eNews

Overwhelm can tank a day faster than just about anything else. When you have more email than you can handle, an out-of-control task list, and phone calls that just won’t stop, it’s almost impossible to operate effectively. Even if you manage to limp along, you may find that you’re distracted and that things are falling through the cracks. Over the years, I’ve honed in on a variety of methods to beat overwhelm, and these are the top 10, based on my own experience and client feedback: Read more

While the abilities to focus and concentrate are paramount to being a lawyer, it seems that interruptions and distractions constantly pull us away from what we are doing. When we try to give our attention to everything coming our way, we lose focus and cannot concentrate. Even though we know that focusing on one thing at a time is the only way to really concentrate on it, we still have the habit of pulling that focus away. Read more

“The more things change, the more they stay the same,” goes the epigram attributed to 19th century French writer Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr. I could not help but think of that as I reviewed the results of the 2019 Legal Technology Survey Report produced by the American Bar Association’s Legal Technology Resource Center. 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

Corey Weber Business Law Section (BLS) members, the new year is now underway and the BLS has been actively engaged in fulfilling the CLA’s mission of promoting excellence, diversity and inclusion in the legal profession and fairness in the administration of justice and the rule of law.  The CLA continues to publish cutting-edge eBulletins on new case law and legislative updates on an ongoing basis and will be hosting in-person MCLE events and networking events throughout the year. Diversity and… Read more

By enacting statutory provisions governing the distribution and sale of fine wines and spirits, Connecticut created a ferment among vintners operating in the state. The resulting distaste prompted one vintner, Connecticut Fine Wines and Spirits, d/b/a Total Wine & More (“Total Wine”), to file suit against the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection and the Director of the Connecticut Division of Liquor Control (collectively, “Defendants”). Conn. Fine Wine & Spirits, LLC v. Seagull, 932 F.3d 22 (2d Cir. 2019). Read more

On September 3, 2019, Judge Jeffrey S. White of the Northern District of California granted in large part the motions to dismiss filed by Defendants Micron, Samsung, and Hynix in a putative class action brought by indirect purchasers of Dynamic Random Access Memory (“DRAM”). Jones v. Micron Tech. Inc., 400 F. Supp. 3d 897, 904 (N.D. Cal. 2019). Read more

A petition for review is before the Supreme Court filed by three California real estate investors who were convicted after trial under Section 1 of the Sherman Act for bid rigging at real estate foreclosure auctions. The defendants preserved their objection that the application of the per se rule was unconstitutional because it took an element of the offense [was the agreement in restraint of trade?] away from the jury once the court decided the per se rule applied. Read more

On December 17, 2019 the final version of revisions to the Rules of Practice and Procedure contained in Title 8, Sections 10300 to 10999, of the California Code of Regulations, were filed with the Secretary of State of California, after an opportunity for consideration of public comments. The revised Rules of Practice and Procedure go into effect as of January 1, 2020. Read more

By Kenneth Kingdon Did you know: A strict rating of the AMA Guides permits combining station and gait with a rating for radiculopathy.The American Heart Association has issued new guidelines for diagnosing hypertension.Table 11-2 in Chapter 11 should be ignored as it should not have been included in the Guides.Chapter 18 ratings for pain are based on the effect of pain on ADLs.The Guides incorporate synergy into several of its ratings.According to recent case law, the WCAB does not believe… Read more