California Pulse


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    This Pride Month, LGBTQ+ Bar Leader Talks Community, Hope

    In 2026, the LGBTQ+ Bar is focused on expanding programs, especially those focused on law students and younger attorneys, and building up community ties at a time of growing legal threats to LGBTQ people.

  • Voir Dire: Law360 Pulse's Weekly Quiz

    The summer wind brought in another busy week for the legal industry as firms expanded their practices and doled out extra cash for attorneys. Test your legal news savvy here with Law360 Pulse's weekly quiz.

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    Webcor Promotes General Counsel To EVP, CLO

    Commercial general contractor Webcor announced Thursday that it has tapped its general counsel to take on the role of executive vice president and chief legal officer.

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    Groombridge Wu Tops Milbank Pay Scale For Associates

    Groombridge Wu Baughman & Stone LLP is the latest firm to top the pay scale for associates announced earlier this month by Milbank LLP, with attorneys set to earn as much as $470,000.

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    Sidley Grows In Calif. With Life Sciences, Emerging Cos. Hires

    Sidley Austin LLP announced three partner hires in California, which the firm said will enhance its capabilities in the life sciences and emerging companies and venture capital practices.

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    Sex Abuse, Wages, Wildfires Drive Complex Case Spike In LA

    What constitutes complex civil litigation is undergoing a "dramatic transformation" in Los Angeles, where cases involving sexual abuse and the Catholic Church, novel employment issues and recent wildfires are driving a surge in complicated disputes, according to a new report.

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    Can BigLaw Find 'More Thoughtful' Approach To 1L Stipends?

    Large law firms experienced public pushback this spring after implementing new stipend programs for prospective summer associates who choose to take on public interest work after their first year of law school. However, it's unclear whether firms will be moved by the criticism.

  • Senate Confirming Judges Faster Than In Trump's 1st Term

    The Senate has confirmed 45 judges in the second Trump term, outpacing the rate of his first administration, Senate Republicans announced on Thursday.

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    Adobe Hires PayPal Atty As VP Of Corp. Legal

    An in-house attorney of more than a decade at PayPal has joined Adobe Inc. as vice president of corporate legal, according to an announcement on social media from a senior lawyer at the software giant.

  • Legal Tech Co. Sues US Over Anthropic AI Shutdown Order

    Legal tech company Legion has sued the U.S. government in D.C. federal court over a directive ordering Anthropic to shut down two of its advanced AI models to foreigners, alleging the move caused the company to lose access to one of the models that powers its platform.

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    AAA Rolls Out Protocol For AI Agent Transactions

    The American Arbitration Association launched an open-source method on Wednesday for attaching legal terms to transactions brokered by artificial intelligence agents, saying most agent-to-agent transactions currently lack verifiable terms and are unclear about which jurisdiction's law governs.

  • Baker McKenzie Partner Class Dips To 47 Attys

    Baker McKenzie has promoted a smaller-than-usual partner class of 47 attorneys, according to an announcement from the firm on Tuesday.

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    How Empathy Can Make Associates Better Lawyers

    As associates navigate a legal industry increasingly dominated by artificial intelligence and related technology that makes information more readily available than ever before, developing empathy will be increasingly crucial, legal experts tell Law360 Pulse.

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    How Associates Can Maximize Their New Pay Raises

    For the first time in over two years, many associates have seen their base pay rise by at least $10,000 and some by as much as $45,000 annually. Here's what financial experts say young lawyers should do with the extra income.

  • Calif. Judge Restores Immigration Courthouse Arrest Limits

    A California federal judge Tuesday vacated the Trump administration's policies on civil arrests at immigration courthouses, restoring limits on those arrests and finding that the government didn't adequately explain its policy shift.

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    Arnold & Porter Rehires City Of Hope Deputy GC In LA

    The former deputy general counsel of litigation at a nonprofit cancer research and treatment center has returned to Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP in Los Angeles, as counsel in the firm's complex litigation practice.

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    What Attorneys Really Think About Their Profession

    Law360 Pulse asked attorneys for their thoughts on what being an attorney is actually like — what they love about their job, what they see as the biggest misconceptions about a career in law and what advice they have for new lawyers. Here's what they said.

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    Associates Unhappy Over Leave, Firm Leadership

    Associates are dissatisfied over the lack of transparency at their law firms, what they perceive to be limited opportunities for advancement and how their leaders communicate, Law360 Pulse found in its sixth annual Lawyer Satisfaction Survey.

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    Are Attorneys Happy At Work? Depends Who You Ask

    Most lawyers are satisfied with their careers, but their happiness at work varies depending on their rank, a new Law360 Pulse survey found.

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    Axinn Giving $25K Bonuses As Glenn Agre Matches Milbank

    Glenn Agre Bergman & Fuentes LLP will match the Milbank LLP base pay scale for associates, while Axinn Veltrop & Harkrider LLP — which was already paying above-market salaries — will hand out special summer bonuses of up to $25,000, the boutiques told Law360 Pulse Tuesday.

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    LA Superior Court Gains Prominence With 'Nuclear' Verdicts

    Los Angeles County Superior Court was among the country's top sites for awarding big civil damages in recent years, according to a Lex Machina report.

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    'Rubber-Stamp' Doc Sealing In Federal Civil Cases 'Run Amok'

    Most sealing motions in federal civil litigation are granted, often without proper review, blocking important information from public view, a team of law professors and researchers found in a new study.

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    Broadway Financial Hires Ex-Invesco General Counsel As CLO

    Broadway Financial Corp., the parent company of City First Bank, has found its new legal leader in a financial services veteran who most recently served as general counsel at Invesco Mortgage Capital Inc.

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    Investors Nearly Unanimously Reject Anti-Diversity Proposals

    An anti-diversity proxy campaign has submitted shareholder proposals at almost 90 companies in 2025 and 2026, and so far investors have rejected them almost unanimously two years in a row, according to a new report.

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    Fighting Cyber Threats: What Law Firms Need To Do Now

    Law firms, especially small and midsize ones, are increasingly becoming victims of cyberattacks. Here are some practical tips for firms to thwart cyberattacks and reduce damage when breaches occur.

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Expert Analysis

  • Series

    Ask A Mentor: How Can I Support Gen Z Attorneys? Author Photo

    Meredith Beuchaw at Lowenstein Sandler discusses how senior attorneys can assist the newest generation of attorneys by championing their pursuit of a healthy work-life balance and providing the hands-on mentorship opportunities they missed out on during the pandemic.

  • Law Firm Cybersecurity Should Not Get Lost In The Cloud Author Photo

    A recent data leak at Proskauer via a cloud data storage platform demonstrates key reasons why law firms must pay attention to data safeguarding, including the increasing frequency of cloud-based data breaches and the consequences of breaking client confidentiality, says Robert Kraczek at One Identity.

  • Advice For Summer Associates Uneasy About Offer Prospects Author Photo

    There are a few communication tips that law students in summer associate programs should consider to put themselves in the best possible position to receive an offer, and firms can also take steps to support those to whom they are unable to make an offer, says Amy Mattock at Georgetown University Law Center.

  • How Law Firms Can Cautiously Wield AI To Streamline Tasks Author Photo

    Many attorneys are going to use artificial intelligence tools whether law firms like it or not, so firms should educate them on AI's benefits, limits and practical uses, such as drafting legal documents, to remain competitive in a rapidly evolving legal market, say Thomas Schultz and Eden Bernstein at Kellogg Hansen.

  • Keys To Managing The Stresses Of Law School Author Photo

    Dealing with the pressures associated with law school can prove difficult for many future lawyers, but there are steps students can take to manage stress — and schools can help too, say Ryan Zajic and Dr. Janani Krishnaswami at UWorld.

  • Can Mandatory CLE Mitigate Implicit Bias's Negative Impacts? Author Photo

    Amid ongoing disagreements on whether states should mandate implicit bias training as part of attorneys' continuing legal education requirements, Stephanie Wilson at Reed Smith looks at how unconscious attitudes or stereotypes adversely affect legal practice, and whether mandatory training programs can help.

  • Ditch The Frills And Start Writing Legal Letters In Plain English Author Photo

    To become more effective advocates, lawyers need to rethink the ridiculous, convoluted language they use in correspondence and write letters in a clear, concise and direct manner, says legal writing instructor Stuart Teicher.

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    Ask A Mentor: How Can I Negotiate My Separation Agreement? Author Photo

    Kate Reder Sheikh at Major Lindsey discusses how a law firm associate can navigate being laid off, what to look for in a separation agreement and why to be upfront about it with prospective employers.

  • DoNotPay Cases Underscore Hurdles For AI-Fueled Legal Help Author Photo

    Recent legal challenges against DoNotPay’s "robot lawyer” application highlight pressing questions about the degree to which artificial intelligence can be used for legal tasks while remaining on the right side of both consumer protection laws and prohibitions against the unauthorized practice of law, says Kristen Niven at Frankfurt Kurnit.

  • For The Future Of Legal Practice, Let's Learn From The Past Author Photo

    At some level, every practicing lawyer is experiencing the ever-increasing speed of change — and while some practice management processes have gotten more efficient, other things about the legal profession were better before supposed improvements were made, says Jay Silberblatt, president of the Pennsylvania Bar Association.

  • Why All Law Firms Should Foster Psychological Capital Author Photo

    Law firms will be able to reap great long-term benefits if they adopt strategies to nurture four critical components of their employees' psychological wellness and performance — hope, efficacy, resilience and optimism, says Dennis Stolle at the American Psychological Association.

  • A GC's Guide To Litigation, Inspired By Sun Tzu's 'Art Of War' Author Photo

    With caseloads and spending increasing, in-house counsel might find themselves called to opine on the risks and benefits of litigation more often, and they should look at five Sun Tzu maxims from the ancient Chinese classic "The Art of War" to inform their approach to any suit, says Jeff Golimowski at Womble Bond.

  • Mentorship Is Key To Diversity In The Legal Industry Author Photo

    Not only can effective mentorship have a profound impact on women and people of color entering the legal field, but it also benefits mentors and the legal profession as a whole, creating a true win-win situation for all involved, says Natasha Cortes at Grossman Roth.

  • ChatGPT Is A Cool Trick, But AI Won't Replace Lawyers Author Photo

    Generative AI applications like ChatGPT are unlikely to ever replace attorneys for a variety of practical reasons — but given their practice-enhancing capabilities, lawyers who fail to leverage these tools may be rendered obsolete, says Eran Kahana at Maslon.

  • Pro Bono Work Is Valuable In IP And Continued Learning Author Photo

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's recent elimination of a rule that partially counted pro bono work toward continuing legal education highlights the importance of volunteer work in intellectual property practice and its ties to CLE, and puts a valuable tool for hands-on attorney education in the hands of the states, say Lisa Holubar and Ariel Katz at Irwin.

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