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California Pulse
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From BigLaw To Boutiques, Litigators In Hot Demand For '26
BigLaw firms and smaller trial boutiques are poised to continue ramping up hiring of litigators in 2026 due to the growing number and complexity of courtroom disputes, but economic uncertainty could complicate that picture if companies rein in their litigation spending.
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California Law Firms Eye Litigation, AI Growth In 2026
Nearly a year after wildfires devastated the Los Angeles area, California law firms are working through the continued fallout from the tragedy as they enter 2026, while also eyeing potential increases in transaction activity, litigation and the use of artificial intelligence.
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Calif. ABS Fee Sharing Ban Cleared To Kick Off In 2026
A new California law banning alternative business structure fee sharing with out-of-state law firms owned by nonattorneys has been allowed to go into effect after a Los Angeles federal court rejected an attorney's bid to temporarily block its enforcement ahead of the new year.
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Legal Ethics Cases To Watch In 2026
Federal judges will continue tackling notable ethics issues in 2026, including a U.S. Justice Department battling former federal prosecutors in court and an immigration justice system in upheaval.
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BigLaw Leaders Tackle Growth, AI, Remote Work In New Year
Rapid business growth, cultural changes caused by remote work and generative AI are creating challenges and opportunities for law firm leaders going into the New Year. Here, seven top firm leaders share what’s running through their minds as they lie awake at night.
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Walmart Gets $623K As Sanction Award In Avocado Oil Suit
A California federal judge has ordered two attorneys from a Santa Monica-based law firm to pay Walmart $623,000 in attorney fees as a sanction in their client's decertified class action that accused Walmart of falsely labeling its avocado oil as containing only avocado oil despite allegedly containing other oils.
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3 Key Trends For The Legal Industry In 2025
Executive orders, updated office attendance policies and private equity interests were three top issues that shaped the industry this year.
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Alston & Bird Doles Out Associate Bonuses
Alston & Bird LLP has reportedly unveiled its year-end associate bonus tiers, matching the market scale set by Cravath Swaine & Moore LLP this fall.
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4 Judges Who Battled Criminal Charges In 2025
A number of high-profile cases in 2025 found judges taking on the role of criminal defendants over a wide range of allegations, from murder and sexual assault to corruption and interfering with an ICE arrest.
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Calif. Chamber Of Commerce Counsel Rejoins Jackson Lewis
A former California Chamber of Commerce senior employment law counsel has rejoined Jackson Lewis PC as a principal, returning to the firm where she has already done a five-year stint, the firm announced.
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Ex-Oura CEO Pushes To DQ Quinn Emanuel In Firing Suit
The onetime CEO of fitness tracker company Oura Health is pushing to disqualify Quinn Emanuel from representing the smart ring maker in his compensation suit, telling a San Francisco federal judge that he shared confidential information when he consulted with the firm about his claims prior to filing suit.
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McGlinchey Stafford Leaders Tout Equity-Driven Firm Culture
While the traditional idea of diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace is often appearance-based, a group of McGlinchey Stafford PLLC leaders told Law360 Pulse that its approach to DEI goes further, embedding itself in the firm's cultural and operational ethos.
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LawFirms.com Beats LegalForce's TM Suit After Bench Trial
A California judge has concluded that a company that operates LawFirms.com did not infringe a law firm's trademarks for LegalForce, saying that during a four-day bench trial in October the court found "no one was actually confused or misled."
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Spencer Fane Grows In Calif. With Ex-Spencer West US Head
Spencer Fane LLP grew its Silicon Valley office this week with a tech industry corporate expert who is a founder and former managing partner of Spencer West LLP's U.S. offices.
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Calif. Atty Slams 'Protectionist' ABS Fee-Sharing Ban
A California attorney has pushed back on opposition from California's attorney general and the state's bar association amid his efforts to block enforcement of a ban on fee sharing with out-of-state law firms owned by nonattorneys, arguing the new state law is a "protectionist act, in defiance of the constitution."
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McCathern Shokouhi Shuffles Leaders For 'Enterprise Value'
McCathern Shokouhi Evans PLLC is entering the New Year with one of its name partners stepping into a new CEO role and a firm veteran being promoted to manage its Dallas headquarters, moves that leadership said positions the firm for growth and the creation of "enterprise value."
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4 Legal Ethics Matters That Rocked 2025
This year, judges across the country grappled with attorneys' use and misuse of generative artificial intelligence, and prominent federal prosecutor battles dominated headlines in some of the top legal ethics matters of 2025.
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Haynes Boone, Seward & Kissel Announce Year-End Bonuses
Haynes Boone is handing its associates year-end and special bonuses in line with those offered by a significant portion of BigLaw this year, largely adhering to a bonus scale first put forward by Cravath Swaine & Moore LLP in November, a firm spokesperson confirmed Monday.
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Legal Departments Pushing Back Against Partner Rate Hikes
Billing rates from law firms varied widely in the first half of 2025, and corporate legal departments will need to anticipate tiered and regional shifts in fee dynamics to keep costs under control next year, according to a report released Monday by Wolters Kluwer's ELM Solutions.
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Lawyers Hit Billable Hour Goals, But At What Cost?
As lawyers across the U.S. tally their hours and take stock of how the past year unfolded, a recent Law360 Pulse survey suggests many will meet their billable goals, but often at the expense of their mental health and work-life balance.
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Lawyers Don't Expect AI To Lower Billing Targets
Generative AI is raising questions about how time-based billing adapts when tasks become faster to complete, but most attorneys recently surveyed by Law360 Pulse are skeptical that AI will shift expectations anytime soon.
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Winston Taylor Will Eye Growth Beyond $1.75B Merger
The architects of the deal to create a major new transatlantic player called Winston Taylor say that "there's no finishing point" to their plans for expansion as they signal an openness to more deals and even external investment.
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Keesal Young Drops Part Of Stradley Ronon Poaching Suit
Keesal Young & Logan wants to drop part of its California state court lawsuit alleging Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young LLP unlawfully recruited 10 of its attorneys.
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Hogan Lovells, Cadwalader's Divergent Paths Led To Deal
The blockbuster combination between Hogan Lovells and Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft LLP announced this past week involves two law firms that have charted very different paths in recent years. Here, a look at what events led up to the firms joining together at the deal table.
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Law360 Pulse Spotlight On Mid-Law Work
Foley Hoag's handling of a suit challenging the proposed White House ballroom and Vedder Price's work on a $2 billion transaction with Goldman Sachs lead this edition of Law360 Pulse's Spotlight On Mid-Law Work, recapping the top matters for Mid-Law firms from Dec. 4 to 19.
Expert Analysis
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The Unique Challenges Facing Women-Owned Law Firms
In addition to establishing their brand from scratch, women who start their own law firms must overcome inherent bias against female lawyers and convince prospective clients to put aside big-firm preferences, says Joel Stern at the National Association of Minority and Women Owned Law Firms.
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The Pursuit Of Wellness In BigLaw: Lessons From My Journey
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Jane Jeong at Cooley shares how grueling BigLaw schedules and her own perfectionism emotionally bankrupted her, and why attorneys struggling with burnout should consider making small changes to everyday habits.
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Why We Must Recruit And Advance More Black Prosecutors
Black Americans make up a disproportionate percentage of the incarcerated population but are underrepresented among elected prosecutors, so the legal community — from law schools to prosecutor offices — must commit to addressing these disappointing demographics, says Erika Gilliam-Booker at the National Black Prosecutors Association.
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Series
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Young lawyers overwhelmed with a crushing workload must tackle the problem on two fronts — learning how to say no, and understanding how to break down projects into manageable parts, says Jay Harrington at Harrington Communications.
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A Scientific Path For Improving Diversity At Law Firms
Law firms could combine industrial organizational psychology and machine learning to study prospective hires' analytical thinking, stress response and similar attributes — which could lead to recruiting from a more diverse candidate pool, say Ali Shahidi and Bess Sully at Sheppard Mullin.
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Series
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In the first installment of Law360 Pulse's career advice guest column, Meela Gill at Weil offers insights on how associates can ask for meaningful work opportunities at their firms without sounding like they are begging.
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Legal Sector Regulatory Reform Is Key To Closing Justice Gap
In order to improve access to justice for those who cannot afford a lawyer, states should consider regulatory innovations, such as allowing new forms of law firm ownership and permitting nonlawyers to provide certain legal services, says Patricia Lee Refo, president of the American Bar Association.
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How Attys Can Guard Against Rising Settle-And-Sue Claims
Certain precautions can help lawyers avoid post-settlement malpractice claims and create a solid evidentiary defense, as settle-and-sue lawsuits rise amid pandemic-induced dispute settlements, say Bethany Kristovich and Jeremy Beecher at Munger Tolles.
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What I Learned As A Virtual Summer Associate
It is necessary in a virtual law firm summer program to think twice about asking questions you may be able to answer on your own, but this independence and other aspects of a remote internship may help to instill habits that would be useful for future full-time associates, says law student Kelley Sheehan, who interned at Patterson & Sheridan this summer.