GUEST COLUMNS
Friday, July 1, 2022
At a basic level, we learned online visual meetings can greatly enhance our communications and negotiations.
Patent office issues new guidance on controversial IPR discretionary denials
There will be litigation over when government employees' speech can be prohibited because it is within the scope of their duties and or because it will be perceived as the government's message.
It is a reflection of 19th century values that Fremont was tried and convicted of disobedience, but not of genocide.
The Field case reminds both plaintiffs and defendants that crafting evasive discovery responses can hurt you in the long run – you cannot belatedly add factual claims to create disputed issues of fact at the summary judgment stage
That may seem a laudable way for UC to atone for the facinorous means that, beginning in 1850, the State of California employed to clear the public domain of the Native Americans who had been occupying it.
The 6-3 vote in the West Virginia v. EPA decision marks a significant change in how the federal EPA can exercise power to address climate change, making it clear that without approval from Congress, the agency is limited in how it can set national standards.
Financial plans come in all shapes and sizes, but there are core elements that distinguish those that work best.
Thursday, June 30, 2022
There was a time when it seemed that the avalanche/tidal wave of new asbestos personal injury and death filings in state and federal courts would overwhelm the U.S. legal system.
What we don't yet know is how the law and its requisite training will affect drunk drivers and those injured by them.
U.S. District Judge Denise Cote granted Defendants' motion to dismiss the Complaint on the grounds that the sketches were not "substantially similar."
Wednesday, June 29, 2022
Is California ready for out-of-state indictments of our doctors for providing abortion services to women travelling here from states that have criminalized abortion? We need to focus on our extradition laws, right now.
Beware: having a long period of time between setting up a structure and executing the strategy is no protection from an IRS challenge.
Increasingly, private and public sector economists are warning that a recession looms on the horizon.
Tuesday, June 28, 2022
Increased violence simply hasn't been the result in the 43 states, nor in the two-thirds of California counties where licenses are much more readily available. In fact, violent crime typically goes down in those jurisdictions, as criminals are deterred from confronting victims who might shoot back.
Absent surveys that identify hospital drug acquisition costs, the Department of Health and Human Services has no right to withhold money from rural, low-income based hospitals.
"I managed to get someone who would do it for the money, and who was not a doctor or a nurse, just a stranger," Allred, 80, said. "He did it, and then he left me in a bathtub hemorrhaging in a pool of my own blood."
Monday, June 27, 2022
At the end of the day, this case was not about the policy behind the 340B Drug Pricing Program or the limits of judicial deference to agency interpretation, but rather about recognizing that statutes mean what they say and say what they mean.
Under a novel legal theory, the DOJ has taken the position that, from an antitrust perspective, companies that hire or retain employees are competitors in the labor marketplace regardless of whether they make the same products or compete to provide the same services.
Russian actions are of immense importance to the sustainability of the Arctic. Russia is a coastal state for a major sea route that will soon rival the Suez Canal.
Odds are that two measures to legalize sports betting will appear on November's ballot. That's pared back from earlier this year, when four different initiatives were in play.
The problem is clear — people cannot afford the rents in California — and so is the answer.
As part of the budget's energy package, legislators also are negotiating provisions that would prolong use of four natural-gas power plants that are now scheduled to begin going offline next year. The closures already were delayed by state officials by three years.
The state's power grid — marred by outages in previous years and increasingly extreme weather — needs massive investments to attain the clean-energy future outlined in California's five-year climate roadmap.
The recall effort was driven in part by disagreement over how to handle admissions at Lowell High School, an elite public school that for decades accepted students primarily based on high test scores and grades.
Thursday, June 23, 2022
You must also assume the auditor is the Lord Almighty. If you do not believe in the Lord Almighty, substitute the phrase "an omnipotent, omniscient ruler of the universe."
According to a March 2021 report on student parents from the Institute for Women's Policy Research, what Machado experienced is common and is known as "time poverty."
In 2019, the Center for International Environmental Law estimated the production and end-of-life management of plastics globally contributes the equivalent of 850 million metric tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere annually.
In Novartis Pharmaceuticals v. Accord Healthcare, HEC Pharm appealed the district court finding that the negative claim limitation "absent an immediately preceding loading dose" in U.S. Patent No. 9,187,405 satisfies the written description requirement of 35 U.S.C. § 112(a).
Wednesday, June 22, 2022
Three recent cases have affirmed coverage where a vendor has been impersonated and as a result the company sustained a loss.
One of the most daunting issues for non-citizens seeking to become permanent residents or green card holders has been: whether the applicant "is likely to become a public charge."
It is a common misconception that someone who submits a complaint to the Commission on Judicial Performance must maintain confidentiality of the complaint and any ensuing CJP investigation. Nothing in the CJP's rules requires such confidentiality.
Changes loom if Manhattan Beach residents approve an initiative this fall to allow as many as two licensed cannabis businesses.
It might sound like Amsterdam, but these businesses appear to be part of the next wave of California's weed industry, which four years after legalization is still looking for ways to compete with the state's huge illegal pot market.
Tuesday, June 21, 2022
In the hands of the right producer, it would garner Oscars, a legacy and big bucks.
Lawyers who file such suits seek to expand opportunities for litigation, often in concert with other interests, such as unions and environmental activists.
In Norway, by contrast, recidivism is down from 60%-70% in the 1980s to about 20% today. The country credits the change to reforms that prioritize rehabilitation over punishment — and to its guiding question on prison policy: When prisoners are released, what kind of neighbor does society want them to be?
Monday, June 20, 2022
If you are behind in taxes, or especially if you are crying poor to the IRS, watch out.
PAGA has long been exploited by money-hungry trial attorneys to the detriment of California's business owners.
Lawmakers are proposing creating a billion-dollar fund in this year's state budget that would provide California's first-time buyers either all of the money they need for a down payment, or very close to it, in exchange for partial ownership stakes in those residences.
Friday, June 17, 2022
Given the history of United States Supreme Court decisions on arbitration generally, and of this one in particular, it seems fair to say that the story of PAGA is far from over.
Readers should consider the consequences when asked to support efforts to ban neonicotinoid pesticides such as Imidacloprid.
School Meals For All, which Gov. Gavin Newsom championed in the budget since its inception, in concert with state Sen. Nancy Skinner's legislative proposal, is the largest free-meals program in the country, providing breakfast and lunch for 5.9 million students — many of whom depend on school food for the bulk of their nutrition, regardless of income.
If you're providing support to aging parents – or plan to in the future – here is some advice on how to handle the situation and prepare for what's to come.
Thursday, June 16, 2022
The challenge now is one of stemming the tide and reversing the growing public perception that SCOTUS no longer commands respectful observance of its decisions because it has become little more than a group of "political hacks in black robes."
The Ninth Circuit recently tackled this issue in AK Futures LLC v. Boyd Street Distro, LLC (decided May 19, 2022), a case that involved e-cigarette and vaping products derived from cannabis.
Wednesday, June 15, 2022
Jurisdictions are substantially consistent that current patent laws allow only natural persons as inventors. However, no jurisdiction has stated that AI inventors are forever banned. Current patent laws are not ready for artificial inventors because there are many legal issues to address, including assignments, declarations, fraud, and misrepresentation.
The average Californian used 83 gallons of water per day in April, compared with 73 in April 2020.
Tuesday, June 14, 2022
To the extent the Great Reshuffling continues, there are likely to be more challenges raised to restrictive covenants, and more efforts made to avoid them.
Against the backdrop of a lingering pandemic and a jammed court system, California's civil trial lawyers harness their creativity to enhance their potential to secure favorable results for construction injury claims.
Air Board Chair Liane Randolph asked staff to find more strategies to ensure that the state's proposed mandate includes strong equity measures so that low-income residents face fewer barriers buying electric cars.
Monday, June 13, 2022
It's hard to consider Depp's defamation of Heard (which was actually done by Depp's lawyer) as business-related. If a payment is personal – even a big payment to settle a lawsuit – it is not tax deductible.
Now, the California rule rests on a shaky frame: The leading California case, St. Agnes, extols the United States Supreme Court's reliance on prejudice for determining whether there has been a waiver. And now the United States Supreme Court has rejected the prejudice analysis referenced in St. Agnes. So it is termites all the way down.
It may seem odd to think about retirement savings when your child could still be wearing braces.
Friday, June 10, 2022
A full workday would remain eight hours, and employers would have to pay overtime to employees working longer than four full days.
This decision dramatically increases the value of meal and rest period claims in class actions and representative actions under the Private Attorneys General Act of 2004 (PAGA).
If you are set to receive money or other assets from a loved one who has passed away, you may benefit from the counsel of a financial advisor, estate attorney and tax expert who can help you determine the best course of action to wisely manage the gift you've been given. Here are some factors you might want to consider with their help.
The cutbacks, announced Tuesday by the State Water Resources Control Board, will affect about 4,500 water rights in the Delta watershed, including 400 or more held by 212 public water systems, beginning Wednesday.
Thursday, June 9, 2022
Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America's website says that 62% of service members discharged for misconduct in recent years had a mental health diagnosis.
The fact that it was largely women who stepped up to pick up the slack should surprise no one. For years, women have taken on the extra burdens associated with keeping their families functioning – even as they have balanced their own professional obligations.
The religious roots of the anti-abortion laws have been mentioned by our courts, but they have not been fully confronted. The fact is that the notion of protecting "potential life" is a religious idea – not a secular one.
Design patents protect only the appearance of the article, not any aspect of functionality.
Bonta, a progressive Democrat appointed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, will likely face off in the November general election against one of two Republicans: Nathan Hochman, a former federal prosecutor who had 18%, or Eric Early, a lawyer to the right of Hochman with 16% of the vote.
Wednesday, June 8, 2022
Although we don't often associate climate change with buildings and construction, they are responsible for almost 40% of global energy-related carbon emissions, according to the United Nations. About 30% of these emissions come from building operations (primarily heating, cooling and lighting), and another 11% is "embodied" carbon, or carbon released during the construction process itself.
Plaintiff lawyers can actually use a benefit most other people – including other lawyers – can't: structured legal fees. Reduced to simplicity, the concept of a legal fee structure is a kind of tax-advantaged installment plan that doesn't rely on the credit worthiness of the defendant or the client.
Tuesday, June 7, 2022
These decisions will likely bring most SEC administrative proceedings to a screeching halt, at least in the Fifth Circuit.
A power struggle pits one faction of Democrats against another and, like any family feud, brings out the worst in everyone, rupturing the façade of camaraderie that politicians prefer to present — which is why it's so much fun to watch.
New York Times News Service
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifies via videoconference before a hearing of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust in Washington, D.C. Wednesday.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifies via videoconference before a hearing of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust in Washington, D.C. Wednesday.
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