Waiting Time Penalty
This is a Non Profit Project. We don’t collect personal data and we don’t use cookies.Waiting Time Penalties in California … Read more
Long Read
Vacation Cash Out
This is a Non Profit Project. We don’t collect personal data and we don’t use cookies.California Law Vacation Cash Out … Read more
Administrative Law
Administrative Law in California General Information As a general rule, regulations are different from statutes: regulations are enacted by administrative agencies, while statutes are enacted by the legislature (or by voter initiative). The authority to adopt, amend, and repeal regulations […]
Compensation
Compensation in California For California Attorneys: Workers' Compensation Exclusivity ( March 2015 ) Under California's workers' compensation system, the employer assumes liability for workplace injuries, regardless of fault. In exchange, the injured employee receives "relatively swift […]
Liability
Liability in California For California Attorneys: Eavesdropping Liability ( February 2015 ) Some clients are just too good to be true. Take the plaintiff who swears she has the goods on the defendant because she secretly recorded an admission of wrongdoing. When that happens, your antenna […]
Evidence
Evidence in California For California Attorneys: Tattoos as Evidence ( January 2012 ) It's a fact of life that people make snap judgments about each other's character based on discretionary aspects of physical appearance such as the way we dress or style our hair. This is especially true when […]
Prosecution
Prosecution in California For California Attorneys: Malicious Prosecution ( August 2000 ) After rejoicing over a civil verdict for the defense, defense lawyers often hear their clients ask, "Now, can we sue them for malicious prosecution?" Despite the impulse of the successful […]
Religion
Religion in California For California Attorneys: Religious Divide ( June 2002 ) Within several weeks of meeting one another, David and Martha knew they were very much in love. But David was Jewish and Martha was Christian. At first this difference did not seem like such a big deal. As their […]
Damages
Damages in California For California Attorneys: Damages After Sargon ( June 2014 ) (See also Expert Testimony) In today's litigation environment, experts play an increasingly important role, particularly when the amount of damages is disputed. Experts are invaluable for explaining complicated […]
Ethics
Ethics in California For California Attorneys: Ethics and the Internet ( January 2015 ) The Internet sure isn't Las Vegas. What lawyers say and do online isn't likely to be afforded any measure of discretion or confidentiality: Once posted, tweets, instant messages, and texts have a life of […]
Trial
Trial in California For California Attorneys: Email at Trial ( August 2015 ) Email evidence has dramatically changed the way cases are tried. Not only do juries expect to hear from live witnesses, they also want to see the emails and text messages relating to the dispute. An email properly […]
Motions
Motions in California For California Attorneys: Arguing Motions Effectively ( October 2001 ) Volumes have been written on the finer points of arguing your case to a jury and, if that doesn't work, to an appellate court. Often overlooked, however, is the less glamorous but far more frequent […]
Disclosure
Disclosure in California For California Attorneys: Inadvertent Disclosure ( March 2010 ) Today the risk of inadvertently disclosing privileged material is greater than ever. In an e-discovery world where attorneys must review an ever-increasing mass of information before turning over evidence […]
Water
Water in California Groundwater Regulations New standards are created as California's aquifers strain under drought By Belynda Reck, a partner at Hunton & Williams in Los Angeles. California's persistent drought shows little sign of abating. Faced with depleted reservoirs, dust-bowl-like […]
Indemnity
Indemnity in California For California Attorneys: Indemnity Primer ( February 2013 ) Indemnity is one of those core legal concepts that virtually every lawyer encounters somewhere down the line. Although judicial approaches to indemnity have shifted over the years, one rule holds firm: If […]
Appearance
Appearance in California Court Appearances: CourtCall Program Overview Several Courts uses CourtCall to administer all of its telephonic appearances. CourtCall Telephonic Appearance Program provides a procedure for telephone appearances by attorneys and self represented parties as an […]
Arbitration
Arbitration in California For California Attorneys: Bias in Mediation and Arbitration ( November 2003 ) Bias based on race, ethnicity, gender, or sexual orientation remains a problematic challenge throughout the legal profession. In the informal and supposedly neutral settings of mediation […]
Eminent Domain
Eminent Domain in California For California Attorneys: Eminent Domain Under Review ( December 2014 ) The generally stable area of eminent domain law, which permits the government to acquire private property as a means to achieve certain public purposes, got a jolt recently when an […]
Marijuana
Marijuana in California For California Attorneys: Medical Marijuana ( January 2004 ) Marijuana, slang for Cannabis sativa, is a pejorative term that originated during the early 1900s, when the public came to associate the plant's recreational use with ethnic and racial minorities that […]
Witnesses
Witnesses in California For California Attorneys: Attorneys as Witnesses ( March 2013 ) Most lawyers are comfortable in the role of advocate, arguing in favor of a client's position with the hope of winning the day. But on occasion, counsel in a given case may also be called upon to serve as […]
Money Laundering
Money Laundering in California For California Attorneys: Money Laundering ( December 2004 ) Before 1970 anyone could carry a large suitcase stuffed with cash into a U.S. bank and make a deposit or an overseas wire transfer, no questions asked. The banks were delighted to have the business-and […]
Disability
Disability in California For California Attorneys: Disabled Tenants ( 01-05-2001 ) What happens when a blind tenant with a seeing-eye dog tries to move into an apartment complex with a strict no-pets policy? What if a tenant who walks with difficulty wants a reserved parking space next to […]
Judges
Judges in California For California Attorneys: Judges Behaving Badly ( April 2006 ) Socrates said, "Four things belong to a judge: to hear courteously, to answer wisely, to consider soberly, and to decide impartially." ?Put a bit less laconically, the court in People v. Black […]
Accident
Accident in California For California Attorneys: Was It an Accident? ( March 2011 ) Accidents happen, and in every lawsuit insurance coverage is a critical issue. Coverage–or the lack of it–often determines whether the defendant receives a defense and whether the plaintiff recovers […]
Law Enforcement Agencies
California Law Enforcement Agencies Alameda County District Attorney Alameda County Sheriffs Office Alameda Police Department Alhambra Police Department Allan Hancock College Police Department Alpine County District Attorney Alpine County Sheriff Office Amador […]
General Obligation Bonds
Summary of General Obligation Bonds Election Results 1986 Through Present (In Millions). No amount showed means there are not bonds in that election (pass or failed). K-12 Education : Bonds election pass 1986 Primary Election: 1986 General Election: $800 1988 Primary Election: […]
Legislative Intent
After finding the legislative history of a statute, there are additional resources in this entry that you might find helpful in providing information about legislative intent. Possible Sources of California Legislative History Committee Hearings & Reports Generally, there are not […]
Legal Forms
Research Guide – California Legal Forms California Civil Procedure Formbooks These include: California Affirmative Defenses 2d, Bancroft Whitney, 5 volumes. These forms are for defenses to civil actions. This publication is also available on Westlaw (Formerly, CAAFDEF). California […]
Agencies Index
California Agencies Index Agency Index Beginning by: A Access for Infants & Mothers (AIM) Accountancy, California Board of (CBA) Acupuncture Board (ACUPUNCTURE) Administrative Hearings, Office of (OAH) Administrative Law, Office of (OAL) African American Museum, […]
Email as Evidence
Email as Evidence in Court By Mark Mermelstein and Christin J. Hill. Mark Mermelstein is a Los Angeles–based partner and Christin J. Hill is a San Francisco–based senior associate at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe. Mermelstein also chairs the firm’s Cybersecurity and Data Privacy Group. […]
UC Berkeley Law School
UC Berkeley Law School Class Paradox When UC Berkeley administrators refused to let lawyers speak for student protesters who faced the threat of disciplinary action, it set the stage for a contest with some of the university’s law students. The paradox involved UC Berkeley officials […]
Cyberbullying
By Barbara Kate Repa. She is a lawyer, writer, and editor in San Francisco. In today’s world of instant communication, bullying has gone beyond the schoolyard: Students have virtually unlimited ways to be mean. New California laws attempt to address cyberbullying, but defining and policing […]
Proposition 8
Proposition 8 in 2010 By Chuleenan Svetvilas, who was managing editor of California Lawyer. The case Perry v. Schwarzenegger was assigned to Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn R. Walker. For months, the people backing the Perry suit had worked in the shadows. They wanted the complaint […]
Disbarment
Orange County lawyer disbarred over child porn By Pamela A. MacLean She was a California Lawyer contributing writer. The California Supreme Court considers whether a suspended lawyer convicted of possessing child pornography should be automatically disbarred, or given a hearing and […]
Hydraulic Fracturing
Hydraulic fracturing, Hydrofracturing, hydrofracking, fracking or fraccing Miles beneath the Central Valley, California holds two-thirds of the nation’s shale oil reserves. But extracting that bonanza takes lots of water — and could contaminate the environment. In California, a […]
Ill Prison Inmates
Terminal Ill Prison Inmates and Compassionate Release By Tom McNichol. He is a San Francisco-based freelance writer. When terminally ill prison inmates are released before their sentences are up, is justice done or denied?. From 2007 through the first ten months of 2013, the […]
Ending the Attorney-Client Relationship
For California Attorneys: Ending the Client Relationship ( November 2015 ) As noted in the first part of this discussion (which appeared in print in the October issue of California Lawyer magazine under the title Ending the Client Relationship [Part One]), the client never needs […]
Duran v. U.S. National Bank Association Concurring Opinion
CONCURRING OPINION BY LIU, J. It is not difficult to understand why the trial court‘s sampling plan in this case was ―profoundly flawed.‖ (Maj. opn., ante, at p. 2.) The representative witness group was not selected at random but in a manner biased in plaintiffs‘ favor. The trial […]
Duran v. U.S. National Bank Association Opinion
The court‘s decision to extrapolate classwide liability from a small sample, and its refusal to permit any inquiries or evidence about the work habits of BBOs outside the sample group, deprived USB of the ability to litigate its exemption defense. USB repeatedly submitted sworn […]
Duran v. U.S. National Bank Association
Duran v. U.S. National Bank Association (59 Cal. 4th 1 (2014) Introduction Without slamming the door to wage-and-hour recoveries based upon statistical sampling, Justice Carol A. Corrigan offers trial courts step-by-step guidelines to avoid the profoundly flawed approach that led to a $15 […]
End of Life Options
Note: see, for more information, the End of Life Option Act in this California legal portal and the entry about death with dignity in the American Legal Encyclopedia. End of Life Option Act By Vanessa Rancaño. She is a freelance journalist based in Oakland. (in August 2014) was the […]
Liquor Liability
Liability for Serving Alcohol to a Drunken Driver By Brian Kabateck and Douglas Rochen. They are partners at Kabateck Brown Kellner in Los Angeles. They represent plaintiffs in a variety of civil litigation, including catastrophic-injury cases. When a drunken driver is involved in an […]
Insurance Claim
Time Window for Filing an Insurance Claim By Kirk Pasich. He is a partner at Dickstein Shapiro in Los Angeles. He represents insureds in complex-coverage matters, appellate proceedings, and domestic and international arbitrations. Most insurance policies contain specific language that […]
Right of Occupancy
Right of Occupancy versus Life Estate By Alan Weinfeld. He is an attorney at Parker Milliken in Los Angeles. He represents clients in probate litigation and other complex litigation matters. Many trusts provide that a surviving spouse or another beneficiary has the right to live in a […]
New Laws Reports
California New Laws Reports California New Laws Reports California Old Laws Reports Index to Reports Published in the Appendices to the Journals of the California Legislature 1905-1970, by Juri Stratford The California Legislature published reports in the Appendices to the […]
Bureau of Audits
California Bureau of State Audits California Bureau of State Audits The Bureau of State Audits investigates the financial stewardship and effectiveness of state government agencies. That includes financial accounting, such as an annual financial examination required under the state Budget […]
Teacher
California’s Teacher Tenure Law By Lisa Davis. She is a freelance writer and author of The Sins of Brother Curtis: A Story of Betrayal, Conviction, and the Mormon Church. She teaches journalism at Santa Clara University. California statutes give districts just two years to make a […]
California Assembly Act (2009-2010 Regular Session – AB 711)
An Act Relating to Local Government, Making an Appropriation Therefor, and Declaring the Urgency Thereof, to Take Effect Immediately Session: 2009-2010 Regular Session Chamber of origin: Assembly Bill|Appropriation|Fiscal Committee|Urgency: California Assembly Bill 711 (Prior Session […]
Wiretapping: Authorization (SB 35)
California Senate Act (2013-2014 Regular Session – SB 35) Session: 2013-2014 Regular Session Chamber of origin: Senate Bill|Fiscal Committee|Local Program: California Senate Bill 35 (Prior Session Legislation) Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0) Introduced: Dec 4, 2012 Signed by […]
Relative to Same-Sex Couples Tax Equity (AJR 29)
California Assembly Act (2009-2010 Regular Session – AJR 29) Session: 2009-2010 Regular Session Chamber of origin: Assembly Joint Resolution: California Assembly Joint Resolution 29 (Prior Session Legislation) Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 50-7) Introduced: Jan 21, 2010 […]