GUEST COLUMNS
Friday, January 16, 2026
For Iranians, U.S. foreign policy isn't just unpredictable--it's dangerous, as shifting statements and unclear signals from Washington can raise hopes, trigger crackdowns and leave people vulnerable.
While FEHA already provides for fee recovery, an offer to compromise remains a powerful, underutilized tool that can bolster plaintiffs' leverage, efficiency and positioning throughout litigation.
Thursday, January 15, 2026
SB 37 redefines "truthful and not misleading" for an era when AI, vendors and influencers often blur the line between real legal advice and digital impersonation.
Five 2025 appellate rulings that trusts and estates practitioners need to know, from reformation petitions and elder abuse liability to demurrer deadlines and will revocation requirements.
Wednesday, January 14, 2026
A series of antitrust defeats has left the NCAA unable to enforce its own eligibility rules, fueling a bidding war for top athletes that threatens to destroy non-revenue sports programs. Federal legislation may be the only way to preserve college athletics.
As multimillion-dollar payouts for police violence, infrastructure failures and civil rights violations surge, California's public liability funds are straining under risks their original designs never envisioned.
Tuesday, January 13, 2026
California's highest court will decide in Bring Back the Kern v. City of Bakersfield whether a statutory duty to protect fish under Fish & Game Code ยงย 5937 must be tied to the Constitution's "reasonable use" requirement before a violation can be found.
In Paglia & Associates Construction
v. Hamilton, a homeowner's critical Yelp reviews and blog posts about her
contractor led to a libel lawsuit. The 2nd District Court of Appeal ruled the
litigation privilege doesn't extend to public social media complaints--only to
communications made within official proceedings.
Monday, January 12, 2026
Federal contractors are supposed to give hiring preferences to veterans, but the Department of Labor lets them off the hook.
After years of attempts, California has amended the Elder Abuse and Dependent Adult Civil Protection Act to let judges lower the evidentiary bar in cases involving spoliation.
Friday, January 9, 2026
California's 2026 carryout bag law closes the thick plastic loophole but still relies on outdated material categories instead of lifecycle performance metrics to guide sustainable packaging policy.
The Trump administration is already deploying GenAI to second-guess physicians' determinations of medical necessity for seniors' treatments, shifting Medicare toward cost-driven care over clinician judgment.
Thursday, January 8, 2026
Britain's control of Iran's oil industry in the 20th century was technically successful but politically catastrophic. The lessons from that failure offer crucial insights for anyone considering U.S. engagement in Venezuela's oil sector today.
The IRS's new Trump Accounts could reshape early-life investing, offering families a flexible, long-term savings tool that blends retirement-style benefits with child-focused incentives.
Wednesday, January 7, 2026
California's bail system crisis isn't the result of recent reforms--it stems from courts refusing to follow constitutional requirements that have existed since 1849.
Netflix's $72 billion bid for Warner Bros. Discovery tests the limits of antitrust enforcement in the streaming era--and reveals how media giants are adapting to regulatory scrutiny.
Tuesday, January 6, 2026
At the intersection of Saticoy Street and Topanga Canyon Boulevard in Canoga Park, a newly rebuilt crosswalk tells a troubling story about how well-intentioned compliance initiatives can quietly make streets less safe.
By declining review in Kennedy
Commission, the California Supreme Court let stand a ruling that sharpens a
pivotal question: how far, and how fast, can the state compel charter city
housing compliance?
Monday, January 5, 2026
Friday, January 2, 2026
As states wage an escalating redistricting arms race, the only way to stop politicians from handpicking their voters is a national ban on partisan gerrymandering that puts independent mapmakers -- not self-interested lawmakers--in charge.
Alford and Pena expose a
split over emergency takings: One court says the Fifth Amendment always
requires compensation, the other leans on history, leaving the Supreme Court to
resolve the clash.
Wednesday, December 31, 2025
Enlarging the House by 150 members and the Senate by 21 could make Congress more representative, reduce district distortion and restore closer connections between lawmakers and constituents.
Witnesses tell your client's story but mishandling them can write them out of your case entirely. From who you can contact to what documents you can accept, here's what California lawyers need to know about witness communication ethics.
Tuesday, December 30, 2025
Constructive receipt determines when income is considered taxable, focusing on whether you have an unrestricted right to payment, even if you don't actually receive it.
Understanding the neutral's perspective can help practitioners achieve better outcomes.
Monday, December 29, 2025
To counterbalance a federal judiciary dominated by former executive branch lawyers who defer to presidential power, the Senate should require that for every judge nominated with senior executive experience, another must have substantive legislative branch experience.
Combat veterans carry invisible battlefields of trauma; while the justice system once punished their symptoms, veteran treatment courts now prioritize healing, restore dignity, reduce recidivism and offer paths to redemption.
Friday, December 26, 2025
As the Supreme Court moves to expand presidential power by subordinating independent agencies to executive prerogatives, a proposed statute would restore congressional authority by creating expert advisory agencies that develop bipartisan legislation for fast-track congressional votes.
In 2025, NIL rights transformed college sports, boosting athlete pay, fueling school revenue and reshaping recruitment--benefiting all divisions while normalizing a market worth more than $2 billion.
Tuesday, December 23, 2025
Trump's new "Gold Card" immigration program offers wealthy foreign nationals an expedited green card in exchange for a $1 million non-refundable payment to the U.S. government, igniting controversy over wealth-based access to residency.
President Trump's executive order is not legalization, but a procedural step that underscores just how far federal cannabis policy remains from meaningful reform.
Monday, December 22, 2025
A new Second District Court of Appeal decision dismantles the Patterson exception, easing the burden on defendants and restoring common sense to the workers' comp treatment authorization process.
Two recent federal actions--one administrative, one judicial--highlight the sharp limits of executive and court-based cannabis reform, reinforcing that only Congress can resolve the deep constitutional conflicts at play.
Friday, December 19, 2025
California's housing crisis has become a tale of two cities--with San Francisco charging ahead and Los Angeles backpedaling--offering a stark look at how local leaders navigate state pressure and housing need.
California has long flirted with a wealth tax, but a new ballot measure targeting the state's billionaires could finally break through where past efforts have failed.
Thursday, December 18, 2025
The Supreme Court's IEEPA tariff cases put a sharp question front and center: Can Congress really give the president a blank check to tax imports? Several swing justices seem doubtful.
A constitutional challenge in Fresno raises an issue faced by cities across the country: Whether municipalities can lawfully criminalize homelessness in the absence of viable alternatives to outdoor living.
Wednesday, December 17, 2025
When powerful interests redefine accountability through public narratives, perception can begin to outweigh evidence in shaping the law.
Government coercion of private platforms to suppress apps like ICEBlock exemplifies "censorship by proxy," raising urgent First Amendment concerns about protecting speech, transparency and public safety against overreach.
9th Circuit Judge Milan D. Smith Jr.
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NEWS
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General News
Friday, January 16, 2026 |
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| When the broader housing market feels unpredictable, homeowners may look to refresh their current home instead of relocating. | |
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General News
Friday, January 16, 2026 |
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| A geochemist testifying for Prologis in a lawsuit over a 2021 "rotten egg" odor in Carson told jurors the smell came from disturbed channel sediments--not a warehouse fire. Plaintiffs challenged his conclusions and compensation during cross-examination. | |
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General News
Friday, January 16, 2026 |
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| The petition seeks to compel Wolfire Games to comply with an arbitrator-issued subpoena, testing statutory changes that expanded arbitrators' authority to obtain third-party discovery. | |
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General News
Thursday, January 15, 2026 |
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| Plaintiffs claim significant economic losses, while Edison contests the extent and recoverability of the damages. | |
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General News
Thursday, January 15, 2026 |
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| China is rolling out fleets of autonomous delivery trucks, experimenting with flying cars and installing parking lot robots that can swap out your EV's dying battery in just minutes. | |
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General News
Thursday, January 15, 2026 |
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| CoStar Group alleges Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP created an impermissible conflict by representing competitor CREXi while simultaneously representing CoStar in another case. CoStar's motion seeks to disqualify the firm from the Central District litigation. | |
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General News
Wednesday, January 14, 2026 |
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| Plaintiffs' attorneys are seeking court approval of a $100 million settlement resolving securities claims that PG&E misled investors about its wildfire safety practices, following a sharp stock decline tied to major California fires. | |
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General News
Wednesday, January 14, 2026 |
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| AB 1554 would pave the way for sweeping changes to how wildfire losses are paid, based on a state report due this spring. | |
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General News
Wednesday, January 14, 2026 |
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| Most Americans say they have a financial resolution for 2026, according to a survey from the investment firm Vanguard, even though about three-quarters conceded that they fell short of their saving and spending goals last year. | |
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General News
Tuesday, January 13, 2026 |
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| Carson-area residents urged a Los Angeles judge to deny Prologis' nonsuit motion, arguing trial evidence shows the warehouse owner's conduct substantially contributed to a fire and months-long rotten egg odor. | |
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General News
Tuesday, January 13, 2026 |
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| Two years ago, Internal Revenue Service officials announced an ambitious plan to fix a gaping hole in federal tax law enforcement. | |
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General News
Tuesday, January 13, 2026 |
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| The 9th Circuit rejected a federal attorney's race discrimination claim but revived his retaliation claim, ruling a district judge in San Diego wrongly discounted evidence linking his nonselection to prior EEOC activity. | |
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General News
Monday, January 12, 2026 |
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| A subset of autonomous car users recognized that taxis devoid of strangers could offer an even more revolutionary service: chauffeuring teens and tweens in place of their harried parents. | |
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General News
Monday, January 12, 2026 |
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| A California appeals court ruled Amazon Flex last-mile drivers are transportation workers under federal law, exempting them from mandatory arbitration and strengthening wage law protections for gig delivery drivers statewide. | |
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General News
Friday, January 9, 2026 |
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| A federal judge ordered Los Angeles to pay $1.8 million in attorney fees, faulting the city for failing to provide accurate homelessness data and comply with a landmark settlement agreement. | |
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General News
Friday, January 9, 2026 |
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| Federal prosecutors say Orange County Superior Court Judge Israel Claustro defrauded California's workers' compensation system by secretly operating a medical group and using a previously convicted physician to generate fraudulent claims. | |
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General News
Friday, January 9, 2026 |
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| It's been one year since the fires. California has raised wages for incarcerated firefighters and made the Growlersburg Fire Camp program permanent. | |
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General News
Thursday, January 8, 2026 |
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| Ford's amended civil RICO complaint alleging fabricated lemon law billing narrows defendants to three Knight Law Group attorneys. | |
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General News
Thursday, January 8, 2026 |
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| The Legislature reconvened after a 114-day recess, Gov. Gavin Newsom renewed his nascent campaign for president and the dozen or so men and women who covet his job continued to seek ways to reach a so-far-uninterested electorate. | |
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General News
Wednesday, January 7, 2026 |
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| President Donald Trump raised the taxes that the United States charges on imports last year to levels not seen in a century. | |
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General News
Wednesday, January 7, 2026 |
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| Senior U.S. District Judge Charles R. Breyer denied Uber's request to delay bellwether trials and challenge a political ad campaign, siding with plaintiffs who argued the ads are protected speech. | |
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General News
Wednesday, January 7, 2026 |
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| Arguing a motion to dismiss, Prager University contended that Facebook ID data cannot be decoded by an ordinary person, but Judge Mark C. Scarsi questioned how that standard holds up in an era of artificial intelligence. | |
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General News
Tuesday, January 6, 2026 |
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| People entering a house party might expect to see a rack overflowing with shoes by the door. Lately, people entering some startup offices might, too. | |
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General News
Tuesday, January 6, 2026 |
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| Flannery Associates resolves claims against Solano County landowners Paul and William Dietrich | |
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General News
Tuesday, January 6, 2026 |
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| Attorneys warn Uber-backed ballot initiative could limit recovery for autonomous vehicle crash victims, as Waymo expands freeway operations and Uber pursues RICO claims against personal injury lawyers and medical providers. | |
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General News
Monday, January 5, 2026 |
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| Elon Musk's xAI sued the state of California, arguing AB 2013 forces disclosure of proprietary AI training data, violating trade secret protections, free speech rights and the Fifth Amendment. | |
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General News
Monday, January 5, 2026 |
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| Legal analysts warn the initiative could face challenges under U.S. and California Constitutions. | |
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General News
Monday, January 5, 2026 |
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| Millions of borrowers have fallen behind on their federal student loans, and the government is preparing to take aggressive steps to collect in 2026. | |
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General News
Friday, January 2, 2026 |
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| Parents allege the school, Campbell Hall, ignored repeated warnings about pickup-area design, leading to a 15-year-old's death. | |
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General News
Friday, January 2, 2026 |
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| Few life milestones are as emotionally and financially transformative as becoming a parent. While this chapter is often filled with deep joy, it can also bring new worries as each stage of parenthood can present fresh challenges. | |
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General News
Friday, January 2, 2026 |
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| Company says that claims implicate military firefighting foam made under federal contracts. | |
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General News
Wednesday, December 31, 2025 |
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| The artificial intelligence boom has turned high-profile billionaires into even richer billionaires. | |
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General News
Wednesday, December 31, 2025 |
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| Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass staked her political future on a promise: As a candidate in 2022, she vowed to make homelessness her top priority and to make dramatic reductions in the city's population of unhoused people. | |
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General News
Wednesday, December 31, 2025 |
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| Government attempts to break up large Silicon Valley tech giants Meta Platforms Inc. and Alphabet Inc.-owned Google LLC hit significant hurdles this year, as one lawsuit was defeated and a request for a major divestiture was blocked in another. | |
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General News
Tuesday, December 30, 2025 |
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| America is closing its doors to the world, sealing the border, squeezing the legal avenues to entry and sending new arrivals and longtime residents to the exits. | |
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General News
Tuesday, December 30, 2025 |
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| Gov. Gavin Newsom's choice to replace retiring Justice Martin J. Jenkins could determine whether the California Supreme Court maintains its resistance to challenges of convictions and sentences or strengthens a dissenting bloc pushing for greater scrutiny under the Racial Justice Act and death penalty jurisprudence. | |
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General News
Tuesday, December 30, 2025 |
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| Six authors who opted out of a $1.5 billion class action settlement against Anthropic PBC filed a new lawsuit against the company and five other tech giants, alleging they used pirated copies of copyrighted books to train AI models. | |
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General News
Monday, December 29, 2025 |
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| Jury sides with former behavioral health medical director who was fired after reporting alleged misconduct. | |
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General News
Monday, December 29, 2025 |
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| The United States routinely tops the list of foreign travelers' dream destinations. | |
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General News
Monday, December 29, 2025 |
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| Eaton and Palisades wildfire lawsuits involve tens of thousands of plaintiffs, novel immunity defenses, utility liability disputes, and unprecedented strain on California courts and coordinated litigation systems. | |
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General News
Friday, January 16, 2026 |
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| The state told a divided 9th Circuit panel that its Age-Appropriate Design Code Act is a business regulation aimed at protecting children, not a content-based restriction triggering heightened First Amendment scrutiny. | |
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General News
Thursday, January 15, 2026 |
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| The hearing follows months of dispute over overburdened attorneys in the San Francisco Public Defender's Office and the declaration of "unavailable" days. | |
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General News
Wednesday, January 14, 2026 |
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| A court-appointed monitor testified that Los Angeles failed to provide complete, verifiable data required under a federal homelessness settlement, as city officials defended their reporting methods during heated contempt hearings. | |
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General News
Tuesday, January 13, 2026 |
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| After more than 25 years at Hutton Center, Callahan & Blaine has relocated to a 45,000-square-foot, custom-built headquarters at Newport Gateway. Firm leader Edward Susolik says the move reflects growth, confidence in the market and a long-term commitment to Orange County. | |
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General News
Monday, January 12, 2026 |
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| A Los Angeles judge said she will limit discovery into Southern California Edison's rate base and executive compensation, questioning its relevance to Eaton Fire claims while allowing targeted production tied to transmission assets. | |
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General News
Friday, January 9, 2026 |
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| The deal brings nine attorneys and nine support staff to Manning Kass and establishes a permanent Riverside office | |
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General News
Thursday, January 8, 2026 |
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| It has been one year since wildfires erupted Jan. 7, 2025, across the Los Angeles region, claiming at least 31 lives, destroying more than 16,000 buildings and obliterating almost everything across nearly 80 square miles. | |
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General News
Wednesday, January 7, 2026 |
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| CAOC-backed committees report massive fundraising totals as title and summary approvals allow competing ballot measures to move toward signature gathering. | |
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General News
Tuesday, January 6, 2026 |
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| The 9th Circuit affirmed summary judgment finding "Top Gun: Maverick" did not infringe a journalist's article that was the basis for the original film. The panel held that shared depictions of Navy training were unprotected facts rather than copyrightable expression under law. | |
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General News
Monday, January 5, 2026 |
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| Saks Global said Friday that its CEO, Marc Metrick, had stepped down after the beleaguered luxury department store group missed a loan payment and as it weighed filing for bankruptcy protection. | |
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General News
Friday, January 2, 2026 |
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| President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he would abandon, for now, efforts to deploy the National Guard in Chicago, Los Angeles, and Portland, Oregon. | |
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General News
Wednesday, December 31, 2025 |
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| Housing First provides chronically homeless people long-term subsidized housing and offers, but does not require, treatment for mental illness or addiction. | |
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General News
Tuesday, December 30, 2025 |
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| The California High-Speed Rail Authority has dropped its lawsuit against the Trump administration over the termination of $4 billion in federal grants for the state's high-speed rail project, opting instead to pursue private investment. | |
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General News
Monday, December 29, 2025 |
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| Attorneys say Tesla's aggressive litigation tactics, intense discovery disputes and frequent counsel changes strain Alameda County courts, while the court disputes overload claims as major employment, injury and discrimination cases against the automaker continue. | |