensation in their firms.

News

Harvard, MIT Win Appeal in Battle Over Gene Editing Patents

Scott Graham | September 10, 2018

The court upheld that their CRISPR invention, applying the technology to human and animal cells, is patentably distinct from UC's earlier discovery in single-cell organisms.

News

IRS Agent Can't Dodge Invasion of Privacy Claim After Watching Suspect's Wife Use Bathroom

Ross Todd | September 10, 2018

The Ninth Circuit found that IRS agent Jean Noll wasn't entitled to qualified immunity after she followed the wife of a suspect to the restroom and refused to leave while serving a warrant in 2006 during a criminal tax fraud and conspiracy investigation.

News

New Zealand Legal AI Startup Brings Its Battle to TechCrunch Disrupt

Xiumei Dong | September 10, 2018

McCarthyFinch, a joint venture between a boutique venture capital firm and a leading Kiwi law firm, is the latest legal startup to use artificial intelligence in an effort to simplify legal services.

News

Cause of Death for Stanford Law 3L Leon Cain Remains Unclear

Meghan Tribe| September 10, 2018

Cain, 27, who was bound for a job as an associate at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, was found unresponsive in the early morning hours of Aug. 19 in Washington, D.C.

News

Federal Circuit Continues Crackdown on Real Parties at the PTO

Scott Graham | September 10, 2018

For the second time this summer, the appellate court has told the Patent Trial and Appeal Board to reconsider whether business partners or third parties are helping litigants skirt the statute of limitations.

News

Judge OKs Yahoo's $80 Million Deal to Settle Securities Litigation Over Data Breaches

Ross Todd | September 10, 2018

The deal, which got sign-off from U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh on Friday, settles claims that the company misled investors about four breaches which touched up to 3 billion Yahoo accounts.

News

ABA Sounds New Alarm on Substance Abuse, Firms Pledge Action

Dan Packel | September 10, 2018

A dozen major law firms have already signed on to a seven-point pledge that the ABA hopes the whole industry will embrace.

Chart

Movin' On: Bay Area Mid-Level Associates Express Doubt They'll Stay Put

Ben Hancock | September 10, 2018

Associates all around seem to be wondering about their futures, according to ALM Intelligence's 2018 Midlevel Associate Survey. But that's particularly true in San Francisco and Silicon Valley, where associates expressed the most doubt that they'll be at the same firm in the next two years.

News

Ruby’s Bankruptcy Leaves Law Firms in the Red

Brian Baxter | September 07, 2018

The California-based restaurant chain, known for its retro feel and frequent appearances in pop culture, owes nearly $500,000 to its outside lawyers.

Update

Was Cisco v. Arista All Just a Bad Dream?

Scott Graham | September 07, 2018

Cisco and Arista are seeking to vacate a judgment that was one of the first to apply copyright's “scenes-a-faire” defense in the software context.

News

Take 2?: Court of Appeal Revives Claims Over 'One A Day' Vitamins

Ross Todd | September 07, 2018

The Fourth District Court of Appeal disagreed with the two federal judges who concluded that any reasonable consumer would read the label of a "medicine-like" product like vitamins.

Slideshow

Gunderson Dettmer Celebrates Anniversary With New Silicon Valley Digs

Xiumei Dong | September 07, 2018

A look inside the tech-centric firm's new Redwood City digs.

Analysis

UC Hastings Report: New Tools Needed to Address Race, Gender Bias in Legal Profession

Meghan Tribe| September 07, 2018

A new study from the Center for WorkLife Law at the University of California, Hastings College says law firms and in-house legal departments are barely moving the needle when it comes to combating gender and racial discrimination.

Fewer Legal Jobs for Second Consecutive Month as US Economy Continues Growth Streak

Scott Flaherty | September 07, 2018

The U.S. government's jobs report for August showed a decline in legal services employment for the second straight month.

Podcast

Stay Tuned! Your Weekend Lineup From Legal Speak

Vanessa Blum | Leigh Jones | September 07, 2018

Legal Speak is on break but we'll be back next week with fresh podcasts. Is there an issue related to the legal industry that you think would make a great podcast? We want to hear from you.

Quick Takes

On the Move: Tracking the Ins and Outs of California Lawyers

Pearl Wu | September 07, 2018

Partner hires and law firm honors from across the Golden State legal market.

News

Latham Among Those Left Hanging in Film Studio's Bankruptcy

Xiumei Dong | September 06, 2018

Latham & Watkins is owed nearly $500,000 from Open Road Films, according to a Chapter 11 filing by the Los Angeles-based movie studio in Delaware.

News

Arbitration Innovation? JAMS Preps for Future Blockchain, Crypto Disputes With New Practice

Ian Lopez | September 06, 2018

The ADR group’s new practice leader is Zeichner Ellman & Krause CISO Daniel Garrie, who argues “you need to change the rules” of disputes for new technologies.

News

Short Seller Sues Tesla, Elon Musk Over Take-Private Tweets

Tom McParland | September 06, 2018

The complaint alleges that Musk knew at the time there was no financial backing for the proposed buyout and that the fallout led to significant losses for investors who bought Tesla stock between Aug. 7 and Aug. 17.

Ninth Circuit Revives Former NFL Players' Lawsuit Related to Painkiller Side-Effects

Ross Todd | September 06, 2018

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit found that NFL players' claims that drugs were handed out by trainers without medical licenses and without proper prescriptions didn't arise from the league's collective bargaining agreements with players.

News

Warner Bros. Becomes First Hollywood Studio to Adopt Diversity and Inclusion Policy

Kristen Rasmussen | September 06, 2018

WarnerMedia, the parent company of Warner Bros., announced Wednesday a companywide commitment to greater inclusion of women, people of color, the LGBTQ+ community, those with disabilities and other underrepresented groups in all of its projects going forward.

News

Pressed by Harris, Kavanaugh Denies 'Inappropriate' Contacts with Law Firm about Mueller Probe

Marcia Coyle | September 06, 2018

Sen. Kamala Harris grilled the nominee over any conversations with lawyers at Kasowitz, Benson & Torres about the Mueller investigation. Kavanaugh testified Thursday: "I don't recall any conversations of that kind with anyone at that law firm," Kavanaugh told Hatch.