California

Calif. Prosecutors Seek State Bar Help to Fight Mexican Drug War Spilling into US

A raging drug war in Mexico isn’t just hurting people there—including police officers, judges and lawyers affected by the ongoing violence. It’s also spilling over into the United States, as the same drug gangs responsible for killings, kidnappings and other related crime there travel across the border to ply their…

Oct 29, 2008 9:24 PM CDT

Convicted as a Teen, Jailed for 10 Years, Mario Rocha Now Hopes to Be a Lawyer

After a 12-year legal odyssey, a 29-year-old California man who has long maintained his innocence of a 1996 murder is free to move on with his life. In his future, he hopes, is a college degree and a career as a lawyer. Saying that they could not now locate witnesses…

Oct 29, 2008 4:29 PM CDT

Nixon Hires 25 Lawyers from Taylor Wessing, Possibly 60 More from Thelen

Nixon Peabody appears to be in an expansion mode after failed merger talks with two law firms. Nixon Peabody is hiring 25 lawyers from the Paris office of Taylor Wessing, the American Lawyer reports, and may acquire another 60 lawyers from the crumbling law firm Thelen, according to a story…

Oct 29, 2008 10:54 AM CDT

LA Tax Lawyer By Day, ‘Dracula’ Editor By Night

A Los Angeles tax attorney by day, Leslie Klinger leaves his entertainment industry clients behind and lives an entirely different life when he goes home at night. A fan of genre literature, he edits classic books to include references to historic material and explanations of what the author might have…

Oct 28, 2008 8:02 PM CDT

Los Angeles Law Firm to Pay $2.5M to Settle SonicBlue Malpractice Claim

A Los Angeles law firm has agreed to pay $2.5 million to settle a malpractice claim by the trustee representing creditors in the bankruptcy of electronics company SonicBlue. Levene, Neale, Bender, Rankin & Brill, the former counsel for the creditors committee, will pay $2.5 million and will not attempt to…

Oct 28, 2008 4:34 PM CDT

Calif. Judge Admonished for Saying Prosecutor Had ‘Rocks for Brains’

A longtime California judge who retired early this year has been admonished for comments he made to attorneys while still on the bench. Former San Bernardino County Superior Judge Paul Bryant Jr. shouldn’t have said to a prosecutor that she had “rocks for brains,” or something very similar, according to…

Oct 28, 2008 3:48 PM CDT

Some Lawyers Ante Up $25K in Gay Marriage Fray, as Law Prof Stars in Ads

A Pepperdine University law professor is taking to the airwaves to back a California constitutional amendment to bar gay marriage in the state, while other lawyers on both sides of the debate are contributing as much as $25,000 to committees battling over the issue. Professor Richard Peterson appears in TV…

Oct 28, 2008 3:26 PM CDT

Judge Tells Chevron to Remove Sponsored Links to Website about Case

A federal judge in San Francisco has ordered Chevron to take down sponsored Google links to a website providing the company’s spin on an incident that resulted in the death of a Nigerian villager and a lawsuit under the Alien Tort Claims Act. U.S. District Judge Susan Illston had issued…

Oct 28, 2008 12:28 PM CDT

Thelen Partners to Discuss Dissolution; Firm Chairman May Leave

Thelen partners are expected to discuss the possibility of dissolving the law firm at a firmwide meeting scheduled for Tuesday, sources tell the Daily Journal. Meanwhile, Thelen chairman Stephen O’Neal is discussing a jump to Howrey along with a group of about 30 lawyers from the firm’s construction and mass…

Oct 27, 2008 11:00 AM CDT

Thelen Energy Partner May Light Up Reed Smith

Thelen shareholder Ellen Bastier may be jumping ship, along with some of her colleagues, to Reed Smith. All of Reed Smith’s 325 equity partners were asked to vote this week on whether to acquire Bastier, a San Francisco-based energy lawyer in Thelen’s business department, the Recorder reports. An unnamed Reed…

Oct 24, 2008 8:22 PM CDT

Skadden Accuses Broadcom Prosecutor of Grand-Jury and E-Mail Leaks

A motion filed by the law firm representing Broadcom’s former chief financial officer accuses a prosecutor who pursued backdating charges against company officials of leaking grand jury information and confidential e-mails. The motion by Richard Marmaro of Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom accused lead prosecutor Andrew Stolper of misconduct,…

Oct 24, 2008 3:55 PM CDT

33 Yrs of Rehnquist Papers Donated to Stanford

Papers covering the 33 years that the late Chief Justice William Rehnquist spent on the U.S. Supreme Court, including correspondence with fellow justices, have been donated to his alma mater. Rehnquist’s family released the papers to the Hoover Institution Archives at Stanford University the San Francisco Chronicle reports. In addition…

Oct 23, 2008 3:50 PM CDT

Charges Dropped Against Britney Spears in Case Fought on Principle

Deputy Los Angeles Attorney Michael Amerian is apparently no fan of pop singer Britney Spears, nor does he like special treatment for celebrities in trouble with the law. Yet Amerian has decided to drop charges against Spears for driving without a California license after jurors failed to reach a verdict…

Oct 22, 2008 3:38 PM CDT

Law School Free for UC Irvine’s Entering 2009 Class

Students who enroll at the University of California’s new law school in Irvine next fall will get their legal education for free. The law school is giving full tuition scholarships worth about $100,000 to its first 2009 class of about 60 students, the National Law Journal reports. Charles Cannon, assistant…

Oct 22, 2008 2:34 PM CDT

Calif. State Bar Reveals Embezzlement of More than $100K

Missing rent money has prompted an embezzlement investigation into a former employee of the California State Bar Association. Robert Hawley, the bar’s deputy executive director, told the Daily Journal (sub. req.) that the amount of stolen money is believed to be “into six figures.” The person under investigation was fired…

Oct 22, 2008 12:01 PM CDT