California Pulse


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    Data Center Power Co. Names GC To Oversee Real Estate

    Data center infrastructure company Crusoe Inc. said Wednesday that it has added the managing partner of a boutique California business law firm as its general counsel.

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    Crowell & Moring Atty Named CLO For Agentic AI Defense Co.

    Vannevar, a company that builds artificial intelligence agents for national security missions, has hired an experienced government contracts attorney from Crowell & Moring LLP as its legal leader.

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    Baker Botts' Record Hiring Builds On Strengths, Leader Says

    With the 2025 addition of the most lateral partners in a single year in firm history, Baker Botts LLP is pursuing a strategy its leader said is designed to build "strength on strength" and bulk up practice areas where the firm has "true market edge."

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    From Judge To Neutral: Losing Power Of 'Robe,' Gaining Time

    In this first of a two-part series, 10 former California federal and state judges discuss their adjustment from the bench to working as neutrals, a transition that comes with losing the prestige of the "robe" but provides more time for cases.

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    Sony Pictures Elevates Atty Who Led CBS Litigation

    Sony Pictures Entertainment has promoted one of its in-house attorneys, who recently drove the litigation behind the settlement with CBS regarding the syndicated distribution of "Jeopardy!" and "Wheel of Fortune," to executive vice president of global litigation, the entertainment giant exclusively told Law360 Pulse on Wednesday.

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    Cozen O'Connor Brings On Ex-Federal Prosecutor In LA

    Cozen O'Connor is expanding its West Coast team, bringing in a former assistant U.S. attorney as a member in its Los Angeles area offices.

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    LA Judge Faces Ethics Probe Over 'Bizarre' Comments

    California's judicial ethics watchdog announced Tuesday it is looking into misconduct allegations against a Los Angeles judge whose "extreme and bizarre" comments led a state appeals court to reverse a $10 million sexual harassment verdict.

  • Lyft's 'Priority Pickup' Service Fails to Deliver, Suit Says

    Lyft tells passengers they can get a faster pickup for a premium price but frequently fails to deliver on that promise, a customer says in a proposed consumer class action filed Tuesday in California federal court.

  • Willkie Accused Of Aiding $735M Fraud In Buyout Deal

    Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP on Tuesday was accused of aiding a $735 million fraud carried out by an investment manager to secure financing for a 2023 take-private transaction involving Franchise Group Inc., which was then used to pay off the manager's personal debts.

  • Orrick Expands IP Team With Cadwalader, Kirkland Litigators

    Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP has beefed up its intellectual property litigation team with three new partners experienced in counseling technology and life sciences clients, adding two former Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft LLP litigators in New York and a former Kirkland & Ellis LLP partner in Los Angeles.

  • Plaintiffs Atty Who Disclosed Uber MDL Docs On 'Thin Ice'

    A California federal magistrate judge warned plaintiffs attorney Bret Stanley of Johnson Law Group during a hearing Tuesday that he's on "thin ice" after Uber argued he should be sanctioned for allegedly repeatedly using discovery in multidistrict litigation over sexual assault liability to litigate other cases against Uber.

  • Law360 Names Firms Of The Year

    Eight law firms have earned spots as Law360's Firms of the Year, with 48 Practice Group of the Year awards among them, achieving milestones such as high-profile litigation wins at the U.S. Supreme Court and 11-figure merger deals.

  • 9th Circ. Revives Malpractice Suit Against Bankruptcy Atty

    The Ninth Circuit Tuesday reinstated a California woman's malpractice lawsuit against her bankruptcy attorney, but said the bankruptcy court needs to significantly narrow the permission to sue it granted to the debtor.

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    Stranch Jennings Opens In Calif. With Bleichmar Fonti Team

    Nashville-based firm Stranch Jennings & Garvey PLLC has launched an office in Oakland, California, with a nine-attorney team from another plaintiffs' class action firm, Bleichmar Fonti & Auld LLP.

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    Massumi & Consoli Lands M&A Pro In Los Angeles

    Massumi & Consoli LLP announced Monday that it has added an attorney who previously operated his own talent management business for athletes and also spent time at Paul Hastings LLP and Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP to enhance its capacity to handle mergers and acquisitions.

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    Womble Bond's Consumer Finance Team Eyes Growth

    Womble Bond Dickinson has added a 36-person consumer financial services team from McGlinchey Stafford PLLC led by Cleveland partner Mark Edelman. Law360 Pulse talked with Edelman about why his team made the move.

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    Private Equity Eyes Legal Field As Alternative Paths Open Up

    This could be the year that private equity finally cracks the ramparts of the U.S. legal sector, as the rise of alternative business structure programs and managed services organizations chip away at the long-standing ban on nonlawyer ownership of law firms.

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    Law360 Names Practice Groups Of The Year

    Law360 would like to congratulate the winners of its Practice Groups of the Year awards for 2025, which honor the attorney teams behind litigation wins and significant transaction work that resonated throughout the legal industry this past year.

  • Littler Adds Epstein Becker Employment Litigator In Calif.

    Littler Mendelson PC announced that an attorney from Epstein Becker Green is joining its Century City, California, office as a shareholder, bringing a wealth of experience in employment law. 

  • Calif. Atty Wins Fee Appeal In Dispute With Ex-Firm

    A California appellate panel on Thursday approved an attorney fee award for a lawyer in dispute with his former firm but also denied that attorney's attempt to get attorney fees for a post-arbitration hearing.

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    Boutiques Loomed Large In Latest Bonus Season

    Sometimes referred to as the BigLaw bonus scale, year-end associate bonuses of more than $100,000 have included prestigious boutique law firms in recent years, with a notable outpouring of large bonuses among such firms in 2025, an analysis of data compiled by Law360 Pulse shows.

  • Law360 Pulse Spotlight On Mid-Law Work

    Kellogg Hansen's handling of an antitrust suit against Google and Choate's work on a $215 million acquisition of a medical device maker lead this edition of Law360 Pulse's Spotlight on Mid-Law Work, recapping the top matters for Mid-Law firms from Jan. 2 to 16.

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    Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

    Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz and Sher Tremonte LLP lead this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after the Second Circuit upheld a ruling requiring Getty Images to pay out nearly $88 million to investors who said they were blocked from purchasing shares in the company once it became public.

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    Do's And Don'ts For How To Handle That Year-End Bonus

    While associates' bank accounts may be flush after the recent round of year-end bonuses at many of the country's top firms, whether the money leads to additional benefits or problems hinges on how attorneys handle the influx of cash, financial experts tell Law360 Pulse.

  • Voir Dire: Law360 Pulse's Weekly Quiz

    The legal industry had another action-packed week with more lateral moves, leadership changes and C-suite promotions. Test your legal news savvy here with Law360 Pulse's weekly quiz.

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Expert Analysis

  • Modernizing Legal Education Through Hybrid JD Programs Author Photo

    Amid pandemic-era shifts in education, law schools and other stakeholders should consider the wide geographic and demographic reach of Juris Doctor programs with both online and in-person learning options, and educators should think through the various ways hybrid programs can be structured, says Stephen Burnett at All Campus.

  • How BigLaw Can Mirror Small Firm Attorney Engagement Author Photo

    BigLaw has the unique opportunity to hit refresh post-pandemic and enhance attorney satisfaction by adopting practices that smaller firms naturally employ — including work assignment policies that can provide junior attorneys steady professional development, says Michelle Genet Bernstein at Mark Migdal.

  • Ditch The Annual Review To Boost Attorney Job Satisfaction Author Photo

    In order to attract and retain the rising millennial generation's star talent, law firms should break free of the annual review system and train lawyers of all seniority levels to solicit and share frequent and informal feedback, says Betsy Miller at Cohen Milstein.

  • How Attorneys Can Narrow LGBTQ Gap In The Judiciary Author Photo

    Lawyers can take several steps to redress the lack of adequate LGBTQ representation on the bench and its devastating impact on litigants and counsel in the community, says Janice Grubin, co-chair of the Judiciary Committee at the LGBT Bar Association of Greater New York.

  • Employers Must Heed Rising Attorney Stress And Alcohol Use Author Photo

    Krill Strategies’ Patrick Krill, who co-authored a new study that revealed alarming levels of stress, hazardous drinking and associated gender disparities among practicing attorneys, highlights how legal employers can confront the underlying risk factors as both warnings and opportunities in the post-COVID-19 era.

  • Lawyers Can Get Ready For Space Law To Take Flight Author Photo

    While international agreements for space law have remained relatively unchanged since their creation decades ago, the rapid pace of change in U.S. laws and policies is creating opportunities for both new and veteran lawyers looking to break into this exciting realm, in either the private sector or government, says Michael Dodge at the University of North Dakota.

  • Series

    Ask A Mentor: What Makes A Successful Summer Associate? Author Photo

    Navigating a few densely packed weeks at a law firm can be daunting for summer associates, but those who are prepared to seize opportunities and not afraid to ask questions will be set up for success, says Julie Crisp at Latham.

  • How To Successfully Market Your Summer Associate Program Author Photo

    Law firms can attract the right summer associate candidates and help students see what makes a program unique by using carefully crafted messaging and choosing the best ambassadors to deliver it, says Tamara McClatchey, director of career services at the University of Chicago Law School.

  • Opinion

    Judges Deserve Congress' Commitment To Their Safety Author Photo

    Following the tragic attack on U.S. District Judge Esther Salas' family last summer and amid rising threats against the judiciary, legislation protecting federal judges' personal information and enhancing security measures at courthouses is urgently needed, says U.S. District Judge Roslynn Mauskopf, director of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.

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    Ask A Mentor: How Can Recalcitrant Attys Use Social Media? Author Photo

    Social media can be intimidating for reluctant lawyers but it can also be richly rewarding, as long as attorneys remember that professional accounts will always reflect on their firms and colleagues, and follow some best practices to avoid embarrassment, says Sean Marotta at Hogan Lovells.

  • Keys To Digitizing Inefficient Contract Management Processes Author Photo

    Neville Eisenberg and Mark Grayson at BCLP explain how they sped up contract execution for one client by replacing email with a centralized, digital tool for negotiations and review, and how the principles they adhered to can be helpful for other law firms looking to improve poorly managed contract management processes.

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    Ask A Mentor: How Can Firms Coach Associates Remotely? Author Photo

    Practicing law through virtual platforms will likely persist even after the pandemic, so law firms and senior lawyers should consider refurbishing their associate mentoring programs to facilitate personal connections, professionalism and effective training in a remote environment, says Carol Goodman at Herrick Feinstein.

  • How Law Firms Can Welcome And Celebrate Autistic Lawyers Author Photo

    As the U.S. observes Autism Acceptance Month, autistic attorney Haley Moss describes the societal barriers and stereotypes that keep neurodivergent lawyers from disclosing their disabilities, and how law firms can better accommodate and level the playing field for attorneys whose minds work outside of the prescribed norm.

  • Law Firm Tips For Evaluating AI And Machine Learning Tools Author Photo

    Many legal technology vendors now sell artificial intelligence and machine learning tools at a premium price tag, but law firms must take the time to properly evaluate them as not all offerings generate process efficiencies or even use the technologies advertised, says Steven Magnuson at Ballard Spahr.

  • A Call For Personal Accountability On Diversity And Inclusion Author Photo

    While chief legal officers are increasingly involved in creating corporate diversity, inclusion and anti-bigotry policies, all lawyers have a responsibility to be discrimination busters and bias interrupters regardless of the title they hold, says Veta T. Richardson at the Association of Corporate Counsel.

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