GUEST COLUMNS
Friday, December 3, 2021
As prior Arbitration Angle columns attest, it is no secret that the Federal Arbitration Act creates a vast number of substantive and procedural rules. But what exactly does the FAA say, or more precisely, what does it mean, regarding whether federal courts have jurisdiction to enforce such rules? We're about to find out.
Whether you're gathering in person or celebrating at a distance this year, it will be tempting to overspend.
Thursday, December 2, 2021
Along the California coast, we have a case where the rhetoric of property and liberty have met the reality of the California Coastal Commission.
The Ninth Circuit was recently asked to determine whether to continue to apply the Circuit's two-part extrinsic/intrinsic test for "substantial similarity" with regard to a copyright infringement claim or apply the Second Circuit's "ordinary observer" test instead.
Wednesday, December 1, 2021
We can update our response to the pandemic and begin treating COVID-19 infections with new medications.
I would like to see the state of California really listen to Native voices and ask them to help protect the environment.
Taking these suggestions into consideration now as companies are building out their 2022 annual meeting checklists will give companies a head start and ensure a smoother proxy season as well as better compliance with new rules and requirements.
Some people have blamed this crisis on Proposition 47, the 2014 statewide referendum that reclassified many felony theft offenses as misdemeanors. While petty retail theft skyrocketed more than 20% soon after Prop. 47, the law isn't the only problem. There's clearly something else going on.
California politicians have been jousting over the state’s chronic housing shortage but now the debate is turning into a political war.
Tuesday, November 30, 2021
As California has long taught schoolchildren, the 21 California missions were key in our state's history. For better or worse, the missions provided a toehold for Christianity and European "civilization" in this remote outpost of Spain's empire.
The point is simply this: Government agencies, like all citizens, have an obligation to act not only legally, but morally.
Monday, November 29, 2021
Not long ago, reports about potential federal government legal settlements sparked outrage. The news broke that the Biden administration was considering payouts of approximately $450,000 to each undocumented immigrant who was separated from their family at the southern border.
The bills, while symbolic victories for the pro-housing movement, were heavily negotiated in the Legislature, resulting in diluted final products with limited potential to significantly increase density in single-family zones.
Mobility argued that the PTAB's structure is unconstitutional as violative of due process because the PTAB is biased against patent owners.
Friday, November 26, 2021
Ongoing angst about state-by-state admissions rules for practicing lawyers is a pronounced and seeming unending and rancorous argument. Upon the advent of AI in the legal profession, the multijurisdictional matter is likely to get kicked into an even higher gear.
One of the sticking points in President Joe Biden’s $1.85 trillion social policy legislation is a change in tax law that would have huge effects on California.
When it comes to major purchases, when is the expenditure worth it, and when is the cost too prohibitive relative to your financial future?
Wednesday, November 24, 2021
In a major policy shift, the new general counsel of the National Labor Relations Board, Jennifer Abruzzo, issued a memorandum to all field offices announcing critical policy changes to ensure that immigrant workers have the protections they need to freely exercise their rights without fear of retaliation.
Houston, Texas' 2021 Astroworld festival may be one of the worst managed live entertainment performance events in recent history. During Travis Scott's Nov. 5 performance at the event, a crowd surge left 10 festivalgoers dead and hundreds of others injured.
Using selected data points, a new system created by the United States Sentencing Commission allows judges to compare sentences for other individuals defendants sentenced throughout the country.
In 2013, California’s system of financing public schools was overhauled in an effort to close the “achievement gap,” but we still don’t know whether it’s working.
Tuesday, November 23, 2021
Like so much else related to COVID-19, vaccines have long been politicized, and that doesn't seem likely to change anytime soon. But the debates over vaccine mandates and the fines that go with them have been especially politicized.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently issued a "Strategic Roadmap" that sets forth the agency's comprehensive plan to study and regulate PFAS. The roadmap will have a significant impact on municipal and industrial entities.
Monday, November 22, 2021
With Democrats poised to hold a majority of the seats on the Federal Communications Commission, the agency is almost certain to turn its attention to net neutrality — an issue that has roiled the industry for almost 20 years.
How should parents and courts approach a move-away case in the time of COVID?
The federal appellate court recently issued an important ruling that helps clear the way for accountability for the private companies that build the spy technologies used by repressive governments to violate human rights.
People who leased their cars before the pandemic can probably buy their vehicles at the end of the lease for much less than the going market price.
Friday, November 19, 2021
Criticism of U.S. Supreme Court justices who are identified in the media as "conservative" proceeds apace and seems to have recently been given new life by certain justices speaking publicly about how the court and its justices do and do not decide cases.
James Bond, the dashing and impossibly clever spy, always bested the bad guys thanks to the deep pockets of technology and intelligence resources of the British government. But agents of 007 fame may become a quaint relic of the past now that military-grade spyware is available on the open market offering the newly coined "intelligence agency as a service."
On November 2, Michel and Ellen Shane attended the first parole hearing of the man who intentionally and deliberately murdered their precious 13-year-old daughter, Emily. Notably absent from the parole hearing was a prosecutor from the Los Angeles County district attorney's office.
One complicating factor is that inflation is a fact of life, and it can result in meaningfully higher expenses over time.
Thursday, November 18, 2021
Environmental, social and governance factors have pushed to the forefront of the Securities and Exchange Commission's attention in recent years.
While it is currently unclear how the FTC will pursue and penalize violations, what is clear is that the Biden administration's FTC will be actively looking to enforce its authority, with proprietary institutions as a likely target for any campaign.
Under the America Invents Act, a party may ask the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to review and potentially cancel claims in an already-issued patent that the PTO finds to be unpatentable in light of prior art.
Wednesday, November 17, 2021
Senator Ben Allen introduced SCA 2 in December 2020 after the State Assembly failed to vote on the identical bill, Senate Constitutional Amendment 1, the previous legislative session. SCA 2 would refer a constitutional amendment to the ballot to repeal Article 34 of the California Constitution, which prohibits public agencies from developing, constructing or acquiring low-rent housing projects without voter approval.
On October 28, the Biden administration released the text of the $1.75 trillion Build Back Better Act — also referred to as the human infrastructure bill. Designed to expand the nation's social safety net and also help fight climate change, about $1 trillion of the act would be financed by higher taxes on wealthy Americans.
Last week, Gov. Gavin Newsom extended two of his pandemic decrees until March 31, indicating that he has no present intention of withdrawing the emergency declaration he issued 20 months ago.
Tuesday, November 16, 2021
The American Bar Association recently undertook the question of whether a lawyer may passively invest in a law firm with nonlawyer owners, even when the lawyer practices in a jurisdiction that does not allow nonlawyers to own an interest in a law firm.
On Nov. 5, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration published a new COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard. The ETS would impose a number of COVID-19-related requirements on medium and large private employers that are subject to OSHA jurisdiction.
As we discussed in our previous article, "New California Workplace Law, Part One," employers must be aware of a number of new California employment laws. Below is a brief summary of Part Two.
Monday, November 15, 2021
2021 brought employers an avalanche of new laws and ever-changing COVID-19 obligations. The good news is that the California Legislature gave employers a bit of a break this session, and the changes for 2022 are not too overwhelming.
Thursday, November 11, 2021
In an unexpected move that has proponents of President Joe Biden's climate change agenda wary, the U.S. Supreme Court announced that it will hear arguments in a case on the scope of the Environmental Protection Agency's authority regulate greenhouse gas emissions from the energy production sector.
California will receive about $45.5 billion from the infrastructure improvement legislation that Congress approved last week, which sounds like a lot of money.
If you own a home, chances are your net worth has shot up in the last year. According to a new report, skyrocketing home prices caused by a pandemic-fueled real estate frenzy have led to a scenario where homeowners in the U.S. are sitting on a record $22.7 trillion worth of home equity.
Wednesday, November 10, 2021
AB1793 embodies a new, more just approach in which government initiates and completes the process for reducing, dismissing, and sealing eligible criminal records rather than those with criminal records petitioning the court individually.
Investor demand for environmental, social and governance, commonly referred to as "ESG," investment opportunities has surged with over a trillion dollars flowing to this asset class. In response to the rapid growth in this corner of the asset management industry, the Securities and Exchange Commission is scrutinizing investment managers who may be engaged in "greenwashing" — the practice of conveying a false image to investors that a product is ESG-friendly — to ride the wave of this investor demand.
Well, that was awkward. Gov. Gavin Newsom stalled for weeks on attending last week's global conference on climate change in Glasgow, then announced at the last moment that he would, only to just as suddenly announce that he wouldn't "due to family circumstances" which were never explained.
Will California's strict vaccine rules help bring an end to the pandemic that has disproportionately ravaged communities of color — or further entrench and widen those longstanding disparities?
Tuesday, November 9, 2021
The 9th Circuit recently created a circuit split regarding the private search exception to the Fourth Amendment and government searches based on NCMEC hash-matching tips.
The annual open enrollment for Affordable Care Act health insurance plans is underway, and consumers not only have more time to sign up, they are also likely to see more plan options and lower premiums for next year.
Monday, November 8, 2021
We are already seeing crypto audits by the IRS and some states (notably California's Franchise Tax Board), and more are sure to follow.
This summer, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that plaintiffs must suffer concrete harm to have standing to recover for a statutory violation. In doing so, the Supreme Court overturned the 9th Circuit's ruling that the class members' alleged risk of future harm conferred standing.
As the country recovers from the pandemic, rising prices have become a worry for many Americans. But inflation has also driven up rates on some government savings bonds, creating an opportunity for people seeking a safe haven for their cash.
Friday, November 5, 2021
In recent years, many cases involving allegations of high-profile financial crimes have also involved the accused's lawyers, whether as a key witness or, sometimes, as a co-defendant. Headlines indicate that lawyers can face substantial punishment for any role in Ponzi schemes, insurance fraud, or money laundering, among other crimes.
Drought, wildfires and "bomb-cyclone" rains are dramatic examples of how climate change affects our state. The proposed solutions are as complex as the problem, presenting both investment opportunities and burdens.
Even people who are financially secure can fall into money traps that put their future at risk or miss out on opportunities to further strengthen their financial position. Here are several common mistakes made by financially accomplished people — along with a few tips to counteract them.