California

7 More Lawyers Leap from Epstein Becker, This Time for San Fran Office of Crowell & Moring

After news earlier this week that Epstein Becker & Green is losing its Houston office to Cozen O’Connor comes news today that half the firm’s San Francisco office is exiting for Crowell & Moring. William Helvestine, who served as managing partner of Epstein’s San Francisco office, is heading the seven-attorney…

May 25, 2011 10:55 PM CDT

Ex-Office Manager Gets 4 Years for Skimming $502K from Law Firm Accounts

A former office manager for a Santa Ana, Calif., law firm was sentenced today to four years in prison for skimming $502,000 from the accounts of Tustin Rinos and Martin over a six-year period. Authorities say Donna Joy Henderson, 68, spent the money on luxuries including gambling, jewelry purchased from…

May 24, 2011 1:04 AM CDT

Lead Defense Lawyer Disqualified in Trial of Alleged Mexican Drug Kingpin

Saying that allowing an alleged Mexican drug kingpin to be represented by the lead lawyer of his choice could create significant distraction and delay during trial, a federal judge in San Diego today disqualified Jan Ronis from continuing to defend Benjamin Arellano Felix. Although U.S. District Judge Larry Burns held…

May 23, 2011 9:03 PM CDT

Maria Shriver Retains Laura Wasser; Reports Say Potential Schwarzenegger Split Could Involve $400M

Although she hasn’t filed for divorce, Maria Shriver reportedly has retained celebrity attorney Laura Wasser. And she apparently has plenty of money to cover even the heftiest legal bill. Observers speculate that a potential legal split from actor and former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger could involve up to $400 million…

May 23, 2011 7:14 PM CDT

Lawyer Who Advised Clients to Break Into Foreclosed Homes Faces Criminal Charges

Updated: A California lawyer who made headlines by advising clients to break into their foreclosed homes to repossess them is now a defendant himself on multiple related criminal charges. Michael T. Pines, 59, who had his law license suspended last month, is accused of stalking and harassing the new owners…

May 23, 2011 4:47 PM CDT

Suit Accuses Cisco of Aiding Chinese Repression Through Sale of Internet Tracking Software

Cisco Systems Inc. is accused in a lawsuit of aiding torture and repression in China through sales of surveillance software to the Chinese government. The suit was filed by members of the persecuted spiritual group Falun Gong, report the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.). The…

May 23, 2011 11:25 AM CDT

Quest Diagnostics Pays California $241M to Settle Medi-Cal Overcharging Suit

Quest Diagnostics, California’s biggest medical lab testing provider, yesterday in a settlement agreed to repay the state $241 million for alleged Medi-Cal overcharges. According to Bloomberg News, the settlement stems from a 2005 whistleblower lawsuit that alleged the company systematically overcharged Medi-Cal patients and gave illegal kickbacks to doctors, hospitals…

May 20, 2011 4:46 PM CDT

Federal Judge Finds No Constitutional Right to Carry a Concealed Weapon

A federal judge in California has ruled there is no Second Amendment right to carry a concealed weapon. Gun rights lawyer Alan Gura of Alexandria, Va., is planning to appeal the ruling by U.S. District Judge Morrison England Jr. of Sacramento, the Associated Press reports. England sided with the Yolo…

May 17, 2011 4:44 PM CDT

Mom Sues Chuck E. Cheese’s, Says Kids’ Games Are Illegal Gambling Devices

Updated: A San Diego mom has filed a potential class action against Chuck E. Cheese’s that claims its games are illegal gambling devices. The federal suit by real-estate agent Denise Keller claims the games are similar to slot machines, the San Diego Union Tribune reports. Children play with tokens that…

May 16, 2011 12:04 PM CDT

‘Tax Lady’ Roni Deutch Says She’s Broke, Will Close Her Firm, Surrender Law License, Plans to Cry

An embattled California attorney known as the tax lady says she is broke and is closing her law firm of 20 years, which at one point employed 200 people. Roni Deutch also said in a press conference today that she plans to surrender her license to practice law, reports the…

May 12, 2011 11:00 PM CDT

Akin Gump Raids Chadbourne for 4-Partner Project Finance Team

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld has raided Chadbourne & Parke for a four-partner project finance team in Los Angeles. The new Akin Gump lawyers are Thomas Dupuis, Lloyd MacNeil, Adam Umanoff and Edward Zaelke, the firm announced today in a press release. Zaelke, who formerly served as managing partner…

May 12, 2011 5:15 PM CDT

DA’s Unusual Suit Seeks to Nix Inmate’s Prison Term Commutation by Ex-Gov Schwarzenegger

In what the San Diego County district attorney is calling a first-of-a-kind lawsuit, her office is seeking to overturn a last-minute prison sentence commutation by then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger as he was about to leave office. While conceding that the governor has the power to commute a sentence, the lawsuit filed…

May 11, 2011 11:56 PM CDT

Lindsay Lohan Pleads No Contest in Necklace-Theft Case, Gets No Additional Time

Actress Lindsay Lohan today pleaded no contest in Los Angeles Superior Court in a much-publicized necklace-theft case. Although she got 120 days in jail for violation of her probation on an earlier driving-under-the-influence case, she was given no additional jail time for the theft, according to the L.A. Now blog…

May 11, 2011 6:33 PM CDT

Tight Budgets Produce Judicial Discontent in California

Discontent is growing among judges in California amid state budget cuts and a planned $2 billion court technology upgrade. A rebel group called the Alliance of California Judges is fighting on two fronts, the San Jose Mercury News reports. The group is targeting the increasingly costly technology upgrade and seeking…

May 11, 2011 11:00 AM CDT

Kershaw Firm Lays Off One-Third of Staff, Says Business Is Up, But New Focus Requires Less Support

A California personal injury firm says it has increased its business by refocusing on complex litigation. But Kershaw Cutter Ratnoff, which is based in Sacramento, doesn’t need as much support now, partners tell the Sacramento Business Journal. So it has laid off eight staffers and one lawyer. “People are working…

May 9, 2011 7:00 PM CDT