Last month an advocacy group calling itself the American Tort Reform Association published its annual list of what it calls "Judicial Hellholes," and California earned the dubious distinction of coming in toward the top of the list (having been narrowly defeated for first place by the court system in...
Both houses of California's legislature have been held by the Democratic party since 1996. However, with the exception of Gray Davis (who was recalled from office by the voters), the governor's mansion has been held by the Republican party since 1982. There is little wonder that a...
The Journal of the American Bar Association recently reported that 295 judges at a judicial conference were given a three-question test, as part of a study to determine how judges make decisions. The questions, devised by a professor at MIT, were geared toward assessing whether judges are...
Attorneys' fees are often referred to as the "tail that wags the dog" of civil litigation. Court cases often end up being so costly that the legal fees and expenses dwarf the amount originally at stake in the dispute; this often forces the parties to...
Lawyers are trained, from the first day of law school and continuing throughout their careers, to be precise with their words, both spoken and written. Attention to verbal precision -- or the lack thereof -- often spells the difference between winning and losing in litigation cases. Consider the...
You fired the guy for good cause -- maybe for poor performance or theft, or perhaps for harassing fellow employees. Now someone is calling you, asking for a reference for your misbehaving former employee. You want to tell the truth, but if your words cost him...
