April 4, 2024 Trinity E. Taylor Is A Public Demonstration Which Blocks Traffic Protected Symbolic Speech? California’s Assembly Bill 2742 Proposes to Fine Protestors Who Block Traffic. Almost nothing is more vital to our way of life than the exercise of our right to free speech, protected by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. However, that right is not unlimited and it must yield to competing interests in certain cases. Given the uptick in demonstrations in the past year, we must ask whether blocking traffic... More +
March 21, 2024 Taylor Barnett How Do I Prepare for the LSAT? For you aspiring law students, the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) may be an intimidating obstacle as you begin the journey to law school. It may possibly seem like the source of many heartaches and sleepless nights, especially for those working full-time. However, with the proper discipline, motivation, and healthy habits, the LSAT obstacle can... More +
February 15, 2024 Trinity E. Taylor The Alec Baldwin Case and California’s Senate Bill 2 on Handgun Restrictions In October 2021, director of photography, Halyna Hutchins, was tragically killed on the set of the film Rust when a prop gun that turned out to have live rounds was allegedly fired by actor Alec Baldwin. Prosecutors subsequently filed criminal charges against several of the individuals on set. David Halls, the first assistant director of the film,... More +
February 01, 2024 Elise Dresser, Jessica Te Fourteen Days Before Trial: The Home Stretch For lawyers preparing to go to trial, the two weeks before trial are critical. That is when you check off the final items on your to-do list and finalize your trial plan. After months of hard work, your research and preparation will be put to the test. Fourteen days until trial Finalize your strategy and visualize how you want the trial to... More +
January 09, 2024 Hilary Weddell California Employers: New Year, New Laws It’s that time of year again. The weather gets cold and rainy, the calendar turns from December to January, and new employment laws go into effect that could shake up your workplace. The California legislature is always forward-thinking when it comes to employment laws, and 2023 was no different. As numerous key bills cleared Governor... More +
January 03, 2024 Trinity E. Taylor Be Prepared: New Employment Laws in California (2024) With a new year come new laws. Below are five employment laws that will take effect in California in 2024. Paid Sick Leave Increases Effective January 1, 2024, Assembly Bill (“AB”) 616 will, require employers to provide at least 40 hours or 5 days, whichever is more, in paid sick leave (“PSL”) to employees who work at... More +
December 21, 2023 Casey Douglas Understanding The CBA in Shohei Ohtani’s Historic Deal Since Shohei Ohtani made his long-awaited decision about the future of his Major League Baseball (MLB) career earlier this month, many fans have been trying to understand how this historic deal came to be, and what it means. Ohtani has taken baseball by storm since he came to America in 2018 to play for the Los Angeles Angels. Among many... More +
December 07, 2023 Jairo Bustos A Law Student’s Guide to Networking Law students are some of the busiest people in the world. Between working, attending class, and making time for family, who has time for networking? Along with everything else you need to do, networking can become a chore that gets pushed down the list of priorities. Networking must be prioritized. It can lead to job referrals and other... More +
November 30, 2023 Elise Dresser, Jessica Te 30 Days Before Trial: It’s All About Teamwork Trial is fast approaching. With 30 days left before the starting date, how will you accomplish all the tasks that remain? It’s time to work together and utilize your support staff to get you successfully through the final push to trial. 30 days until trial Schedule regular meetings with your trial team. Your trial team will include... More +
October 05, 2023 Elise Dresser, Jessica Te 60 Days Before Trial: Ready, Set, Go! After months of hard work, countless hours poring over exhibits and documents, and late nights at the office, your case is headed to court. You are confident that you will be ready when the time comes, but as the date of trial approaches, how can you ensure that you are really and truly prepared? The answer is simple: tackle trial preparation... More +
August 03, 2023 Jessica Te Books with Benefits (for the Busy Attorney) Recreational reading is a luxury — especially for attorneys — but there’s no better day to pick up a pleasant paperback than August 9: National Book Lover’s Day. Despite the existence of e-books, audiobooks, and other digital reading tools, leafing through a physical book can be a novel (pun intended) experience. Yet, as... More +
July 20, 2023 Hilary Weddell Five California Employment Bills that Could Shake Up Your Workplace The California legislature is in the midst of its 2023 legislative session, having already considered more than 2,000 bills. As the Senate and Assembly work towards the September 14 deadline to pass legislation, below are five of the most impactful employment bills currently working through the Capitol. From new policies that could impact the... More +
July 14, 2023 Jessica Te An Easy Beginner’s Guide to ChatGPT Photo by Shantanu Kumar (Pexels). The Rise of ChatGPT: A Revolution in AI Interaction What is ChatGPT and why is everyone talking about it? The use of Artificial Intelligence technology has evolved more quickly than anticipated, which has forced leading schools and businesses to update policies in anticipation of how AI will affect work... More +
April 27, 2023 McManis Faulkner How to Network Successfully Let’s face it… most of us do not naturally love to network. The networking concept has connotations of forced, insincere, and transactional communication. From those who spend half of an event in the restroom to avoid conversing with strangers, to those who come fully prepared and know the name of your cousin’s cat, networking is... More +
April 13, 2023 Tianqi Michael Sun Conversation with the Civil Bench -- Takeaways Key Takeaways from the Santa Clara County Civil Judges Santa Clara County Civil Judges Preferred Methods of Practice On March 22, members of the Santa Clara County Bar Association (SCCBA) gathered at McManis Faulkner for the annual “Evening Conversation with the Civil Bench” which provides a unique opportunity for members of the... More +
March 29, 2023 Nicole Zendejas The Who, What, Why of a Family Law Paralegal Do you know the name of your family law paralegal? Although you may not immediately think of a paralegal when you hire an attorney, your paralegal should become a trusted companion as you navigate your family law case. The paralegal is a critical member of your team. Paralegals assist the client with tasks that might initially seem confusing... More +
February 17, 2023 Michael Reedy Lead with Kindness – In Life, In Law Kindness endures by changing the world a little bit at a time. Ten years ago, in April of 2013, I felt a distinct loss when Roger Ebert, my favorite movie critic, passed away. I felt like I had lost a friend. We did not have a personal relationship, as we never met or exchanged words. But I had been reading Roger... More +
January 11, 2023 Trinity E. Taylor California Employers Will Continue to Confront a Changing Legal Landscape in 2023 and Beyond The COVID-19 pandemic spurred a vast number of changes to California’s employment laws. Employers hoping for a reprieve from the rapid pace of change in employment laws will be disappointed that 2023 has been marked as another year of significant change. Below are some of the key laws that take effect in 2023, and beyond. SB... More +
January 05, 2023 Hilary Weddell The Value of “Doing”: Lessons in Mentoring A great mentor is invaluable for a young lawyer. In a profession based on judgment, young lawyers need the guidance of a wise, battle-tested lawyer to help them unlock their true potential. If they’re especially lucky, like I was, they will get the opportunity not just to “see,” but to “do.” My mentor was Jim... More +
December 01, 2022 McManis Faulkner Five Trial Tips For New Attorneys 1. Be organized. Simple, right? Not quite. You must of course organize before trial to make trial smooth. Some easy examples include: before each day at trial, ensure that you have all exhibits labeled, copied, and packed; prepare each exhibit in the order that the trial outlines suggest; ensure that witnesses remember to appear at trial;... More +
November 17, 2022 McManis Faulkner Cyber Security Awareness October was Cybersecurity Awareness Month, but every day we should be aware of the potential threats that exist while using technology. The following is an interview with Alvin Margallo (AM), IT specialist at a Silicon Valley law firm. This interview covers some cyber security basics, and risk avoidance practices that could be implemented both in... More +
November 10, 2022 Vanessa Hill RSVP. It’s good for your brand! Holidays are upon us and invitations to fun events may come your way. You may think your timely response is not important, but is this true? Can your RSVP or lack of RSVP affect your personal brand? As a marketing, business development, and PR person for a Silicon Valley law firm, I can tell you it truly can. Word travels fast and, yes, the way you... More +
October 27, 2022 McManis Faulkner Can an AI Hire a Lawyer? A recently-fired Google engineer claims that the company’s artificial intelligence program has become sentient, and—even worse—has hired a lawyer. A court may now have to face a question once considered only theoretical: is a human-like artificial intelligence (AI) a “person” in the eyes of the law? In what... More +
July 28, 2022 Vanessa Hill Is Your Communication Toolbox Growing? Take a quick look in my garage and you will see boxes filled with tools. At first glance, many of them appear to be doubles of the same tool. You may ask, ‘why so many of the same tools?’ I would answer, ‘take a closer look. They are similar, not the same’. When working on different cars, each... More +
June 21, 2022 Michael Reedy Championship Culture Culture matters. Culture can change the world. Stephen Curry and his Golden State Warriors teammates prove this point, just like Joe Montana and Buster Posey proved it with the San Francisco 49ers and the San Francisco Giants. They are three exceptional leaders who changed the cultures of their teams and made them... More +