California

Fee-clawback provision in Quinn Emanuel partnership contract violates ethics rules, suit claims

Ten partners who left Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan to form a new law firm claim in legal filing that a fee-clawback provision in their former firm’s partnership agreement violates New York ethics rules.

May 31, 2018 7:00 AM CDT

New rule requires California courts to disclose names of judges in settled cases alleging misconduct

The California Judicial Council has approved a rule that requires courts to disclose financial settlements involving judges accused of sexual harassment, discrimination and other misconduct.

May 30, 2018 7:11 AM CDT

San Francisco district attorney to use algorithm to aid marijuana expungements

The San Francisco district attorney’s office announced it will use an algorithm to help determine expungement eligibility for those with some marijuana convictions going back to the mid-1970s. “When the government uses 20th-century tools to tackle 21st-century problems, it’s the public that pays the price,” says District Attorney George Gascón…

May 21, 2018 2:03 PM CDT

Pass rate for February’s California state bar exam drops by more than 7 percentage points

Continuing a downward trend in recent years, the overall pass rate for February's California state bar exam was 27.3 percent, according to a State Bar of California press release issued Friday.

May 21, 2018 1:35 PM CDT

Widow claims a failure to safeguard her late husband’s sperm by lawyer who allegedly advised him

The widow of a software company CEO claims a lawyer breached a fiduciary duty by failing to safeguard the frozen sperm of the widow’s late husband. Widow Katherine Pesic is suing lawyer Shelley Tarnoff along with the alleged former mistress of her late husband, Joyce Chin, who gave birth to…

May 9, 2018 2:47 PM CDT

California high court ruling may compel gig economy employers to convert contractors to employees

A California Supreme Court decision will make it harder for employers to classify workers as independent contractors in wage-and-hour class actions.

May 4, 2018 8:00 AM CDT

California leads multistate coalition in challenge to EPA’s planned rollback of auto emissions rules

Seventeen states and the District of Columbia are challenging a Trump administration plan to roll back auto emissions rules. California is leading the multistate coalition in the petition for review, filed Tuesday in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, report the New York Times, the Washington…

May 1, 2018 4:06 PM CDT

Creative expression programs for inmates help change the narrative

Creative expression programs in detention centers include a memoir-writing class for Cook County Jail detainees awaiting trial for violent offenses.

May 1, 2018 2:05 AM CDT

Still out of compliance with ABA standards, Florida Coastal is investigating a response

Florida Coastal School of Law remains out of compliance with ABA accreditation standards regarding admissions and its legal education and academic support programs, according to an accreditation committee decision made after a March hearing.

Apr 30, 2018 10:48 AM CDT

Police used DNA from discarded items to link suspect to Golden State Killer murders

Corrected and Updated: Police announced Wednesday that they arrested the suspect for the Golden State Killer murders after linking him to the crimes through DNA on two discarded items.

Apr 26, 2018 8:45 AM CDT

Lawyer who sued over courthouse brawl is ordered to pay $250K in countersuit

A California lawyer who filed a $10 million suit over a courthouse brawl in Santa Ana has been hit with a $250,000 punitive damages verdict in a countersuit. Criminal defense lawyer James Crawford was found liable in a countersuit by the man he deemed responsible for the fight, Dillon Alley,…

Apr 18, 2018 11:33 AM CDT

Suit seeks end of jailhouse informant program, disclosure to convicted inmates

A lawsuit filed Wednesday contends that the sheriff and district attorney of Orange County, California, operate a secret jailhouse informant program that violates state law and inmates’ constitutional rights. The suit seeks an injunction to end the program, the disclosure of informant information to people who may have claims to…

Apr 4, 2018 12:29 PM CDT

10 Questions: LA lawyer and former congresswoman blazed a trail for women and minorities

Yvonne Brathwaite Burke in 1973 became the first African-American woman from California to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives, and the first member of Congress to give birth while in office. She also was the first congresswoman to be granted maternity leave—a benefit that at the time had to be specifically authorized by the speaker of the House of Representatives.

Apr 1, 2018 2:40 AM CDT

Yale’s civil litigation clinic aims to train law students and make a difference

Yale Law School has set up a law clinic for first-, second- and third-year students to work on novel lawsuits with the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office. This approach makes the subject easier and more meaningful, according to students.

Apr 1, 2018 1:45 AM CDT

Coffee must carry cancer warning, California judge rules in tentative decision

A California judge has tentatively ruled that coffee sold in the state must carry a cancer warning label. Judge Elihu Berle based his decision on a state law that requires businesses with at least 10 employees to notify Californians about chemical exposure that can cause cancer and birth defects, report…

Mar 30, 2018 1:32 PM CDT