GUEST COLUMNS
Friday, June 5, 2026
The housing crisis is about inequality, not environmental law.
A little-known agreement between the DOJ and VA will allow federally appointed VA attorneys to seek state court conservatorships or guardianships for vulnerable veterans--particularly homeless veterans lacking decision-making capacity--prompting concerns about civil liberties, unfunded mandates on counties, and the federal government's refusal to release the underlying memorandum for public scrutiny.
Thursday, June 4, 2026
The federal government's creation of a West Coast Health Care Fraud Strike Force reflects a significant expansion of coordinated, data-driven enforcement efforts targeting health care fraud across Medicare and Medicaid programs, particularly in high-risk industries such as hospice and telehealth.
In Guild Mortgage Co., LLC v. CrossCountry
Mortgage LLC, the Court of Appeal held that CUTSA does not bar tortious
interference or CCDAFA claims where the gravamen is employee raiding and
competitive sabotage, not merely trade secret theft.
Wednesday, June 3, 2026
California's 2025 Song-Beverly reforms aim to speed lemon law litigation and force early resolution through strict deadlines and sanctions, but uneven manufacturer participation has left a fragmented system whose effectiveness remains uncertain.
No matter how good the language in a settlement agreement may be, tax language in a settlement agreement does not guarantee the desired tax treatment.
Tuesday, June 2, 2026
As Los Angeles prepares for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, unresolved infrastructure, safety and accountability concerns are beginning to surface before the first match is even played.
San Diego County Assessor Jordan Marks argues that Measure A would unfairly impose costly taxes on wildfire victims, grieving families, and homeowners navigating probate or disaster recovery while failing to meaningfully address San Diego's housing affordability crisis.
Monday, June 1, 2026
California is turning fashion compliance into full-spectrum accountability, binding brands to labor, climate and supply-chain impacts while sharply raising the bar for sustainability claims.
As the nation turns 250, access to justice remains one of the clearest measures of whether America is living up to its founding promise.
Friday, May 29, 2026
As YouTube takes a more active role in creator monetization and brand partnerships, new legal and business questions will emerge around ownership, leverage, transparency and how value is divided among platforms, creators and advertisers.
Trump's rollback of federal anti-corruption enforcement may ease pressure on multinational businesses, but states and foreign regulators are stepping in to police conduct the DOJ is now deprioritizing.
Thursday, May 28, 2026
When Amazon agreed earlier this month to stop selling high-speed e-bikes in California, headlines called it a recall; it is not. That distinction matters--and for manufacturers, marketplaces and sellers, it may carry significant litigation consequences.
A rare church-state showdown is brewing at Mount Cristo Rey, where the federal government's bid to seize Catholic Church land for the border wall pits national security against religious freedom in a high-stakes clash of the First and Fifth Amendments.
Wednesday, May 27, 2026
California's workers' compensation system is built to resolve claims at defined statutory endpoints, even when recovery from traumatic brain injuries, chronic pain and psychological conditions remains incomplete or unstable.
Most people know that if you owe taxes, you'll also owe interest. But fewer consider what happens to that interest while they're fighting the bill.
Tuesday, May 26, 2026
A federal jury in Oakland dismissed Elon Musk's lawsuit against OpenAI on procedural grounds, underscoring the growing importance of Public Benefit Corporation status as both a legal framework and a signal of broader societal commitments.
In O'Dell v. Aya Healthcare Services, Inc.,
the 9th Circuit held that employees cannot use prior arbitral rulings to block
arbitration, reaffirming that the FAA requires enforcement based on each
individual agreement rather than non-mutual offensive collateral estoppel.
Friday, May 22, 2026
As healthcare, crisis response and public systems increasingly rely on digital infrastructure, California's next civil rights challenge may center on whether meaningful communication and comprehension remain legal prerequisites before institutions can lawfully act on vulnerable individuals.
The California Supreme Court heard arguments
in the Gilead Tenofovir litigation as justices examined whether
drugmakers can be held liable for delaying safer alternatives under a broader
"duty to innovate."
Thursday, May 21, 2026
Louisiana v. Callais guts key protections of the
Voting Rights Act by narrowing Section 2 and enabling partisan redistricting
that could sharply reduce Black representation in Congress and state
legislatures.
After the Eaton and Palisades fires, insurers are reportedly terminating Additional Living Expense benefits by requiring policyholders to demonstrate rebuilding progress, a condition not set forth in California Insurance Code section 2060.
Wednesday, May 20, 2026
Tech companies and their allies continue to frame the First Amendment and Section 230 as shields against liability for online harms, even as recent jury verdicts over social media addiction underscore growing concerns about the impact of platforms and AI on children.
Elmer "Geronimo" Pratt's case shows how political targeting and hidden informants can destroy an innocent man--and why the justice system still hasn't fully learned the lesson.
Tuesday, May 19, 2026
Uber's ballot initiative would gut California's contingency fee system, restrict access to justice for injured victims, shift costs to taxpayers, and demands a major financial and political response from the plaintiffs' bar to defend the system.
Historic preservation or constitutional taking? The next frontier in the Marilyn Monroe home dispute
The litigation over Marilyn Monroe's Brentwood home centers on whether the City's historic designation and related demolition restrictions constitute an unconstitutional taking under California inverse condemnation law.
Monday, May 18, 2026
While Doe v. Meta follows existing
Section 230 law, its concurrences signal rising judicial pressure to narrow
platform immunity for algorithm-driven recommendations--potentially reshaping
social media law and inviting Supreme Court review.
California's new CCPA regulations requiring annual cybersecurity audits and risk assessments are forcing companies to create detailed records of their cybersecurity practices and risk management decisions --documentation that should be managed with a deliberate, litigation-aware strategy.
Friday, May 15, 2026
The OpenAI litigation is becoming a public demonstration of how modern discovery works. Executives separate "official" communications from informal ones; courts increasingly do not.
In an era of overwhelming federal dockets and increasingly aggressive discovery practice, swift judicial intervention remains one of the few effective tools for preserving professionalism and the integrity of the process.
Thursday, May 14, 2026
The DOJ's narrow marijuana rescheduling order may deliver long-awaited tax relief for licensed medical operators, but in California it also reframes cannabis activity through the lens of traditional health care law, with immediate implications for MSOs, clinicians and investors.
A Hollywood mentor-protégé tradition--where wisdom is forged through pressure, proximity and example--is embodied in the life and legacy of entertainment lawyer Sam Semon, whose principled leadership in dealmaking, studio politics and human relationships taught that true mentorship is not instruction but the transmission of judgment, integrity and character across generations.
Wednesday, May 13, 2026
San Gorgonio Pass Water Agency has long understood a simple truth that a recent economic forecast confirms: Reliable water infrastructure is the foundation of regional prosperity.
Los Angeles is now paying for years of deferred maintenance on both sides of the ledger, as sidewalk hazards and streetlight outages drive repair costs and liability exposure.
Tuesday, May 12, 2026
CalPERS settled a seven-year dispute over post-retirement work restrictions after a judge barred recovery of alleged overpayments, but the case left unresolved who qualifies as an employee under state retirement law.
The Privette Doctrine and its exceptions: Court of appeal grapples with the easy and the not-so-easy
Court of appeal holds Privette applies
without a written contract and bars claims despite alleged "no permits"
directive, while dissent warns the decision lets owners avoid liability by
controlling illegal and unsafe work conditions.
Monday, May 11, 2026
In an era of remote practice, lawyers who view supervision as merely reactive risk serious professional consequences, as state bars and courts increasingly expect proactive oversight of lawyers and nonlawyers alike to prevent misconduct before clients are harmed.
For over a century, California trial courts have effectuated pretrial detention through sureties set at amounts a defendant could not pay. Kowalczyk answers two questions long reserved by the Court and holds the practice cannot continue.
Friday, May 8, 2026
The House of Representatives has passed bipartisan legislation that would amend the Internal Revenue Code so survivors of sexual abuse and unwanted, illegal sexual contact no longer pay taxes on their legal settlement income.
As EPA PFAS drinking water standards shift and evolve, lawsuits over contamination and responsibility are rapidly expanding across the country.
Thursday, May 7, 2026
Neuroethics is rapidly emerging as a critical but underdeveloped field in law and policy, leaving the legal profession unprepared for the fast-moving rise of neural data collection, fragmented state regulation, and the coming challenges of neurotechnology across privacy, employment, IP and constitutional law.
As AI transforms computing into a race shaped as much by climate, water and power as by code, modular micro-data centers are redefining digital infrastructure by strategically shifting heavy workloads to cooler, resource-rich regions while preserving latency-critical capacity in selective local hubs like California.
Wednesday, May 6, 2026
The Supreme Court's 6-3 ruling in Louisiana
v. Callais fundamentally undermined the Voting Rights Act by requiring
proof of intentional discrimination under Section 2, making majority-communities
of color districts far harder to create and defend.
As California's employment enforcement landscape grows increasingly aggressive, employers must prioritize proactive audits, updated timekeeping policies, and continuous compliance monitoring to navigate the state's unforgiving wage and hour laws heading into 2026.
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