GUEST COLUMNS
Monday, March 16, 2026
Assembly Bill 1680 proposes expanding the California FAIR Plan to offer more comprehensive homeowners coverage, but the economic challenges of implementing these reforms raise serious questions about their long-term viability.
California's Workplace Know Your Rights Act consolidates existing workplace notice requirements and adds new obligations, continuing California's longstanding practice of expanding the notices employers must provide to inform employees of their rights.
Friday, March 13, 2026
The assumption that metabolic health is a static backdrop in personal injury law no longer holds. Weight, diabetes, cardiovascular risk and inflammation, once facts in the record, are now variables that can change over the life of a case.
A new proposed rule would reinstate weighted factors for determining independent contractor status under the FLSA, giving employers a more predictable framework than the Biden-era totality-of-the-circumstances approach.
Wednesday, March 11, 2026
Proper planning in legal settlement agreements about IRS Form 1099 reporting--what forms will be issued, to whom, and in what amounts--can prevent disputes and avoid unintended tax consequences for plaintiffs and their attorneys.
The Supreme Court's pending decisions in West
Virginia v. B.P.J. and Little v. Hecox will clarify the federal
standard under Title IX governing transgender student participation in
athletics, but because the cases arise from preliminary injunctions and states
retain authority to enact their own protections, schools will likely continue navigating
a patchwork of federal requirements, state laws, and compliance obligations.
Monday, March 9, 2026
Tax practitioners must prioritize ethical duties and thorough research over timing and efficiency concerns when advising clients, regardless of the circumstances.
When an AI agent hires a gig worker to photograph equipment in a warehouse and the worker breaks an ankle, who is the employer? When it sends a stranger into an occupied apartment, who authorized the entry? RentAHuman.ai is live. The legal questions are not hypothetical.
Friday, March 6, 2026
Casual emails, recycled opinions, and unchecked client facts can turn routine tax advice into Circular 230 violations, penalties, malpractice claims and career-ending discipline.
The crumbling infrastructure of federal courthouses is not merely a crisis of bricks and mortar but a profound human tragedy that undermines the constitutional promise of a fair and accessible legal system and underscores the urgent need for reform.
Wednesday, March 4, 2026
Twelve states have sued HHS, CMS, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and others over Executive Order 14168, arguing that conditioning federal funding on compliance with a binary-only sex policy improperly attempts to amend Title IX, exposes grant recipients to False Claims Act liability, and forces states and organizations to navigate contested legal and financial risks.
When California attorneys learn they are the target of a State Bar OCTC investigation, they should strongly consider retaining specialized discipline defense counsel, as compressed prefiling timelines, limited discovery and nonnegotiable discipline standards can put both their license and livelihood at serious risk.
Monday, March 2, 2026
The Civil Rights Act never created disparate impact liability, yet agencies embedded it across American life. President Trump now seeks to rein in that overreach and restore the law's original meaning.
Many view California as a leader in tenant protections, but its primary unsafe-housing statute remains frozen in 1985, trapping renters in a futile "notice and cure" loop. California must modernize this outdated law.
Friday, February 27, 2026
Military toughness helps in uniform but hurts in court, leaving veterans underrepresented and penalized in personal injury claims.
While federal copyright disputes have drawn the most attention, they are only the beginning; practitioners should anticipate a broad range of novel AI litigation waiting in the wings.
Wednesday, February 25, 2026
When a demand letter becomes a "claim": examining a novel offensive use of New York's anti-SLAPP law--and why the same strategy would fail in California.
In a 6-1 decision, the California Supreme Court considered whether an arbitration agreement that was nearly impossible to read can be enforced--and clarified how illegibility factors into contract formation and unconscionability analysis.
Monday, February 23, 2026
The entertainment industry is at the forefront of innovative claims arising from the intersection of media and generative AI technologies, and as these cases begin to settle on their own and with the help of mediators, they are drawing new lines in the sand while establishing novel licensing frameworks.
Legislation intended to promote affordable housing by limiting community associations' enforcement, collection, and maintenance powers often backfires, forcing compliant homeowners to subsidize non-compliant neighbors, shoulder higher costs and face greater safety and insurance risks.
Friday, February 20, 2026
Fueled by advertising deregulation from the Supreme Court of the United States, high-volume "plantation" law firms rely on mass-marketing and industrial intake systems that prioritize profit and scale over ethics, supervision and meaningful client representation.
Candlestick Park was more than cold and windy. It was built on insider deals, political maneuvering and a grand jury probe that went nowhere -- leaving taxpayers in the cold while the Giants cashed in.
Wednesday, February 18, 2026
For decades, legal research rested on the scarcity of authoritative information; general-purpose AI now places that assumption under pressure by changing how experienced lawyers test, refine and pressure-check legal reasoning.
H.R. 3699 would broadly block state and local governments from most forms of energy regulation --potentially disrupting electrification efforts, safety rules, wildfire protections and utility cost oversight.
Ariana Drehsler/The New York Times
A mangled stretch of Narcissa Drive in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., March 7, 2026.
A mangled stretch of Narcissa Drive in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., March 7, 2026.
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NEWS
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General News
Monday, March 16, 2026 |
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| Although plenty of smart appliances like dishwashers, coffee makers and smoke detectors flooded the market, interest in the idea of an automated household never took off. | |
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General News
Monday, March 16, 2026 |
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| The board voted 3-1 to keep a 25% salary increase despite a grand jury report criticizing the way the raise was embedded in the county's budget process. Supervisors said their compensation is governed by a state law formulating their pay to the salaries of Superior Court judges, which they argued already serves as an independent benchmark. | |
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General News
Monday, March 16, 2026 |
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| Creative Artists Agency agreed to pay $595,000 to resolve claims by TV writer John Musero that the agency misappropriated his TV concept and damaged his career. | |
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General News
Friday, March 13, 2026 |
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| BART's future is dire. Its ridership cratered during the pandemic and remains less than half of what it once was. | |
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General News
Friday, March 13, 2026 |
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| The Senate on Thursday overwhelmingly passed the largest piece of housing legislation in 36 years. | |
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General News
Friday, March 13, 2026 |
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| Gary Y. Leung, who recently led the SEC's Los Angeles Regional Office, has returned to McGuireWoods as a partner alongside auditor defense attorney Jodi Lopez, strengthening the firm's securities enforcement and regulatory counseling practice. | |
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General News
Wednesday, March 11, 2026 |
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| A therapist who treated the plaintiff testified she never concluded Instagram or YouTube caused the teen's mental health problems, as Meta and Google began presenting their defense in the bellwether trial. | |
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General News
Wednesday, March 11, 2026 |
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| Investigators with the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration and the Department of Motor Vehicles found hundreds of California-based dealerships involved in more than 2,500 sales to customers claiming they're Montana drivers. | |
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General News
Wednesday, March 11, 2026 |
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| California cardrooms sued Attorney General Rob Bonta to block new Department of Justice regulations they say would effectively ban blackjack and other "player-dealer position games," threatening jobs and local tax revenue. | |
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General News
Monday, March 9, 2026 |
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| A jury found the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department discriminated against a police psychologist and retaliated against her after she complained about being passed over for promotion. | |
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General News
Monday, March 9, 2026 |
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| Girl Scouts San Diego says Ferrero U.S.A. and its subsidiary Little Brownie Bakers breached a cookie-baking contract that was supposed to run through 2025, forcing the nonprofit into an emergency transition to a new supplier. | |
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General News
Monday, March 9, 2026 |
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| While many workers worry that artificial intelligence will one day take their jobs, another use of AI and technology may already be quietly reshaping and degrading workplace conditions: "bossware." | |
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General News
Friday, March 6, 2026 |
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| A Los Angeles judge denied Johnson & Johnson's motions to overturn a $40 million talc verdict, rejecting claims of juror misconduct and ruling the jury was properly instructed on substantial-factor causation. | |
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General News
Friday, March 6, 2026 |
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| A Florida man's estate claims Google's Gemini AI cultivated a delusional romantic relationship with the user and encouraged him to take his life. | |
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General News
Friday, March 6, 2026 |
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| The state Capitol's longest running political conflict -- going at least a half-century and still counting -- pits business interests against a quartet of left-leaning groups. | |
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General News
Wednesday, March 4, 2026 |
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| One name is conspicuously absent from the ever-growing roster of large-scale adoptions of generative AI in K-12 and higher education: New York City, the biggest school system in the United States. | |
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General News
Wednesday, March 4, 2026 |
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| CalPERS accepts trial court judgment but challenges attorney fees and scope of retirees eligible for relief. | |
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General News
Wednesday, March 4, 2026 |
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| Isaac Castellanos alleges that he was struck in the right eye by a projectile fired from 60 to 90 feet away. | |
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General News
Monday, March 2, 2026 |
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| There are ways to file your tax return at no charge, using government or commercial options. | |
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General News
Monday, March 2, 2026 |
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| Opt-out providers sued Blue Cross Blue Shield in Northern California, alleging affiliates continue anticompetitive market allocation and boycott practices despite a 2024 $2.7 billion settlement, violating federal antitrust laws. | |
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General News
Monday, March 2, 2026 |
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| InterDigital sued in February 2025 alleging that Disney's streaming services, including Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+, infringe five patents related to video encoding and user interface technology. | |
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General News
Friday, February 27, 2026 |
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| A therapist testified that "social media addiction" is not a formal diagnosis and stopped short of blaming Instagram for a teen's anxiety, as jurors weigh causation in a landmark design-defect trial. | |
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General News
Friday, February 27, 2026 |
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| A federal judge dismissed a putative class action alleging Pacific Bell underpaid training differentials, ruling the claims were preempted by federal labor law and barred for failure to exhaust grievance procedures. | |
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General News
Friday, February 27, 2026 |
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| Planning for lasting retirement income requires a thoughtful strategy, especially with factors like longevity, market volatility and evolving lifestyle needs in play. | |
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General News
Monday, March 16, 2026 |
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| Landslides in Rancho Palos Verdes provides access to coastal real estate at a deep discount, so long as one is willing to accept the risks | |
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General News
Friday, March 13, 2026 |
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| The judge said Ford had not plausibly alleged a conspiracy even if billings were questionable. The company said it will appeal. | |
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General News
Wednesday, March 11, 2026 |
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| A federal judge ruled Edison's statements about its wildfire prevention program were too general to be proven false, dismissing a securities suit tied to the 2025 Eaton and Sylmar fires. | |
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General News
Monday, March 9, 2026 |
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| A federal judge questioned whether a developer's constitutional challenge to Senate Bill 158 is ripe, signaling possible dismissal while granting leave to amend claims targeting a law allegedly aimed at blocking a Santa Barbara project. | |
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General News
Friday, March 6, 2026 |
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| U.S. Magistrate Judge Steve Kim ordered an in-person deposition and warned of "zero tolerance" for delays while partially granting Patagonia's sanctions motion in a counterfeiting lawsuit over alleged Telegram-based sales. | |
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General News
Wednesday, March 4, 2026 |
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| A taxpayer sued Los Angeles County, alleging supervisors secretly approved a $2 million payout to Chief Executive Officer Fesia Davenport in violation of the Brown Act after voters made her position elective. | |
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General News
Monday, March 2, 2026 |
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| State courts face $21 billion in construction needs and $5 billion in deferred maintenance as funding shortfalls persist. | |
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General News
Friday, February 27, 2026 |
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| The boxing champion claims a prior civil suit over alleged finder's fee was fabricated and pursued without probable cause. | |