Business Law

The Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act (CANRA) requires mandated reporters (e.g., marriage and family therapists, psychologists, and drug and alcohol counselors) to report incidents of suspected “child abuse or neglect,” including “sexual abuse” and “sexual exploitation.” In 2014, Assembly Bill 1775 (AB1775) expanded the definition of “sexual exploitation” to include “[a] person who depicts a child in, or who knowingly develops, duplicates, prints, downloads, streams, accesses through any electronic or digital media, or exchanges, a film, photograph, videotape, video recording, negative, or slide in which a child is engaged in an act of obscene sexual conduct.” Read more

A California appellate court has held that a trial court order denying judicial reference under Code of Civil Procedure section 638 et seq. is not appealable until the conclusion of the case, in contrast with the appealability of an order denying arbitration. [J.H. Boyd Enterprises, Inc. v. Boyd, 39 Cal.App.5th 802 (Aug. 23, 2019). Read more

Generally, under product liability law, the seller, distributor or manufacturer of a defective product can be liable strictly liable for an injury from a defective product. In Oberdorf v Amazon.com, Inc., 930 F.3d 136 (July 3, 2019), the Third Circuit has extended this principle to online marketplaces in a landmark ruling. Read more

In a 2-1 decision reflecting a circuit split, the Eleventh Circuit holds that a guarantor is not an “applicant” under 15 U.S.C. section 1691(a), and therefore cannot bring an action for discrimination under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA or Act). Read more

Freedom House, an independent watchdog organization dedicated to the expansion of freedom and democracy around the world and publisher of the annual Freedom on the Net report, released a pessimistic 2019 report "Freedom on the Net 2019: The Crisis of Social Media". Read more

On October 12, 2019, Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law Assembly Bill 749 which created Code of Civil Procedure § 1002.5, effective January 1, 2020. The new statute prohibits a provision in a settlement agreement that prevents employees from obtaining future employment with the settling employer. Section 1002.5 applies to prohibit such “no-rehire” provisions in settlement agreements in civil actions. As a result, any provision in a settlement agreement entered on or after January 1, 2020 that prevents employees from obtaining future employment with the settling employer will be deemed void as a matter of law and against public policy. Read more

A promissory note is not rendered non-negotiable solely by virtue of a reference to an extrinsic agreement. Negotiability is only destroyed where the holder of the instrument would be required to look beyond the note to determine such holder’s rights with respect to payment. Read more

It might seem daunting to consider starting a law practice. The questions seem endless: Do I need an office? How will I market and find clients? What about domain names, logos, letterhead and social media, creating my professional image and profile. This panel will begin to break down the process of starting your own practice and will provide practical advice to demystify the process. Read more

Lawyers learn about cases in law school, but often don’t learn how to practice law until outside of law school. Even with law schools adding more practice-focused clinics and courses, one often overlooked skill is business development.This is a skill that every lawyer needs to learn, whether you operate in private, in-house, or pro bono practice.This panel will focus on how to network and build business while also staying true to yourself. The panel will include ethical limitations on marketing. Read more

Courtesy of CEB, we are bringing you selected legal developments in areas of California business law that are covered by CEB’s publications. This month’s feature is from the November 2019 update of Drafting Employment Documents for California Employers.  References are to the book’s section numbers.  See CEB’s BLS Landing Page for special discounts for Business Law Section members.  The most significant legal developments since the last update include developments in such important topic areas as FEHA claims,  arbitration, PAGA claims, independent… Read more