California Pulse


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    Law Firms Rework Talent And Knowledge Plans For AI Era

    Law firms are preparing for a new artificial intelligence-driven future, with leaders adjusting talent and institutional knowledge strategies to make the most of new technologies.

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    Law Firms Are Behind Trophy Leasing Momentum

    Law firms made up nearly 22% of all leases in the premium U.S. office market above $100 per square foot in the first quarter of 2026, according to a recent report from real estate brokerage firm Jones Lang LaSalle Inc.

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    Debevoise Names 16 New Partners As London, NY Dominate

    Debevoise & Plimpton LLP said Thursday that it is elevating 16 lawyers to its partnership, with London and New York accounting for most of the U.S. firm's promotions round.

  • Blank Rome Adds 2 Infrastructure Pros To LA Office

    Blank Rome LLP has hired two attorneys from Norton Rose Fulbright and Nossaman LLP as partners for its real estate team in Los Angeles, the firm announced Tuesday.

  • Hagens Berman Says Apple Smear Job Can't Stop Withdrawal

    Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP urged a California federal judge to allow one of its named plaintiffs to withdraw from an Apple iCloud antitrust case, saying Apple Inc.'s filed opposition is rife with "misdirection and ad hominem" attacks and not about the merits of the dispute but "smearing opposing counsel."

  • LA Judge Who Told Juror To 'Learn English' Gets Disciplined

    A judicial ethics panel has admonished a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge over her comments to two prospective jurors that they should "learn English" and that they're "not doing anything in our society," finding the remarks amounted to misconduct that undermined public confidence in the judicial system's integrity and impartiality.

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    Atty Withdrawals Not Limited To Fee Conflicts, ABA Says

    Lawyers whose clients fail to hold up their end of valid engagement agreements are clear to cease their representation, so long as certain criteria are met, according to the American Bar Association's ethics committee's latest guidance, published Wednesday.

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    Goodwin Adds Another Jones Day Atty To Newest Calif. Office

    Goodwin Procter LLP announced on Tuesday that it has brought a former Jones Day lawyer to its newest office on the West Coast.

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    Michael Best Taps Jones Lang LaSalle Exec For COO Role

    Michael Best & Friedrich LLP has welcomed a new chief operating officer from real estate brokerage firm Jones Lang LaSalle Inc., where he held senior chief operating officer and strategic leadership roles.

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    Seyfarth Brings On Former Husch Blackwell Litigator In LA

    Seyfarth Shaw LLP has added a former Husch Blackwell partner in its downtown Los Angeles office.

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    How AI Is Reshaping The Balance Between Firms And Clients

    As artificial intelligence tools speed up some legal work, a panel of experts on Wednesday demonstrated that there is some agreement between law firms and clients on new billing practices and whether AI will replace lawyers.

  • Quinn Emanuel Owes More Sanctions In Guardant Fight

    Quinn Emanuel and its team representing medical testing company Natera will shoulder further sanctions on top of the $3 million already imposed over the firm's misrepresentations concerning an expert witness in Guardant Health's false advertising case, a California federal judge ruled Tuesday.

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    Gibson Dunn IP Litigator Jumps to Latham & Watkins In SF

    Latham & Watkins LLP announced Tuesday that it has landed a first-chair trial lawyer from Gibson Dunn who is skilled in high-stakes intellectual property litigation across the technology sector.

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    Big Tech Draws Investor Fire Over AI Climate, Data Risks

    Though business adversaries at times, some activist shareholders share at least one key concern with many general counsel: the growing risk that artificial intelligence poses for companies. 

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    Shhh, What AI? Katyal Talk Shows Tech Potential In Args Prep

    In pulling back the curtain on how he secured a high-stakes U.S. Supreme Court victory, renowned litigator Neal Katyal of Milbank LLP recently confessed to a strategy that many lawyers may be using but don't want to admit: adopting artificial intelligence to detect patterns in court cases and anticipate possible questions from the bench.

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    Winston & Strawn IP Litigator Jumps To Faegre Drinker In SF

    Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP has announced it grew its intellectual property group in San Francisco with a new partner from Winston & Strawn LLP who has a computer engineering background.

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    When Firms Hire Before Grades, What Drives Decisions?

    For some law students, the race for summer associate jobs is ending before their grades are even posted. As firms continue to move hiring earlier, recruiters say decisions are increasingly being made with limited academic information, shifting the focus toward experience, connections and perceived fit.

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    How To Ace Your Summer Associate Gig

    More than 500 law students recently shared their concerns with Law360 about succeeding as summer associates. Here, legal experts offer suggestions on how students can ace their programs this summer.

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    What Students Want In A Summer Associate Job

    Office locations and available practice areas were the top considerations for prospective summer associates, with Kirkland & Ellis LLP retaining its position as the most coveted destination, according to Law360 Pulse's 2026 Summer Associates Survey.

  • Health Co. Wants Kirkland Off IP Case For 'Cardinal Sin'

    A healthcare company suing medical technology company Commure Inc. over alleged trade secret theft has said Kirkland & Ellis LLP should be disqualified from representing Commure because the healthcare company had tried to retain Kirkland prior to filing the suit and shared confidential information before anyone asked who the defendant was going to be.

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    AI Won't Totally Replace Outside Counsel, In-House Leaders Say

    Law360 Pulse asked attendees and speakers at the 2026 CLOC Global Institute in Chicago last week whether in-house legal departments will rely less on outside law firms when they use artificial intelligence tools. Here is what they had to say.

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    Is Social Media Harm The 'New Tobacco' For Mass Torts?

    After a series of early wins for plaintiffs who say they were harmed by social media companies’ addictive platforms, some are drawing similarities to the era of Big Tobacco litigation when the defendants’ pockets were deep and the products appeared ubiquitous, but the possible rewards from the mass tort bar’s foray into the digital realm come with unique challenges.

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    Quinn Emanuel Remembers Harry Olivar After Fatal Crash

    Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP is remembering longtime partner and national securities practice chair Harry A. Olivar Jr., after he and his stepson, David Jackson, died in an automobile accident in central Georgia. Olivar was 62.

  • Calif. Bar Is Latest To Approve 'NextGen' Bar Exam For 2028

    The State Bar of California's board of trustees announced last week that it voted unanimously to adopt the National Conference of Bar Examiners' NextGen Uniform Bar Exam, starting in July 2028, as recommended by the Committee of Bar Examiners, following the calamitous rollout of its own exam last year.

  • Artist's Atty Owes Disney $475K Sanctions In 'Moana' IP Case

    An attorney representing an animator who unsuccessfully alleged that The Walt Disney Co.'s "Moana" lifted his Polynesian adventure story must pay more than $475,000 in sanctions, a California federal judge ruled, saying he "acted recklessly" by pursuing trade secret misappropriation claims premised on a forged document.

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Expert Analysis

  • What GCs Value Most: 7 Tips For Landing The Client Pitch Author Photo

    In today’s competitive legal market, successful attorneys treat the pitch process with general counsel like the beginning of a relationship, not a one-off sale — showing up with curiosity, commercial awareness and the ability to engage in a meaningful way from the start, says Andrew Dick at The L Suite.

  • Making Legal Cents: Strategy That Stays In Motion Author Photo

    Instead of lurching between year-end strategic planning season and springtime panic mode, firms need a framework that helps them identify what clients and the market need throughout the year, and then actually adjust course, says Shireen Hilal at Maior Strategic Consulting.

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    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.

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    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.

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    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.

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