Insights on California law.
Short, practical publications from our attorneys on California business, civil, real estate, family, trust, technology, and cross‑border disputes.
When AI Sounds Like a Lawyer: Hallucinated Cases, Sanctions, and the Limits of Artificial Intelligence in Litigation
Courts have sanctioned attorneys for citing cases that do not exist. Confident output is not legal judgment, and the lawyer signing the filing remains responsible for what goes into court.
Read the Article →Received a Website Privacy Demand Letter in California? What Businesses Should Know About CIPA, ECPA, Cookies and Tracking Pixels
A demand letter is not a finding of liability. What matters is which statute is asserted, what information was transmitted, when it occurred, and who received it.
Read the Article →California Passes SB 690: What Could Change for CIPA Website Claims?
The bill would remove the private right of action for section 638.51 pen register claims arising from websites and apps, and applies retroactively to some pending cases. It does not eliminate CIPA.
Read the Article →When a Third Party Makes the Payment: A Business Litigation Lesson From the Recent NBA Clippers Investigation
Placing another company between two participants does not by itself determine the legal consequences. On aiding and abetting, civil conspiracy, voidable transfers, and following the economic benefit.
Read the Article →Can AI Fire an Employee in California? New Rules Business Owners Should Know
SB 947, the No Robo Bosses Act, passed the Legislature on August 31, 2026. It would bar sole reliance on automated systems to discipline or terminate workers and require human oversight, verification, and notice.
Read the Article →Using AI to Hire Employees in California? What Business Owners Need to Know
California regulations effective October 1, 2025 already cover resume screening, automated assessments, applicant ranking, and video interview analysis. Automation does not remove the employer's obligations.
Read the Article →Why California Trade Secret Claims Are Difficult to Litigate and Prove
Proving a defendant took confidential information is not enough. The plaintiff must identify the secret with reasonable particularity under section 2019.210 and separately prove misappropriation.
Read the Article →Can Gifts Be Recovered After a Breakup in California?
Civil Code section 1590 allows recovery of money or property given on the assumption that a marriage would take place. Whether a transfer qualifies usually turns on evidence of intent.
Read the Article →When Can a California Court Sanction a Party for Refusing to Withdraw a Claim?
A 2026 appellate decision affirmed $29,055 in sanctions after a plaintiff re-pleaded claims the court had already rejected. On sections 128.5, 128.7, and the safe-harbor procedure.
Read the Article →California’s Delete Act Is Now in Effect: What Data Brokers Need to Know About DROP
From August 1, 2026, registered data brokers must access California’s DROP platform at least every 45 days and process consumer deletion requests, with enforcement already underway.
Read the Article →Can a Company Transfer Assets to Avoid Creditors in California?
Restructuring is lawful; moving value beyond a creditor’s reach may not be. On Civil Code section 3439.04, the badges of fraud, and the remedies available to creditors.
Read the Article →Can Cookies and Tracking Pixels Violate California or Federal Privacy Law?
CIPA section 631, the pen-register provisions, and the federal Wiretap Act are different statutes with different elements. Six issues that decide these cases.
Read the Article →Can California Refuse to Recognize a Foreign Default Judgment?
A default abroad does not decide the question. Recognition turns on jurisdiction, notice, fraud, and due process under California’s recognition statute.
Read the Article →The Meta Youth-Safety Trial: What California Online Businesses Should Know
The trial places product design, data practices, public safety claims, and internal risk analysis in the same courtroom. The lessons apply well beyond Meta.
Read the Article →When a Registered Product Design May Still Be Functional, and Unprotectable as a Trademark
A federal registration deserves serious attention, but the functionality doctrine may determine whether trademark law can protect a product configuration at all.
Read the Article →Why Californians Use Revocable Living Trusts to Reduce Probate Cost and Delay
How California's statutory probate-fee schedule works, why a will does not avoid probate, and what a properly funded living trust can and cannot do.
Read the Article →What Damages Can a Beneficiary Recover From a Trustee in California?
When a trustee’s breach causes financial harm, a beneficiary may seek more than information or an accounting. California law may permit the court to require the trustee…
Read the Article →Who Gets What After a California Partition Sale?
A partition sale does not always end with the net proceeds being divided according to the percentages shown on the deed. California partition is equitable in nature, and the…
Read the Article →Can a California Court Suspend a Trustee Before the Removal Hearing?
A trustee-removal proceeding may take longer than the threatened harm. If a sale, transfer, withdrawal, foreclosure, lapse of insurance, or destruction of records is…
Read the Article →Can One Co-Owner Force the Sale of a House in California?
Co-owners do not always agree about whether to keep, refinance, rent, or sell a property. One owner may want to remain in the home while another wants to recover that…
Read the Article →California Deed Fraud and Fraudulent Real Estate Loans
How identity thieves can place unauthorized deeds or loans against a home, and why property owners should act quickly. On void and voidable instruments, quiet title, and cancellation.
Read the Article →How Can a California Beneficiary Compel a Trustee to Provide an Accounting?
Beneficiaries cannot evaluate trust administration without reliable information. When a trustee refuses to explain transactions or provide a required account, California law…
Read the Article →Can a Beneficiary Remove a Trustee in California?
Removing a trustee changes who controls the trust and may disrupt administration, increase expense, and override the settlor’s selected fiduciary. California courts…
Read the Article →Can a Beneficiary Sue a Trustee in California?
A California trustee must administer trust property according to the trust instrument and applicable fiduciary law. When a trustee withholds required information, uses trust…
Read the Article →Can a Foreign Court Change Title to California Real Estate?
A family, inheritance, contract, or ownership dispute in another country may concern money used to purchase a California home or an alleged agreement about who should own it.…
Read the Article →Will a Foreign Lawsuit Stop a California Quiet-Title Case?
A lawsuit in another country may involve the same family members, money, transactions, or alleged ownership arrangement as a California quiet-title case. The overlap creates…
Read the Article →Can a Foreign-Country Judgment Be Recognized in California?
A judgment entered in another country does not automatically become enforceable in California. The party relying on the judgment must use an appropriate California procedure…
Read the Article →What Happens When a Business Partner or Joint Venturer Diverts Business Money?
A business dispute can change quickly when one participant believes another has taken company revenue, diverted an opportunity, or used business assets for personal benefit.
Read the Article →Is a Verbal Contract Enforceable in California?
A handshake deal can be a contract in California. The harder question is often proving exactly what the parties agreed to.
Read the Article →Can a California Business Owner Inspect the Company’s Books and Records?
A common dispute among business owners begins when one person asks to see the company’s financial records and another refuses access.
Read the Article →Can You Freeze a Defendant’s Assets Before Judgment in California?
Filing a lawsuit does not generally give a plaintiff the right to freeze everything the defendant owns. One important remedy is a prejudgment writ of attachment.
Read the Article →Can You Enforce an Oral Profit-Sharing Agreement in California?
One person may agree to bring customers, provide services, or contribute to a venture in exchange for a percentage of the profits. A dispute may arise after the business succeeds and the promised share is not paid.
Read the Article →Can You Have an Oral Joint Venture in California?
People sometimes build a business together without forming a company or signing a detailed joint-venture agreement. When the relationship breaks down, the absence of paperwork can become a major issue.
Read the Article →Speak with counsel about your matter.
Tell us what happened, what is at stake, and what you need to accomplish. A member of our legal team will respond promptly. Initial communications are treated as confidential, but no attorney‑client relationship is formed until confirmed in writing.
Contact Us