GUEST COLUMNS
Tuesday, October 26, 2021
Housing aid is threatened in Washington as the Build Back Better Act reconciliation package moves toward a vote. The original $327 billion housing portion is by far the largest and most needed investment in affordable housing in decades. This aid must be protected from deep reductions if we are to address California's and the nation's housing crisis.
Congress is now considering four weeks of paid family and medical leave, down from the 12 weeks that were initially proposed in the Democrats' spending plan. If the plan becomes law, the United States will no longer be one of six countries in the world — and the only rich country — without any form of national paid leave.
Monday, October 25, 2021
Americans are expected to do much of their holiday shopping online this year even as the pandemic recedes, and criminals are expected to follow them. So here are some tips for safe digital shopping.
Friday, October 22, 2021
When Assembly Bill 5 — the so-called "gig worker law" — was enacted at the end of 2019, it appeared that California lawmakers had finally cemented a worker-classification scheme that was clear and straightforward. Instead, what they seem to have done was fling a pebble at the employment windshield, creating a crack that has spider-webbed across the surface of employment laws across the country.
The decision to leave a job and stay home with children is often a difficult one. During the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a rise in stay-at-home parents often fueled more by necessity than by choice.
Thursday, October 21, 2021
In a deeply divided Washington, one thing politicians agree on is that cyber crime is a dark and deepening problem. A new report prepared by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, aka FinCEN, a part of the Department of Treasury, found that ransomware incidents in the first half of 2021 increased 30% over the number of incidents for the entire year of 2020.
Willful patent infringement can result in enhanced, and in some case treble, damages but not in every instance.
Wednesday, October 20, 2021
It's difficult to understand why any rational person would want to be mayor of Los Angeles, California's largest and in many ways most troubled city.
Monday, October 18, 2021
Do you have a flexible health spending account through your job? Rules for the accounts have changed temporarily because of the pandemic, and that may affect how much you'll want to save next year.
Friday, October 15, 2021
Allowing nonlawyer legal professionals expanded abilities to assist consumers of legal services is one creative path to ensuring access to justice for all Californians.
One of the most important aspects to consider while preparing for your new arrival is how your financial habits, responsibilities and goals might change.
Thursday, October 14, 2021
Indigenous teams should be employed to increase a version of prescribed burns with a whole ecosystem approach.
The Ninth Circuit explained that de minimis goes to the amount of copying of a copyrighted work as opposed to any de minimis use or display of any such a work.
Wednesday, October 13, 2021
There are a veritable plethora of computer-based natural language processing systems these days, such as the widely popular Alexa and Siri interactive systems. In addition, AI-based natural language understanding has gradually been applied specifically to the legal domain. A new and important means of assessing the proficiency of those law-focused language interpretation systems have been unveiled, known as LexGLUE.
A pair of 9th Circuit cases will examine what the Constitution requires Congress to do when confronted with the present-day effects of systemic racism originating in the past.
California’s Master Plan for Higher Education, adopted in 1960, isn’t working but a new array of bills purports to fix its shortcomings.
Tuesday, October 12, 2021
Last week, the Congressional Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy issued a scathing report.
Most people I know think about investing the way I do about eating leafy green vegetables: Even though they do not like it, it is something they have to do.
Monday, October 11, 2021
Prop. 19 is making homeownership and passing along small family-owned businesses more difficult for Black communities.
Workers may see more perks, and they also may find that their health plans offer narrower doctor networks and emphasize less-costly telehealth care, as employers seek to rein in health care costs without making workers pay more out of pocket.
Friday, October 8, 2021
In a one-room office 50 years ago, a revolution started in San Francisco. Dr. William L. Gee and social worker Marie-Louise Ansak sought to keep seniors with chronic illnesses and disabilities out of nursing homes by serving them in their homes and communities.
Thursday, October 7, 2021
If the written description requirement is not met, the patent won't be granted. If the patent has already been issued, it can be invalidated for failure to satisfy the written description requirement.
Wednesday, October 6, 2021
Employers say they can't find workers while job seekers say they can't find work. According to the California Employment Development Department, July's unemployment rate is 5.7% lower than the same time last year. Meanwhile, the U.S. Labor Department reported a record high 10.9 million job openings in early August. So why aren't Californians filling them?
In some ways, Gov. Gavin Newsom's recent decision to require COVID-19 vaccinations for all schoolchildren as early as next year is straight out of the California pandemic playbook.
Tuesday, October 5, 2021
In another aggressive effort to stop the spread of COVID-19 and ensure schools remain open, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday announced a vaccine mandate for students ages 12 and older, making California the first state in the nation to require students to be fully vaccinated for in-person instruction.
Friday, October 1, 2021
Supporters of a push to require companies to report workplace coronavirus outbreaks publicly say they plan to keep fighting despite recent setbacks that they say allow big businesses to keep outbreaks secret.
In August, Christopher Rodriguez phoned into an online meeting of the California Citizens Redistricting Commission, the 14 volunteers who will draw new congressional and legislative maps that will be used for the next decade.
Change is easier for some than others. It's true of California companies that have refused to add female directors to their boards, as required under SB 826, a 2018 law that requires all public companies headquartered in California to appoint women to their boards.
During the pandemic, state government made significant strides toward a more tech-savvy and inclusive future. That's because Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an executive order temporarily permitting state boards and commissions to meet online – no physical location necessary.
Thursday, September 30, 2021
A recent trend is calling upon the legal arena to shift or transform from the outdated solidified ways of doing things to instead become nimbly and liquid-like. This fluidity can be stoked via the advent of appropriate high-tech and especially the use of AI. All told, the new moniker is to refer to this as a liquid legal transformation.
In In re: OnePlus Technology (Shenzhen) Co. Ltd., case number 2021-165, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit validated a possible framework for courts and plaintiffs in patent cases to significantly speed up the process of serving complaints on foreign defendants.
Wednesday, September 29, 2021
An oft-repeated myth is that the Dodgers forsook their loyal Brooklyn fans and swooped into Los Angeles, literally bulldozing a poor Mexican-American community to build Dodger Stadium. The truth is deeper and worth pondering.
Perhaps it's a sign that the worst of the coronavirus pandemic is behind us, or that it has stretched on far longer than we ever expected, but two key pandemic-related safety net programs are soon coming to a close.
Tuesday, September 28, 2021
With so much financial information available online, who needs paperwork cluttering your desk? But some members of Congress want Americans to get at least one financial document on paper: their annual Social Security statement.
Monday, September 27, 2021
President Joe Biden is leaning into his push to increase taxes on the rich as he seeks to unify Democrats in the House and Senate behind a $3.5 trillion bill that would expand federal efforts to fight climate change, reduce the cost of child care, expand educational access, reduce poverty and more.
Judge John F. Walter
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