California

4066 ABA Journal California articles.

Opinion Letters Are Privileged, Calif. High Court Rules

The California Supreme Court, in a unanimous opinion, ruled that factual information in letters from outside counsel to corporate counsel is just as privileged as legal advice. “Although exercise of the privilege may occasionally result in the suppression of relevant evidence, the legislature of this state has determined that these…

Dec 2, 2009 11:23 PM CST

Courthouse Abuzz Over DA’s Blanket Boycott of Longtime Judge

Since being appointed to the state-court bench in 1995, a Southern California judge has presided over numerous high-profile cases and served in a series of leading administrative roles. But San Diego Superior Court Judge John Einhorn isn’t as busy as he was on the criminal side, thanks to a blanket…

Nov 30, 2009 9:12 PM CST

Still Famous Long After Landmark Trial, Judge Ito Can’t Keep a Nameplate

The most famous judge in the criminal courthouse in downtown Los Angeles doesn’t have a nameplate. That’s because visitors apparently in search of a souvenir keep removing it, reports the L.A. Now blog of the Los Angeles Times. Judge Lance Ito, who became not only a household name but a…

Nov 24, 2009 11:48 PM CST

Chair and Vice Chair of Howard Rice’s Business Practice Jump to Other Firms

The chair and vice chair of the business department of Howard, Rice, Nemerovski, Canady, Falk & Rabkin left last week to join to other law firms. Deborah Marshall, who chairs the department, went to Sidley Austin, where she will be joined by Howard Rice partners Hank Barry and Stephen Fronk,…

Nov 24, 2009 12:24 PM CST

Blind Law Grad Sues Bar Exam Group, Seeks OK to Use Screen Reader

Although she is legally blind, Stephanie Enyart earned her law degree with the help of software that enlarges her computer screen and converts text to audio. And, when the 32-year-old graduate of the University of California-Los Angeles School of Law asked state bar officials for permission to use the same…

Nov 24, 2009 12:10 AM CST

As Bar Joke Becomes Habeas Claim, Lawyer Is Target of Hearing

A bar joke more than 20 years ago by a then-deputy attorney general in San Francisco isn’t so funny now. Made to a bartender at Eureka’s Waterfront Cafe, where a waitress happened to be a juror in a capital case, it resulted in an evidentiary hearing earlier this year after…

Nov 23, 2009 9:19 PM CST

Lawyer-Pilot Dies in Plane Crash

An instrument-rated California lawyer and pilot died Friday when his four-passenger Cessna 182 crashed and burned shortly after takeoff in Susanville, near the Nevada border. Harold Gartner III was alone in the plane and it was snowing heavily at the time, according to the Lassen County Times. Steve Datema, who…

Nov 23, 2009 7:02 PM CST

Defendant Argues Law Firm’s YouTube Video Amounted to Defamation

A company accused in a class action lawsuit of selling a dietary supplement that doesn’t live up to its memory claims has turned the tables on the plaintiffs’ firm, claiming its lawyers gave interviews and posted a YouTube video with defamatory statements. On Friday, the class action defendant, Brain Research…

Nov 23, 2009 3:34 PM CST

Grad Without a Credit Card Passes Bar Exam After Suing to Take the Test

There’s a happy ending to the story of disabled law grad who sued when California bar examiners refused to process her application to take the test because she didn’t fill in a credit card number. Sara Granda, a graduate of the University of California at Davis School of Law, has…

Nov 23, 2009 12:49 PM CST

Federal PD Wins Health Costs for Same-Sex Spouse in ‘Legal End-Run’

A federal public defender, thwarted in an earlier effort to enroll his same-sex spouse in his employer’s health coverage plan, has won a ruling requiring his employer to pay him for the costs of obtaining outside insurance. The Los Angeles Times calls the ruling by Judge Stephen Reinhardt of the…

Nov 19, 2009 3:00 PM CST

Law Firm Manager Gets 41 Months for Embezzling $1.3M

Sentenced yesterday by a federal judge in California to 41 months for embezzling $1.3 million from the law firm at which she formerly worked as office manager, Regina Schenck blames a “demeaning” climate at Diepenbrock Harrison and a “horse addiction” for fueling her crime. In a presentence letter to U.S.…

Nov 18, 2009 11:19 PM CST

Ex-Lawyer Took Fifth, Couldn’t Defend $2.4M Civil Case, Now Gets New Trial

A California judge abused his discretion by effectively denying a tax attorney who took the Fifth during discovery in a civil case brought by a former client the opportunity to present any defense at trial. Hence, the state Court of Appeals threw out a jury verdict against the former attorney,…

Nov 18, 2009 8:25 PM CST

Lawsuit Accusing Toyota of Destroying Evidence Is Headed for Arbitration

An arbitrator, rather than a judge, will hear claims by a former Toyota in-house lawyer that the automaker destroyed evidence in more than 300 rollover suits. Yesterday, U.S. District Judge George King of Los Angeles ruled that a 2007 severance agreement requires lawyer Dimitrios Biller to arbitrate his dispute with…

Nov 18, 2009 2:56 PM CST

Lawyer Who Wrote Voting Law Sues & Collects, as Gov’t Officials Steam Over $4.3M Won

Only one legal group in California is suing to enforce the state’s unique voting rights law. And a key attorney in that group helped draft it and get it enacted. This is aggravating officials of several governmental entities from which the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco…

Nov 16, 2009 9:31 PM CST

Judge Nixes ‘Hackintosher’ Bid to Put Mac OS X in Cloned Computers

Apple won a legal battle over the use of its operating system Friday, when a federal judge in San Francisco ruled that Psystar violated copyright law by selling its own cloned computers with Mac OS X. The clone-maker got around Apple’s restrictions on using the operating system in non-Macintosh machines…

Nov 16, 2009 7:28 PM CST

Read more ...

California

Opinion Letters Are Privileged, Calif. High Court Rules

Courthouse Abuzz Over DA’s Blanket Boycott of Longtime Judge

Still Famous Long After Landmark Trial, Judge Ito Can’t Keep a Nameplate

Chair and Vice Chair of Howard Rice’s Business Practice Jump to Other Firms

Blind Law Grad Sues Bar Exam Group, Seeks OK to Use Screen Reader

As Bar Joke Becomes Habeas Claim, Lawyer Is Target of Hearing

Lawyer-Pilot Dies in Plane Crash

Defendant Argues Law Firm’s YouTube Video Amounted to Defamation

Grad Without a Credit Card Passes Bar Exam After Suing to Take the Test

Federal PD Wins Health Costs for Same-Sex Spouse in ‘Legal End-Run’

Law Firm Manager Gets 41 Months for Embezzling $1.3M

Ex-Lawyer Took Fifth, Couldn’t Defend $2.4M Civil Case, Now Gets New Trial

Lawsuit Accusing Toyota of Destroying Evidence Is Headed for Arbitration

Lawyer Who Wrote Voting Law Sues & Collects, as Gov’t Officials Steam Over $4.3M Won

Judge Nixes ‘Hackintosher’ Bid to Put Mac OS X in Cloned Computers

Topics: Career & Practice

Ex-BigLaw partner hit with prison time, $4.2M restitution order in tax case

Your Voice

The Power of Pro Bono: A fair hearing, respect and justice for all

Podcasts

What Filevine's new AI tool could mean for the future of depositions

California

Most Read

Topics: Career & Practice

Your Voice

Podcasts