August 09, 2018 Chris Boscia Kim Kardashian and the Bipartisan Power of the Pardon Kim Kardashian West made national news this summer after successfully convincing President Donald Trump to commute the sentence of Alice Marie Johnson. Johnson, a sixty-three year old great-grandmother, was a first-time non-violent drug offender when she was given a life sentence without parole in 1996. President Trump commuted her... 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 Angela Corona Torres 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 +
January 26, 2018 Vanessa Hill [VIDEO] 5 Tips To Help Attorneys Start Social Media Are you still at the starting line with your social media efforts? Here are 5 tips to help attorneys start social media: Start with one social media platform; Create a strong profile; How to build connections; Accepting invitations; and Check your firm's social media policy and the state bar website. Today... More +
December 21, 2017 Michael Warren What Changes Are In Store For California Employers in 2018? As 2017 draws to a close, now is an opportune time for California employers to review the new employment laws scheduled to take effect in 2018 and ensure compliance. As with past years, the new crop of employment laws are numerous and wide-ranging. Below is a summary of some of the key laws that will impact employers in 2018. Minimum Wage... More +
December 14, 2017 Angela Corona Torres Season of Giving... Become a BME… Best Mentor Ever! There is no better time of the year to start giving. Sharing your business or courtroom experiences, leadership skills, and knowledge is an invaluable service you can give to a new lawyer or a fellow team member who might be looking for some guidance. Here are 7 tips to help you thrive as a mentor, and help your mentee... More +
November 20, 2017 Angela Corona Torres How to be Merry and Bright During the Holidays: Two Families at a Time I remember as a child how difficult it was to “choose” between the parents with whom I would spend the holidays. You do not want to choose since you may hurt one parent or the other. Here are five (5) steps to the help children of two families during the holiday season. Bah Humbug, Leave It at the Door Conflict in... More +
October 30, 2017 Angela Corona Torres Boo! “Witch” one should you have, HTTP or HTTPS? With Halloween season here, it’s important to be aware of the spooks on the web. It is a scary online world, and now more than ever is the time to take measures to strengthen the security of your website. The days of having a website that starts with HTTP are about to be a thing of the past. This month, Google Chrome, one of the most... More +
October 23, 2017 Angela Corona Torres Cybersecurity Awareness Month: How to Protect Your Firm Against Cyber Threats October is Cybersecurity awareness month. Now is a better time than ever to look at your current practices at the office and even at home. It is important to know that we all play a role in keeping our work and personal data secure. It starts at the top, but remember it includes everyone at your company. Your IT department is... More +
October 05, 2017 Barbara Reedy Lessons Learned: Website Redesign (Part 3) Congratulations! After many months of hard work with designers, techno-wizards, and fellow teammates, your new website is up and running for the whole world to see. Sigh. Isn’t it pretty? You and your team have agonized over each tiny detail. Periods or semicolons? Grey or Slate? Calibri or... More +
September 28, 2017 Vanessa Hill Lessons Learned: Website Redesign (Part 2) The decision is made: your firm is going to dive in - create a new website or redesign your existing one. I hope you had a chance to read my teammate Amanda Peth’s blog Lessons Learned: Website Redesign (Part 1) about when to do this. The team is assembled and ready to begin this detail-intensive process. Here are a few... More +
September 21, 2017 Amanda Peth Lessons Learned: Website Redesign (Part 1) Visually pleasing, descriptive, and easily digestible with clear yet engaging navigation - your website needs to encompass all of these features. After all, your website is your firm in the online world. Often it is the first interaction potential clients have with your firm. With short attention spans and constant competition for... More +
August 28, 2017 Abimael “AJ” Bastida [VIDEO] Just Took the Bar Exam, Now What? You just took the bar exam. You have survived hundreds of hours of studying. So, what now? For months you have meticulously scheduled every single day - when to wake up, what to eat, when to study, what time to go sleep, etc. If you are anything like me, you may feel lost now that the bar is over. To make matters worse, the bar results are... More +
August 17, 2017 Vanessa Hill Make Blogging A Reality At Your Firm If your goal is to start a firm blog this year, I wish you great success. In my experience, blogging does not come naturally to law firms but it has value. It may take more than one mention of your project to get it off the ground but I encourage you to go for it, be excited to show your firm the marketing possibilities of blogging.... More +
August 03, 2017 Matthew Schechter California Supreme Court Issues Sharp Reminder About Privacy and Discovery On July 13, 2017, the California Supreme Court issued its opinion in the matter of Williams v. Superior Court (Marshalls of CA, LLC) (Case No. S227228). At first glance, the opinion – which holds that an employee who brings a representative action under the Private Attorneys General Act (“PAGA”) may seek discovery of the... More +
July 06, 2017 Amanda Peth [VIDEO] 3 Quick Tips to Maintain Your Firm’s Social Media Presence Law firms and social media? Historically these two probably did not come to mind as an obvious duo. However, now, if you do not have a consistent social media presence, your firm/company is missing out on connecting and building your brand with potential clients, industry leaders and community members in a new and different way. Think... More +
June 27, 2017 Abimael “AJ” Bastida You Just Took The Bar, Now What? You just took the bar exam. You have survived hundreds of hours of studying. You have wrestled with the multi-day test. Let that sink in. Allow yourself to be proud of that accomplishment. So, what now? For months you have meticulously scheduled every single day - when to wake up, what to eat, when to study, what time to... More +
May 04, 2017 Brandon Rose Two Sides To The House Of Usher: Useful Tools for Child Support Advocacy Sometimes even a 60 percent drop in income isn’t enough. In In re Marriage of Usher (2016) 6 Cal.App.5th 347, the Second District Court of Appeal held that the reduced monthly income of Kinka Usher (“Kinka”) from approximately $350,000 to $140,141 was not a material change of circumstances justifying a child support... More +
April 20, 2017 Angela Corona Torres Hackers, Keep Out! Hackers are getting more sophisticated each day. It is our job to try and stay a step ahead of them. There is always someone on the outside trying to get in. It is imperative to keep your data secure within your business network. It is just as important to keep your personal data at home secure as well. Imagine you... More +