California Pulse


  • 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.

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    $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.

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    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.

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    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.

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    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.

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    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.

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    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.

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    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.

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    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.

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    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."

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    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.

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    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.

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    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.

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    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.

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    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.

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    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.

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    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.

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    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. 

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    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.

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    Law360 Pulse Spotlight On Mid-Law Work

    Best Best & Krieger's work on a $466 million water infrastructure project leads this edition of Law360 Pulse's Spotlight On Mid-Law Work, recapping the top matters for Mid-Law firms from April 24 to May 8.

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    Legal Industry Bounces Back, Gaining 2,400 Jobs In April

    The legal sector is once again on a positive trajectory, gaining 2,400 jobs last month, according to seasonally adjusted data released Friday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Expert Analysis

  • Law And Disorder: How To Tackle A Key Burnout Syndrome Author Photo

    Impostor syndrome prevails as a main root cause of attorney burnout, but sufferers can equip themselves with a series of practice tips that build confidence through evidence, not emotion, to address the mindset behind this damaging condition, says Jonathan Cohen at PNY.

  • What GCs Value Most: 7 Ways To Build Client Relationships Author Photo

    Today's general counsel expect outside lawyers to show interest, relevance and value long before there is a live matter to address, including by engaging with attorneys at every level of the company and dispensing free advice thoughtfully, says Andrew Dick at The L Suite.

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    Biz Development Tip Of The Month: Start Early In Your Career Author Photo

    Having the courage to embark on your legal business development strategy early in your career allows you to sooner reap the rewards of a strong network, which in turn can increase the momentum of referrals over the course of your career, says Kristin Housh at Sheppard Mullin.

  • Enthusiasm Is Legal Leadership Differentiator In AI Era Author Photo

    As the legal profession navigates changes driven by artificial intelligence and broader pressures, leaders should consider behavioral research-backed strategies to translate enthusiasm into tangible results for team performance, say attorneys at King & Spalding.

  • Weighing Opportunities, Risks Of PE Investment In Law Firms Author Photo

    Though law firms and private equity firms appear to be strange bedfellows, such combinations may offer opportunities for ailing midsize firms — which must be weighed against risks to culture, brand and growth prospects, say directors at FTI Consulting.

  • 3 Forces Reshaping The Legal Buyer-Seller Relationship Author Photo

    This year's Buying Legal Council Conference highlighted three emerging forces in how buyers and sellers operate in the legal ecosystem — artificial intelligence, data and preferred panels — and organizations would be well advised to combine them into an integrated framework for transparency, performance and collaboration, says Matthew Prinn at RFP Advisory Group.

  • 5 Steps For GCs To Drive Generative AI Experimentation Author Photo

    As legal departments face mounting pressure to do more with less, general counsel should lead a structured process for adopting generative artificial intelligence tools to transform productivity, manage risk and align with enterprise priorities, says Maesea McCalpin at Gartner.

  • How Attys Can DIY Their Own System For Professional Growth Author Photo

    Amid law firm layoffs of business development staff, lawyers cannot depend solely on their firms to foster their professional growth, and must instead create their own initiatives for building community, says Lana Manganiello at Practice Growth Partner.

  • The Augmented Lawyer: In-House, Outside Counsel AI Collabs Author Photo

    As artificial intelligence changes the dynamic between in-house and outside counsel, both internal and external legal teams must thoughtfully reimagine how to mutually leverage AI tools to collaborate and deliver successful outcomes, say Karineh Khachatourian at KXT Law and Diane Honda at Redis.

  • Ask A Mentor: How Do I Adjust To In-House After BigLaw? Author Photo

    Sirisha Gummaregula at QuisLex offers advice on navigating the challenges that come with taking on an in-house counsel role after leaving law firm life, including learning your company's business goals and leading with empathy and collaboration.

  • Adapting Legal Thought Leadership To An AI World Author Photo

    As potential clients with legal questions increasingly rely on summaries generated by artificial intelligence, attorneys must rethink their content strategy to make sure AI chatbots and search overviews cite their thought leadership, say Ioana Good and Adrien Maines at Promova and Nancy Myrland at Myrland Marketing.

  • 10 Practical Tips For Attorneys Navigating High-Profile Cases Author Photo

    Complex corporate litigation now often unfolds under the glare of a parallel trial in the court of public opinion, requiring attorneys to adopt a cohesive strategy for legal filings, leadership communications and narrative control, says Monica Smith at Integer PR.

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    Biz Development Tip Of The Month: Tailor Your Personal Style Author Photo

    In an industry where competition for clients is fierce, a thoughtful approach to personal style can give you the confidence to walk into any room and own it, the magnetism to make connections that matter, and the tools to highlight your deeper professional values, says Leslie Berkoff at Moritt Hock.

  • 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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