March 21, 2019 Michael Reedy Why Ratcheting Up Emotions Serves No One In A Divorce Most divorces are difficult and emotionally draining. The legal term for divorce is “dissolution;” your marital relationship is dissolved. Divorce marks the end of a relationship, the death of something that began with love and commitment. Most people expect, or hope, their marriage will last a lifetime. If the... More +
March 14, 2019 Marwa Elzankaly The Appellate Oral Argument The Appellate Court: An exciting forum of oral advocacy; a check on the process and the decisions of our trial courts; a second chance for parties to make their case; and a place where novel and important legal principles are decided to ensure a balance of fairness and equality in the law. If you are a trial lawyer and have both tried... More +
January 31, 2019 Michael Warren 2019 California Employment Law Update: The Year Of #MeToo As predicted at our 2018 employment law seminar, “Don’t Let #MeToo Become #YouToo: Effectively Handling Workplace Sexual Harassment Complaints,” the movement had a significant impact on California’s new employment laws passed for 2019. A number of the new laws address the issue of workplace sexual harassment and more... More +
January 24, 2019 Vanessa Hill ‘Tis’ the Season’ is Over…Now What? Stay Involved With That Non-Profit! It is wonderful to see people and organizations come together during the holiday season to encourage the gift of giving. Now it’s January and the non-profit organizations have delivered their gifts to children with care. Families in need have been served with warm holiday meals. Non-profit organizations always see an... More +
December 13, 2018 Amanda Peth Countdown to New Year’s: A LinkedIn Checklist It has been quite a year! Before you start planning for 2019, give yourself some time to look back on all that you have done this year and make sure it is reflected on your LinkedIn profile. After all, when someone googles your name, your LinkedIn profile often appears in the top 3 search results. Here are some things to keep in... More +
December 06, 2018 Tyler Atkinson Class Actions: A Brief Comparison of Federal and California Practice Introduction Attorneys who appear in both state and federal courts must be familiar with the differences between the two systems. While some rules have harmonized over time,[1] other procedures are entirely distinct. As a matter of competence, lawyers who practice in state and federal courts should stay familiar with these... More +
December 06, 2018 Tyler Atkinson Evidentiary Privileges in California And Federal Courts: A Brief Comparison Introduction Attorneys who appear in both state and federal courts must be familiar with the differences between the two systems. While some rules have harmonized over time,[1] other procedures are entirely distinct. As a matter of competence, lawyers who practice in state and federal courts should stay familiar with these... More +
November 29, 2018 Tyler Atkinson Punitive Damages: A Brief Comparison of Federal and California Practice Introduction Attorneys who appear in both state and federal courts must be familiar with the differences between the two systems. While some rules have harmonized over time,[1] other procedures are entirely distinct. As a matter of competence, lawyers who practice in state and federal courts should stay familiar with these... More +
November 29, 2018 Tyler Atkinson The Jury System: A Brief Comparison Between Federal and California Practices Introduction Attorneys who appear in both state and federal courts must be familiar with the differences between the two systems. While some rules have harmonized over time,[1] other procedures are entirely distinct. As a matter of competence, lawyers who practice in state and federal courts should stay familiar with these... More +
November 29, 2018 Tyler Atkinson Citation to Unpublished Cases: A Brief Comparison of Federal And California Practices Introduction Attorneys who appear in both state and federal courts must be familiar with the differences between the two systems. While some rules have harmonized over time,[1] other procedures are entirely distinct. As a matter of competence, lawyers who practice in state and federal courts should stay familiar with these... More +
November 08, 2018 Christine Peek We Have the Best Empire that Coaxium Can Buy: Corruption on Corellia Consider the purrgil. Naturally self-sufficient space travelers, these majestic creatures metabolize their own hyperfuel by gulping down huge quantities of Clouzon-36 gas. Unfortunately for the humanoids of Solo: A Star Wars Story, obtaining useable hyperfuel requires considerably more effort. In the Imperial Era, coaxium has the... More +
October 30, 2018 McManis Faulkner Hackers are Vampires - Keep Them from Feeding on Your Private Information According to myth, vampires can only enter your home if you let them in. Hackers, the vampires of cyber-world, are out there, waiting for you to ‘invite’ them in so they may feed on your private information. There is no better time than cybersecurity month to strengthen your online login security protocols for the office and... More +
October 18, 2018 Hilary Weddell Governor Brown Signs Workplace-Related #MeToo Bills into Law Following a long legislative year, Governor Jerry Brown recently signed into law several pieces of legislation aimed at curbing sexual harassment in the workplace. This topic dominated conversation in the California legislature in 2018, as both the Assembly and the Senate sought to update and amend the state’s sexual harassment laws in... More +
September 17, 2018 Hilary Weddell California Legislature Passes Assortment of Bills to Curb Sexual Harassment The #MeToo movement sent shockwaves through the hearts and minds of employers and employees alike last fall, and the California Legislature – known for introducing progressive legislation – jumped at the chance to address existing sexual harassment laws. From increased training requirements to prohibitions on arbitration and... More +
September 13, 2018 Nicole Zendejas E-Discovery: What to Look for in e-Discovery Vendors Electronically stored information (“ESI”) can play a vital role in any case, whether it’s family law or business and commercial litigation. If managed appropriately, ESI can not only provide you with critical information, but can also serve in developing case strategy from inception to trial. Hence the need for... More +
August 30, 2018 James McManis A Memorable Case I have tried many cases over a 50-year period, but the one which received the most worldwide attention was “The Elephant Case”. The case arose in August, 2001, at the San Jose Arena, where Ringling Brothers Barnum & Bailey circus was performing. A Humane Society official alleged that star Ringling Brothers trainer Mark... More +
August 23, 2018 Vanessa Hill, Amanda Peth Networking: Planning, Persistence, and Practice Do not just attend an event - attend with purpose. To go with purpose means setting goals. Clearly, you want to enjoy your time but you hope to have ROI too. Look ahead to see what you need to accomplish before, during, and after the event and determine if it is a worthwhile investment of your time, money, and energy.... More +
July 26, 2018 Johanna Oh What I Learned From Taking The Bar Exam: Discipline, Balance, & Nature Of Time What do any of us learn from having taken the bar exam? In the wise words of CIA Superior (Burn After Reading): “I don’t know—I guess we learn not to do it again.” The bar exam process is a unique experience. For two and a half months leading up to the bar exam, we step outside the bounds of societal normalcy,... More +
July 26, 2018 James McManis The Timid Judge and The Clever Bailiff The Judge was a lovely old fellow, a relic from a time before the birth of Silicon Valley, when Santa Clara County was covered with orchards instead of start-ups, and was known as the Valley of the Heart’s Delight. As a measure of his humility, the Judge usually took the bench in a coat and tie without his robe. (This practice... More +
July 05, 2018 Abimael “AJ” Bastida Sexual Harassment in the Workplace: The Anonymous Complaint Process As the number of allegations of sexual harassment in the workplace continue to grow across professions, socio-economic classes, and cultures, employers frequently ask whether an anonymous complaint reporting process for employees is necessary. The Employer’s Responsibility It can be understandably daunting for an employee to report any... More +
May 17, 2018 Marwa Elzankaly The Not-So-Powerful Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) There once was a time when Non-Disclosure Agreements (aka “NDAs”) were primarily used by companies to keep their employees, contractors, or vendors, from divulging their intellectual property or sensitive business information, or when they had to disclose such information to a prospective buyer or investor in their business. The... More +
March 15, 2018 McManis Faulkner Take the Test: Will You Fall Prey to Phishing? 6 Tips to Identifying an Email Scam Email is the driving force of communication. Lawyers often receive over 100 emails a day. It can be easy to overlook potential scams hidden in your inbox. Hopefully, your firm has the proper security protocols in place: spam servers, anti-virus servers, and malware detection to name a few. However, hackers are getting more... More +
March 01, 2018 Abimael “AJ” Bastida Looking Back: My First Deposition – What I Wish I Knew A deposition is one of the most useful discovery tools for trial attorneys. It is the only opportunity, prior to trial itself, where an attorney can question a witness about nearly everything he or she knows regarding the case. I have taken and defended several depositions. Each provided a lesson I wish I would have known from the... More +
February 15, 2018 Michael Warren [VIDEO] What Changes Are In Store For California Employers in 2018? Some of the key laws that will impact employers in 2018: New Parent Leave Act; Salary History Questions; "Ban-the-Box" Law; and Minimum Wage Increase. More +
February 08, 2018 Johanna Oh Motions to Strike Added to CCP Section 472 in 2018 Up until 2017, the California Code of Civil Procedure (“Code”) was unclear as to how one was to calculate deadlines for amending pleadings without leave of court within the context of motions to strike. However, that uncertainty was clarified this year when Section 472 of the Code was revised to expressly include motions to... More +