California Pulse


  • Calif. Judge Admonished For Disparaging Pro Se Litigants

    A California state judge in Los Angeles has been publicly admonished for repeatedly "displaying poor demeanor" toward self-represented small claims litigants, including making disparaging remarks, interrupting litigants and walking out of the courtroom in the middle of proceedings.

  • iStock-1012845488.jpg

    Meta's Legal Ops Chief Predicts Decline Of Billable Hour

    Meta's global head of legal operations predicts that the billable hour will be the exception, not the rule, in five years, telling a packed room of legal ops professionals at an annual conference this week that he is already asking law firms for fixed-fee agreements for their work.

  • Judge Says LegalForce Must Pay $93K After Losing TM Suit

    A California federal judge on Wednesday ordered LegalForce RAPC Worldwide PC to pay nearly $93,000 in fees and costs to the company that operates LawFirms.com, finding the case to be exceptional because LegalForce alleged facts it knew were false and took steps to obscure other facts that showed its case was meritless.

  • Timothy S. Teter.jpg

    $5M Dip In Stock Awards Drops Nvidia GC's Comp To $14.3M

    As Nvidia Corp., which currently has the highest market valuation of any corporation at $5 trillion, boasted of its 65% revenue growth in fiscal year 2026, the man responsible for navigating its legal challenges saw his compensation drop by $5 million, according to a recent securities filing.

  • Richard-de-Bodo_Headshot.png

    Barton Adds Rimon IP Atty With Leadership Experience In LA

    Barton LLP has added a partner from Rimon PC in its Los Angeles office, bolstering the firm's intellectual property and commercial litigation capabilities.

  • DSCF4512.jpg

    How A Law Firm Grabbed Hilton's Attention With Its AI Use

    Hilton's legal operations team recently did an artificial intelligence tour where it met with its top 10 law firms in terms of spending to learn more about how they are using AI, and one firm stood apart from the rest.

  • iStock-2238207007.jpg

    Carta Buys AI-Native Law Firm Avantia To Target PE Market

    U.S.-based private markets fintech company Carta said Wednesday that it has acquired U.K. law firm Avantia Law Ltd. in a move that enables it to offer artificial intelligence-powered legal and compliance services to private equity and venture capital firms.

  • How JetStream's GC Turned Cyber Crime Roots Into AI Role

    Patrick Zeller, the first general counsel of JetStream Security Inc., talks about his career path from prosecuting computer crimes to leading in-house privacy and cyber teams, to helping companies manage artificial intelligence.

  • iStock-2176862141.jpg

    Could Calif. Fee-Sharing Ban Threaten ABS Model?

    After dropping his suit challenging California’s ban on fee-sharing with nonattorney-owned firms like those formed under Arizona’s alternative business structure program, attorney Brent Wisner ditched the outside investors from his own ABS and formed a managed services organization instead — a shift he said could spell the end of the ABS experiment.

  • American_Bar_Association_Garland_41661.jpg

    Anti-ABA Trend May Cut Law School Costs, But With A Price

    Some law schools may become more affordable, increasing the supply of attorneys, as a growing number of states nix the requirement that aspiring lawyers graduate from American Bar Association-accredited schools. But those new attorneys could be left with a patchwork system that limits where they can practice.

  • iStock-1272443123.jpg

    Law Firms Saw Double-Digit Q1 Growth, Citi Survey Finds

    Despite geopolitical uncertainties driven by an escalating Middle East conflict, surging energy prices and tariff concerns, law firms' first-quarter performance may be a positive harbinger for the legal industry, according to new survey results from Citi Global Wealth at Work Law Firm Group.

  • joseph-balice.jpg

    Barnes & Thornburg Adds Haynes Boone Insurance Pro

    Barnes & Thornburg LLP announced Tuesday that it has hired a partner who previously was counsel at Haynes Boone to bolster its insurance recovery practice.

  • rockwell_john_62956_2026_608217_pr.jpg

    Pillsbury Adds WilmerHale VC Pro In Silicon Valley

    Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP has added a former WilmerHale attorney to expand its global emerging companies and venture capital practice group and capacity to handle venture capital financing matters.

  • Justices Clear Way For Ala.'s Gerrymandered Map In Midterms

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday opened the door for Alabama to use electoral maps that the justices previously found unconstitutionally diluted Black residents' voting power, following the court's recent ruling limiting the Voting Rights Act's use in challenging racial discrimination in congressional redistricting.

  • 'I Am The Judge,' Atty Facing Apple Sanctions Bid Told

    A California federal judge overseeing discovery in a consumer antitrust case against Google LLC rebuked the plaintiffs' attorney Monday as he fought a sanctions motion by former defendant Apple Inc., reminding him "I am the judge in this case" and that his requests must "meet the standard that I set forth."

  • dei.jpg

    ABA Advises Nixing Law School DEI Rules Under Scrutiny

    The Standards Committee of the American Bar Association's legal education arm has recommended that the section repeal its law school accreditation standards relating to diversity, equity and inclusion, saying that in the face of new government scrutiny, maintaining these requirements for law schools would jeopardize the section's status as a nationwide accreditor.

  • Ana Tagvoryan Manatt Phelps.png

    Longtime Blank Rome Litigator Joins Manatt In Los Angeles

    Manatt Phelps & Phillips LLP announced Monday that an experienced litigation attorney has joined the firm's Los Angeles office as a consumer protection and advertising partner from Blank Rome LLP.

  • jamie-gross.jpg

    Duane Morris Adds Fisher Phillips Employment Pro In Calif.

    Duane Morris LLP has grown its labor and employment offerings in California with the addition of a Fisher Phillips attorney, the firm said Monday.

  • kelly-le.png

    Simpson Thacher Brings On AI, West Coast Privacy Chairs

    Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP announced on Monday that a pair of experienced attorneys have joined the firm's Los Angeles and New York offices as partners and the respective new heads of its artificial intelligence and West Coast privacy and cybersecurity teams.

  • Larissa Schwartz.png

    Outgoing Okta CLO Saw Comp Exceed $10M In 2025

    The chief legal officer of software company Okta Inc. earned more than $12 million last year, up from about $7.3 million the previous year, a recent securities filing shows.

  • John Quinn Quinn Emanuel.png

    Quinn Emanuel Founder Exiting Executive Chair Role

    Four decades after high-stakes litigation firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan first opened in Los Angeles, founding partner John B. Quinn is stepping down as executive chairman of the firm effective immediately.

  • Levin Simes Atty Sidelined For 'Outrageous' Uber Remarks

    A Levin Simes LLP attorney has agreed to take on a more limited role in multidistrict litigation over Uber driver sexual assaults after he made "outrageous" remarks during a meeting with Uber's lawyers, calling one a "pedophile," "rapist" and "scumbag," among other vulgar insults, according to a stipulation.

  • iStock-1160442159-insider-trading.jpg

    Ex-Wachtell Lipton Atty Tied To Stolen BigLaw Info Trades

    A former Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz attorney who later worked for investment bank LionTree LLC is an unindicted co-conspirator in a sweeping alleged insider trading scheme that involved stolen information from several prominent law firms, according to a review of publicly available information.

  • WARSAW-BRANDS_DAILY-LIFE_56314.jpg

    DLA Piper Accused Of 'Frivolous' Suit To Please Chipotle GC

    DLA Piper aggressively litigated a "frivolous" computer fraud lawsuit against a nonprofit volunteer in order to appease the then-general counsel of Chipotle, a client, who referred the case to the firm, according to a malicious-prosecution complaint filed Thursday in California state court. 

  • LegalLions.png

    Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

    The National Immigrant Justice Center and the American Civil Liberties Union lead this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after a split Seventh Circuit panel rejected the Trump administration's argument that immigrants unlawfully in the United States have no due process rights.

Can't find the article you're looking for? Click here to search the California Pulse archive.

Expert Analysis

  • Roundup

    Legal Tech Talks Author Photo

    Company founders, attorneys and other professionals working in the legal tech space share their journeys into the industry, challenges they face when working with law firms and legal departments, and common misconceptions about technology.

  • 4 Tips For Attys To Turn An Interim Job Into A Long-Term Role Author Photo

    As some attorneys seek interim roles amid economic uncertainty, big-picture thinking and a few proactive steps can help to turn those short-term assignments into long-term positions, says Amy Vanderhoof at Major Lindsey.

  • The Augmented Lawyer: AI Exercises For Junior Attorneys Author Photo

    As artificial intelligence tools become increasingly adept at handling entry-level legal tasks, firms and organizations must consider new ways to train and mentor junior attorneys to prepare them for leadership in an AI-integrated profession, say attorneys at KXT Law.

  • Series

    Biz Development Tip Of The Month: Embrace LinkedIn Author Photo

    Attorneys who recognize LinkedIn as a powerful professional platform can gain significant competitive advantages in business development via strategic content creation, meaningful industry discussions and consistent visibility within target markets, says Agatha Mouillet at Horvitz & Levy.

  • Guidance For Attorneys As Tariffs Reshape Legal Hiring Author Photo

    As law firms and in-house legal departments grapple with the uncertainty of evolving tariff policies, attorneys at all career stages should consider how to lean into these shifts to best position themselves for long-term opportunities, says Rena Barnett-Matthews at Attorney Career Coach.

  • How Firms Can Plan For Succession Of Admin Professionals Author Photo

    Many law firms are familiar with the need for attorney succession plans, but it’s also essential to plan for the succession of administrative professionals — from human resources personnel to finance leaders — to ensure continuity of critical day-to-day operations, say Eryn Carter and Travis Armstrong at the Association of Legal Administrators.

  • Series

    Expanding The Reach Of A Legal Nonprofit Author Photo

    I co-founded the Legal Mentor Network with the goal of providing free legal mentoring to law students and early career attorneys, and the experience has highlighted how nonprofits can grow with the help of strong sponsorships and volunteers who all operate from a positive place, says Chrystal Mauro at the Legal Mentor Network.

  • How 1Ls Can Plan For Sped-Up Summer Associate Hiring Author Photo

    The ever-earlier recruiting of summer associates sets high stakes before new law students may even realize, but 1Ls can better land a good 2L summer fit if they hit their first semester focused on the hiring timeline and ready to ask important questions about their would-be firms, says Kate Reder Sheikh at Major Lindsey.

  • How GCs Can Help Build A Geopolitical Command Center Author Photo

    In the face of sustained regulatory and economic uncertainty, general counsel can help businesses move from reactive to proactive management by building a clear, cross-functional geopolitical command center that monitors and coordinates responses to a wide spectrum of issues, says Lars Faeste at FTI Consulting.

  • For Some Lawyers, Building A New Practice Makes Perfect Author Photo

    Leaving an established law firm to start a boutique business of your own requires not only vision and resilience but also a solid business plan to help mitigate risks and increase your chances of unparalleled personal and professional success, says Rebecca Palmer at the Rebecca L. Palmer Law Group.

  • Beyond Billable Hours: The Unseen Labor Of Women In Law Author Photo

    The legal profession has a critical role to play in reducing attrition of women lawyers by addressing the disproportionate burden of the mental load — the often-unseen work of managing tasks and anticipating needs in both personal and professional realms, says Michelle Browning-Coughlin at Northern Kentucky University’s Chase College of Law.

  • 10 Key Strategies For Successful Lateral Partner Integration Author Photo

    To help ensure new partners and practice groups are successfully integrated, firms should embrace specific structured practices that recognize each lateral's distinct value, personalize their integration plans and proactively address transition complexities long after onboarding ends, say Elizabeth Kennedy at NewEdge BD and Erika Steinberg at CMO2Go.

  • How Firms Can Manage DEI Commitments Amid Headwinds Author Photo

    By recalibrating how they structure and communicate their inclusion efforts, law firms can reduce legal exposure and preserve their values, says Angela Vallot at VallotKarp Consulting.

  • Key Ingredients For Effective Law Firm Strategic Planning Author Photo

    As the legal industry faces political turmoil and economic uncertainty, the time is ripe for firms to revisit their strategic plans, ensuring they contain a few essential elements — from accountability systems to broad-based input — to achieve sustainable growth and profitability, says Joe Calve at Calve Communications.

  • AI-Powered Biz Development Can Democratize Rainmaking Author Photo

    As fluency in artificial intelligence becomes a competitive imperative in the legal industry, the next generation of rainmakers likely won’t be defined by their Rolodexes or club memberships, but by their ability to leverage AI business development tools effectively, says Jessica Aries at By Aries.

×

Law360

Law360 Law360 UK Law360 Tax Authority Law360 Employment Authority Law360 Insurance Authority Law360 Real Estate Authority Law360 Healthcare Authority Law360 Bankruptcy Authority

Rankings

NEWLeaderboard Analytics Social Impact Leaders Prestige Leaders Pulse Leaderboard Women in Law Report Law360 400 Diversity Snapshot Rising Stars Summer Associates

National Sections

Modern Lawyer Courts Daily Litigation In-House Mid-Law Legal Tech & AI Small Law Insights

Regional Sections

California Pulse Connecticut Pulse DC Pulse Delaware Pulse Florida Pulse Georgia Pulse New Jersey Pulse New York Pulse Pennsylvania Pulse Texas Pulse

Site Menu

Subscribe Advanced Search About Contact