GUEST COLUMNS
Friday, April 3, 2026
The Supreme Court is considering whether President Trump can use an executive order to reinterpret the 14th Amendment and undermine birthright citizenship, raising critical questions about presidential power and constitutional limits.
California's bar ethics committee has a new warning for attorneys using AI -- but the real problem isn't hallucinations, it's the missing accountability layer that only a licensed attorney can fill.
Wednesday, April 1, 2026
California's expanded military diversion law gives lawyers a vital tool to secure just outcomes for veterans by addressing service-related conditions instead of defaulting to conviction.
California's aggressive tax regime is now targeting luxury car owners and dealers using out-of-state schemes like the Montana loophole, turning what once seemed like routine tax avoidance into a growing wave of audits, penalties and even criminal prosecutions.
Monday, March 30, 2026
CARE Court has gone from experiment to scoreboard, with counties now judged on filings, outcomes and their ability to turn court orders into real-world treatment.
As cross-border disputes involving China increase, U.S. counsel must recognize fundamental differences in discovery, judicial roles, evidentiary rules, precedent, timing and enforcement between U.S. and Chinese litigation systems.
Friday, March 27, 2026
Most law firm business plans fail not from poor strategy but from weak execution, including vague goals, limited partner buy-in, and disconnects among marketing, client service, and business development.
The IRS's new guidance on qualified production property (QPP) clarifies eligibility, allocation and recapture rules, giving taxpayers a significant opportunity to claim accelerated depreciation for property used in manufacturing, refining or production.
Wednesday, March 25, 2026
The 9th Circuit puts ideology above women's privacy, forcing a Korean spa to abandon centuries-old traditions, religious beliefs and the safety of its patrons.
Every lawyer should know a few key tax rules that can shape what plaintiffs actually take home after a case resolves. Settlement wording, the claims involved and even how checks and Forms 1099 are issued can change the tax result.
Monday, March 23, 2026
The guidance shows how Treasury intends to integrate the Trump Account program into the IRS's existing administrative framework rather than building an entirely new benefit-delivery system.
Courts already function largely online; completing the transition to a near-fully remote system would deliver meaningful cost savings while improving access, efficiency and convenience for the public.
Friday, March 20, 2026
In light of recent U.S. military action against Iran, this article analyzes the definition of war, the constitutional allocation of war powers between Congress and the President, and the War Powers Resolution and exceeded presidential authority.
With construction costs projected to stay high through 2026, developers can no longer depend on historical pricing or boilerplate contracts, particularly on high-rise and mixed-use projects where risk and feasibility are tightly linked.
Wednesday, March 18, 2026
A California appellate decision clarifies how courts interpret ambiguous insurance policy language, showing that a single undefined word can determine coverage and liability on complex construction projects.
Proposition 19 is reshaping many of California's most iconic cities and neighborhoods by eliminating the broad parent-to-child exclusion from property tax reassessment, a rule that governed intergenerational real property transfers for decades.
Monday, March 16, 2026
Assembly Bill 1680 proposes expanding the California FAIR Plan to offer more comprehensive homeowners coverage, but the economic challenges of implementing these reforms raise serious questions about their long-term viability.
California's Workplace Know Your Rights Act consolidates existing workplace notice requirements and adds new obligations, continuing California's longstanding practice of expanding the notices employers must provide to inform employees of their rights.
Friday, March 13, 2026
The assumption that metabolic health is a static backdrop in personal injury law no longer holds. Weight, diabetes, cardiovascular risk and inflammation, once facts in the record, are now variables that can change over the life of a case.
A new proposed rule would reinstate weighted factors for determining independent contractor status under the FLSA, giving employers a more predictable framework than the Biden-era totality-of-the-circumstances approach.
Wednesday, March 11, 2026
Proper planning in legal settlement agreements about IRS Form 1099 reporting--what forms will be issued, to whom, and in what amounts--can prevent disputes and avoid unintended tax consequences for plaintiffs and their attorneys.
The Supreme Court's pending decisions in West
Virginia v. B.P.J. and Little v. Hecox will clarify the federal
standard under Title IX governing transgender student participation in
athletics, but because the cases arise from preliminary injunctions and states
retain authority to enact their own protections, schools will likely continue navigating
a patchwork of federal requirements, state laws, and compliance obligations.
Monday, March 9, 2026
Tax practitioners must prioritize ethical duties and thorough research over timing and efficiency concerns when advising clients, regardless of the circumstances.
When an AI agent hires a gig worker to photograph equipment in a warehouse and the worker breaks an ankle, who is the employer? When it sends a stranger into an occupied apartment, who authorized the entry? RentAHuman.ai is live. The legal questions are not hypothetical.
Friday, March 6, 2026
Casual emails, recycled opinions, and unchecked client facts can turn routine tax advice into Circular 230 violations, penalties, malpractice claims and career-ending discipline.
The crumbling infrastructure of federal courthouses is not merely a crisis of bricks and mortar but a profound human tragedy that undermines the constitutional promise of a fair and accessible legal system and underscores the urgent need for reform.
Wednesday, March 4, 2026
Twelve states have sued HHS, CMS, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and others over Executive Order 14168, arguing that conditioning federal funding on compliance with a binary-only sex policy improperly attempts to amend Title IX, exposes grant recipients to False Claims Act liability, and forces states and organizations to navigate contested legal and financial risks.
When California attorneys learn they are the target of a State Bar OCTC investigation, they should strongly consider retaining specialized discipline defense counsel, as compressed prefiling timelines, limited discovery and nonnegotiable discipline standards can put both their license and livelihood at serious risk.
Thomas Goethals
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NEWS
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General News
Friday, April 3, 2026 |
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| A federal judge ruled Elon Musk cannot seek punitive damages in his fraud lawsuit against OpenAI, finding his $134 billion restitution claim is equitable, not legal, limiting available remedies at trial. | |
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General News
Friday, April 3, 2026 |
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| From San Diego to Kern County, courts are holding outreach events to build a pipeline as vacancies fluctuate and retirements climb. | |
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General News
Friday, April 3, 2026 |
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| Nearly four years after OpenAI lit the AI boom with its ChatGPT chatbot, the one industry that is unquestionably being disrupted by this once-in-a-generation technology shift is the tech industry itself. | |
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General News
Wednesday, April 1, 2026 |
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| A federal judge in San Diego denied Abercrombie & Fitch's bid to compel arbitration, finding Hollister's checkout design failed to give reasonably conspicuous notice of its terms, and allowed a California consumer pricing class action to move forward. | |
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General News
Wednesday, April 1, 2026 |
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| The court found that the firm's prior representation of Masimo's founder created a conflict in his wage dispute with the board over his employment agreement. | |
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General News
Wednesday, April 1, 2026 |
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| The SEC's sweeping embrace of crypto, an industry with a long history of fraud and market turmoil, has entered a new stage. | |
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General News
Monday, March 30, 2026 |
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| Payment resolves claims by former investigator Jennifer Kearns and adds to more than $12 million in county liability tied to misconduct allegations | |
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General News
Monday, March 30, 2026 |
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| Netflix argued that the company's global dominance resulted from its own internal innovation and the use of industry-standard technologies like High Efficiency Video Coding. | |
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General News
Monday, March 30, 2026 |
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| Most older adults don't have long-term care insurance, and a big reason may be that they don't understand the limits of their regular health coverage. | |
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General News
Friday, March 27, 2026 |
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| At a status conference, the judge signaled openness to lifting a yearslong discovery stay as prospective plaintiffs press for access to documents and the county urges caution. | |
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General News
Friday, March 27, 2026 |
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| Measure imposing liability for nonconsensual images wins unanimous support; workplace surveillance bill draws business opposition. | |
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General News
Friday, March 27, 2026 |
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| AI was supposed to help tech companies boost productivity and cut costs. But it has also created an expensive new status game, known as "tokenmaxxing," among AI-obsessed workers who are desperate to prove how productive they are. | |
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General News
Wednesday, March 25, 2026 |
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| As payments go out for a well-prepared settlement, a separate $4 billion deal faces fraud probes, exposing tensions over mass abuse litigation. | |
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General News
Wednesday, March 25, 2026 |
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| A plaintiffs' attorney in a major social media trial was fined $1,100 for a courthouse Zoom news interview and a selfie, as jurors continued deliberating claims against Meta and Google. | |
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General News
Wednesday, March 25, 2026 |
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| Following rivals like Amazon and OpenAI, Microsoft is upgrading its artificially intelligent assistant to track your health. There are benefits and risks to consider. | |
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General News
Monday, March 23, 2026 |
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| A federal jury in Los Angeles awarded Nike $11 million against a fashion influencer for willful counterfeiting and trademark infringement tied to social media sales of replica sneakers. | |
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General News
Monday, March 23, 2026 |
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| A Los Angeles judge upheld a $1.1 million arbitration award against two former CriticalPoint executives, rejecting challenges and affirming disgorgement damages tied to alleged misuse of confidential business information. | |
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General News
Monday, March 23, 2026 |
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| Like other chatbots, AI agents can make mistakes. And because these mistakes might involve sending email messages or editing files, they can wreak havoc. | |
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General News
Friday, March 20, 2026 |
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| Why emotional readiness and financial planning go hand in hand | |
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General News
Friday, March 20, 2026 |
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| Mortgage rates in the United States climbed for the third week in a row, further squeezing housing affordability as the war in the Middle East drives up costs. | |
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General News
Friday, March 20, 2026 |
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| The proposed deal would resolve claims by more than 24,000 plaintiffs following an $8.8 million jury verdict against co-defendants in the toxic odor case. | |
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General News
Wednesday, March 18, 2026 |
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| In a 2025 survey of 1,040 people by the Identity Theft Resource Center, 80% said they had received at least one breach notice in the previous 12 months. | |
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General News
Wednesday, March 18, 2026 |
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| Agency tells court leaders that courthouse maintenance problems stem from limited congressional funding, not management. | |
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General News
Wednesday, March 18, 2026 |
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| DivX began a jury trial accusing Netflix of infringing streaming technology patents and seeking more than $400 million, while Netflix says its platform relies on industry standards and its own innovation. | |
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General News
Monday, March 16, 2026 |
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| Although plenty of smart appliances like dishwashers, coffee makers and smoke detectors flooded the market, interest in the idea of an automated household never took off. | |
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General News
Monday, March 16, 2026 |
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| The board voted 3-1 to keep a 25% salary increase despite a grand jury report criticizing the way the raise was embedded in the county's budget process. Supervisors said their compensation is governed by a state law formulating their pay to the salaries of Superior Court judges, which they argued already serves as an independent benchmark. | |
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General News
Monday, March 16, 2026 |
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| Creative Artists Agency agreed to pay $595,000 to resolve claims by TV writer John Musero that the agency misappropriated his TV concept and damaged his career. | |
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General News
Friday, April 3, 2026 |
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| A federal court monitor said Los Angeles County is making progress toward meeting its obligations under a landmark homelessness settlement but raised concerns about whether the data supporting those efforts can be trusted. | |
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General News
Wednesday, April 1, 2026 |
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| Los Angeles Judge Carolyn B. Kuhl weighs whether social media platforms can face strict liability claims, a decision shaping upcoming bellwether trials after plaintiffs' prior negligence victory. | |
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General News
Monday, March 30, 2026 |
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| The Federal Aviation Administration said Thursday that it was investigating after a helicopter flew in front of a commercial plane in California. | |
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General News
Friday, March 27, 2026 |
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| First bellwether trial finds Meta and Google liable for addictive design, marking shift away from content-based claims under Section 230. | |
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General News
Wednesday, March 25, 2026 |
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| A jury awarded $19.25 million in damages to a woman who accused Bill Cosby of sexual assault more than 50 years ago, finding liability. A few hours later, they awarded another $40 million in punitive damages. | |
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General News
Monday, March 23, 2026 |
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| A Los Angeles County jury awarded $1.4 million to a man who suffered permanent eye injuries when a golf ball launched by a mower, shattered a glass door and struck him, after the defendant admitted liability and contested damages. | |
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General News
Friday, March 20, 2026 |
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| Superior Court Judge Ruth Ann Kwan cited a lack of clear and convincing evidence of malice in granting judgment notwithstanding the verdict. | |
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General News
Wednesday, March 18, 2026 |
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| Eaton Fire plaintiffs want to depose Edison International executives, arguing they oversaw wildfire-risk governance and crisis decisions. The utility says the request violates California's apex doctrine protecting top officials. | |
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General News
Monday, March 16, 2026 |
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| Landslides in Rancho Palos Verdes provides access to coastal real estate at a deep discount, so long as one is willing to accept the risks | |