GUEST COLUMNS
Friday, April 23, 2021
State Attorney General-nominee Rob Bonta at his confirmation hearings Wednesday vowed to take a tougher hand in policing the police — ensuring misconduct records are released to the public, thoroughly investigating officer-involved shootings and using the AG's office to pursue civil rights probes of local law enforcement agencies.
Doctors, lawyers and other highly-trained professionals often have their sights on lucrative salaries once they complete their courses of study – but many are also saddled with a less pleasant graduation gift: outstanding student loans.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday declared a drought emergency for parched water systems along the Russian River watershed that serve hundreds of thousands of Californians in two counties.
For months, Alyssa Jenkins logged countless hours on MyTurn, California's COVID vaccine registration site as she searched for precious appointment slots for her fellow teachers.
Thursday, April 22, 2021
In the 9th Circuit (as well as the 2nd, 5th, 6th, and 11th Circuits), the test for determining whether the use of a third-party trademark in an expressive work.
It seems that the relatively obscure and technoid topic of APIs had a moment of fame when the recent Supreme Court ruling was announced about the erstwhile battle between Google and Oracle. Bringing attention to APIs is fortuitous for another reason altogether, namely that APIs could spell the future of LegalTech and also be instrumental in the maturation and growth of AI and the law.
Sensible regulations should be passed at the federal and state level that preclude use of facial recognition technology. Sensible regulations should be passed at the federal and state level that preclude use of facial recognition technology
Wednesday, April 21, 2021
An upcoming U.S. Supreme Court case is highlighting the need to pay greater attention to the justices' conflicts of interest and do something about them.
We Americans are blessed with abundant — even overabundant — consumer goods and services and often take that fact for granted.
Abolish qualified immunity; otherwise, we get the policing that the Supreme Court thinks we deserve.
So much interpretation, nuance, indeed, duende embedded in U.S. Supreme Court opinions regarding constitutional and civil rights in the 150 years since Congress granted persons abused by those in authority actionable rights, is only so much class- and race-based bias, flawed gifts that keep giving and giving.
Tuesday, April 20, 2021
With more people getting vaccinated and the CDC largely giving the green light to travel for those who have had all their shots, a real-deal vacation this summer may be a reality for millions of Americans.
Starring ace trial lawyer Flash Feinberg and his trusty sidekick Professor Plato
The State Bar of California is pushing forward a set of proposals that would license nonattorneys to practice law and further exacerbate the issue of notario fraud.
Monday, April 19, 2021
On Tuesday, Senate Bill 467 failed by one vote to advance out of the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Water.
Car shoppers may find that bargains are scarce this year. But better prices on trade-ins may help ease the pain. Last year's pandemic-induced production delays, combined with a continued shortage of computer chips and other automotive components, have tightened the supply of new models — especially popular sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks.
On March 19, the California Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Environmental Health Hazard JAssessment, known as OEHHA, proposed amendments to its regulations for Proposition 65 safe harbor warnings to address exposures to delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (delta-9-THC) and cannabis smoke.
Friday, April 16, 2021
Pfizer and BioNTech recently asked the Southern District of California to dismiss a patent infringement claim from Allele Biotechnology related to Pfizer and BioNTech's Covid-19 vaccine.
3 myths about videoconference arbitration
Thursday, April 15, 2021
Earlier this month, camera crews once again gathered in the Sierra Nevada to watch a man plunge a pole through the snow. The pole was removed and, following a tense few moments, Californians learned we experienced another dry winter, and we are plunging further into drought.
The court issued a narrow ruling that correctly recognized the FCC's commitment in the context of its Section 202(h) quadrennial reviews to ownership diversity as an important and freestanding policy consideration.
Is there a legal duty to protect others from harm caused entirely by third parties? "It depends," goes the standard refrain.
Wednesday, April 14, 2021
Desperate child care providers who look after state-subsidized children are anxiously waiting on a much-needed one-time stipend of $525 per child promised by Gov. Gavin Newsom back in February.
By any standard, California is experiencing one of its periodic droughts after two successive years of below-normal precipitation.
For once-in-a-hundred-year events such as the pandemic — with uncertainty over the solution to the crisis and even its duration — the act's scheme leaves little option for adoption of hazard pay without full agreement of the employer.
The IRS has been hunting crypto hard for more than five years now, and the pace is getting faster.
Californians enrolled in health coverage this year will qualify for substantial savings as $3 billion in federal aid kicks in, including for people who are currently getting no subsidies.
Tuesday, April 13, 2021
Building investor trust while mitigating litigation risk
Last week, California's top legislative leaders unveiled a plan to spend more than half a billion dollars on efforts aimed at protecting the state from catastrophic wildfires.
It's nothing less than an invasion. Interlopers are coming into California by land, by sea…and by FedEx.
Reliance on binding precedent may no longer be enough
What a long strange trip its been
Monday, April 12, 2021
Only in the last decade have California courts recognized as tortious conduct the intentional interference by one person in the expected inheritance of another.
California election officials are running out of time.
School districts, teachers and policymakers across California are determining how to get more students back to in-person learning as safely as possible.
The public health crisis from which we are finally emerging has resulted in the permanent closure of countless restaurants, bars and hair salons.
Most states are following the extended federal deadlines, and a few have adopted even more generous extensions. But the IRS has not postponed the deadline for making estimated tax payments for this year's first quarter.
Explanations are part of our daily lives. The advent of AI has brought the nature of explanations to the forefront of ongoing debates about algorithmic systems and the use of AI that might not readily be able to explain decisions that are being automatically rendered. Furthermore, the legal field is stepping into the dialogue about explanations and even has its own dilemma when it comes to AI-based LegalTech that might or might not be sufficiently programmed for explainability.
Los Angeles County Superior Court's restraining order courts in a year of emergency.
Friday, April 9, 2021
Construction lawyers, and, indeed, many legal practitioners, are familiar with the mechanics' lien.
Saving for retirement is never easy, but women in particular can face unique challenges.
Music venues, motion picture theaters and museums decimated by COVID-19 restrictions received a boost last month when the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 was signed into law by President Joe Biden.
Thursday, April 8, 2021
Finding Google's copying a fair use, the Supreme Court ended Oracle's decade-long attempt to recover copyright damages.
On March 26, MSCHF's collaboration with Lil Nas X to produce "Satan Shoes" was announced via Twitter — and caught the attention of the media and Nike. Promoted in a tweet for their unique design of incorporating authentic Nike Air Max '97, with 60 cc ink and one drop of human blood, MSCHF announced it would be selling a numbered drop of 666 shoes (the devil's number) at the price of $1,018 each beginning March 29.
Joel Lopez died of COVID this January. Apart from his wife Maria and his 2-year-old daughter Julieta, few people noticed. I did. For me, Joel was the living embodiment of why some of us love practicing criminal defense. I had the privilege of representing Joel for 23 years. During those years, Joel and I suffered wins and losses, but we never gave up trying. That is our story, and I want to share it.
Wednesday, April 7, 2021
On March 30, the federal court in California Chamber of Commerce v. Becerra issued a preliminary injunction enjoining Proposition 65 acrylamide cancer warnings for foods, holding that such warnings violate the First Amendment.
In this era of ideological polarization and perpetual partisan warfare, it's difficult to grasp the collegial, bipartisan ambience that once prevailed in California's Senate.
In 1884, the economy of California abruptly changed its prime focus from extraction, specifically gold mining, to agriculture. How did this happen? The farmers won a lawsuit.
Tuesday, April 6, 2021
When the pandemic first hit, my go to weekend refuge for a little sun and a sack lunch was a promontory in Elysian Park overlooking Dodger Stadium.
Section 998 pitfalls to avoid
Two dozen state legislatures are considering bills on financial-literacy education, an unusually high number, proponents say.
Monday, April 5, 2021
Apologies are being increasingly emitted by AI systems that are becoming integral to our daily lives. Some believe that machine-generated apologies are beneficial while others eschew the notion. All told, the odds are that such AI is going to get mired into the ever-expanding domain of the legal field covering law-and-apologies.
When Gov. Gavin Newsom signed SB 95 into law on March 19, he threw a critical safety net under thousands of California workers left hanging by the year-end expiration of the Families First Coronavirus Relief Act as well as the state's 2020 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave statute.
Long before he watched the windup to the first pitch, even before he entered the Oakland Coliseum, Sergio Santillan of Hayward was already feeling emotional.
Just as the Biden administration is pushing to raise taxes on corporations, a new study finds that at least 55 of America's largest firms paid no taxes last year on billions of dollars in profits.
Friday, April 2, 2021
If ever there was any doubt, the summer of 2020 proved that covert and overt racism, xenophobia, homophobia, transphobia and white supremacy are all very much alive in the United States.
Life in California feels as if it is finally returning to normal.
On March 24, the 9th Circuit sitting en banc affirmed the district court's dismissal of a Second Amendment lawsuit challenging Hawaii's licensing law, which requires that residents seeking a license to openly carry a firearm in public must demonstrate "the urgency or the need" to carry a firearm and that the applicant be actively "engaged in the protection of life and property" when openly carrying a firearm.
Thursday, April 1, 2021
Should successful plaintiffs pay taxes on legal fees they never receive?
Last month, a motion was introduced with the Los Angeles City Council that has the power to implement real, lasting change for young people and the city.
Disrupting the health care status quo takes courage. Recently, Assemblymember Jim Wood, who chairs the Health Committee, stood up boldly for a statewide infrastructure for sharing health data to strengthen public health, improve equity, transform Medi-Cal, and improve the quality and affordability of health services.
One of California's perpetual political conflicts may be heating up again, which requires some background to understand because it is so convoluted.
The Ninth Circuit recently considered an issue of first impression: What standard of review does an appellate court apply when reviewing a district court's grant of summary judgment in a trademark infringement case on the equitable basis of the unclean hands doctrine.
The False Claims Act is the federal government's primary civil enforcement tool for combatting fraud in connection with government programs.
Wednesday, March 31, 2021
With the California Public Utility Commission now rushing to prevent a similar disaster this summer, advocates are concerned regulators are not going far enough to invest in the clean energy resources and demand-side solutions that are key to supporting a reliable electricity grid.
The COVID-19 pandemic has been especially tough on the restaurant industry — as of Dec. 1, 2020, more than 110,000 bars and restaurants had closed for business in this country.
Amidst all of this, investors plowed capital into funds focused on environmental, social and/or governance, aka ESG, factors, and sustainable assets.
The story twisted facts and omitted context to fit a partisan narrative. It implied then-California Rep. Gil Cisneros engaged in criminal insider trading and knowingly profited from confidential congressional coronavirus briefings in the early days of the pandemic.
When the first European explorers arrived in California's Central Valley, they found a vast mosaic of seasonal and permanent wetlands, as well as oak woodlands and riparian forests.
Tuesday, March 30, 2021
Court records are generally available to the public. That is, everything discussed in the case can be accessed and inspected by the public.
The summer 2020 protests that erupted over George Floyd's death at the hands of Minneapolis police officers sparked renewed calls for police reform.
Two years ago, CalMatters housing writer Matt Levin described a factory in Vallejo that was building housing modules that could quickly — and relatively inexpensively — be assembled into multi-story apartment houses.
Last year, Ariele Doolittle, a tax lawyer, got a call from a client who lived and worked in New York but was considering working remotely from California temporarily after his offices were shuttered in the pandemic.
Monday, March 29, 2021
California law imposes various requirements on employers who hire minors. In addition to rules regarding the use of certain equipment (such as knives and balers) and requiring school-approved work permits, as of January 1, 2021, public and private sector employers with five or more employees must comply with Assembly Bill ("AB") 1963.
For many of the planet's 7.8 billion inhabitants, there will never be a world without COVID-19.
After three decades in practice, I have seen too many mentally ill and legally incompetent individuals languish in jails, which are a poor setting for psychiatric treatment and recovery, rather than be treated through less costly and more effective alternatives to incarceration.
Friday, March 26, 2021
From women's rights champion Susan B. Anthony to historic athletes such as tennis great Serena Williams, the course of human history has been indelibly shaped by incredible women. Despite the long list of accomplishments by women, it seems unfathomable that in 2021, we're still struggling with gender inequality.
The Supreme Court heard arguments on Monday in a case that will decide whether allowing union organizers to enter an employer's private property constitutes a taking.
If you are paying more attention to how your lifestyle decisions may impact the planet or your community, you can apply the same perspective to your investments. An increasingly popular investment strategy is known as environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing. It allows you to focus your investments in ways that are designed to generate a more meaningful impact beyond dollars and cents.
Thursday, March 25, 2021
The selection of antitrust scholar Lina Khan to join the Federal Trade Commission is the latest shot across the bow for the tech powerhouses.
The validity of a United States patent can be challenged in federal court litigation. Patents can also be challenged in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, which, in most cases, is a quicker and less costly process.
During the last cataclysmic recession, California's state government was forced to cleave billions from its budget to close an historic deficit.
A recent appellate ruling demonstrates that bad faith liability for failure to settle may arise even in the absence of a demand within policy limits from the claimant
Wednesday, March 24, 2021
California housing is crowded, expensive and difficult to find, but if a package of bills proposed by prominent Senate Democrats becomes law, some cities could look very different a decade from now.
California's senior U.S. senator is once again in the center of a media maelstrom — or feeding frenzy — over whether she'll serve out the remaining four years of her current term.
On Friday, California reenacted and expanded supplemental paid sick leave for covered absences related to COVID-19 through Senate Bill 95.
Remember last year? The normal April 15 deadline last year was extended to July 15. That brought millions of taxpayers some relief in that very strange year. This year is still plenty strange, but on repeated occasions, the IRS Commissioner said there would be no extension this year. However, in the end, the IRS announced that the April 15 due date is now May 17.