September 2015

30 Sep Can An Elected Official Claim A Right to Discriminate as a “Workplace Accommodation”?

Posted at 21:53h in Litigation by Caleb Mason

When Kim Davis, clerk of Rowan County, Kentucky, got out of jail and went back to work, her first order of business was to announce publicly that while she’s not ordering her deputy clerks to refuse to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, she “want[s] the...

28 Sep Courts Force Universities To Revisit Due Process Rights of Disciplined Students

Posted at 22:05h in Criminal Defense, Uncategorized by Mark McGuire

Recently universities have struggled to reexamine their obligations under the U.S. Department of Justice Office for Civil Rights’ “Dear Colleague Letter,” which emphasized that avoiding discrimination against women requires aggressive and effective responses to sexual assault on campus. Across the country, schools have tried to...

28 Sep BWO Attorney Jack B. Osborn To Be Sworn In As Chair of Conference of California Bar Associations

Posted at 22:03h in Uncategorized by Ken White

Please join Brown White & Osborn LLP in congratulating Jack B. Osborn in his new leadership role as Chair of the Conference of California Bar Associations. [caption id="attachment_192" align="alignnone" width="320"] Mr. Osborn at a CCBA meeting.[/caption] On October 9, 2015 attorneys from throughout California will gather in Anaheim for...

25 Sep BridgeGate, Quid-Pro-Quo, and the New York Times Walk of Shame

Posted at 22:06h in Criminal Defense by Caleb Mason

This month the CEO of United Airlines resigned amid allegations that United had attempted to curry favor with the chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey by running a regular flight from Newark to South Carolina so that the official, David Samson,...

24 Sep “If I Just Talk To The Police I Can Clear This Up” — The Dangerous Delusion

Posted at 22:06h in Criminal Defense by Ken White

“Don’t talk to law enforcement without consulting a lawyer” is simple advice. Anyone can follow it. Most of us understand why it’s a good idea. But too many people reject the advice because of a common and misplaced fear. It’s the fear that if they...

17 Sep Seventh Circuit Closes A Path Out of SEC Administrative Proceedings And Into Federal Court

Posted at 22:09h in Securities Litigation & Regulation by Ron Wood

Practitioners and parties familiar with the SEC’s administrative proceedings avoid them whenever possible, preferring federal court. Recently such respondents have drawn hope from a spate of district court rulings suggesting that they may invoke constitutional grounds to have their administrative proceedings enjoined or re-routed to federal court....

15 Sep Planning for the Death or Incapacity of a Psychotherapist: Limiting Exposure to the Decedent’s Estate

Posted at 22:09h in Probate, Trusts & Estates by Jack Osborn

Psychotherapists have a legal and ethical duty to plan for their incompetence or death. Lack of proper planning can easily lead to a negligence claim against the estate. Imagine the following scenario: David’s mother, Marian, was a licensed family therapist with an active practice who died suddenly...

14 Sep Solitary Confinement Reform and the Value of Pro Bono Representation

Posted at 22:10h in Criminal Defense by Caleb Mason

The California Department of Corrections, in a settlement of a long-running lawsuit brought by prisoners, has agreed to reduce dramatically the number of inmates held in solitary confinement. This is a reform that prisoners, academics, mental health professionals and religious activists have been seeking for decades, and it...

11 Sep A Litigator’s Lament in Probate: Why Am I Being Treated So Unfairly By A Court of Equity?

Posted at 22:11h in Litigation, Probate, Trusts & Estates by John Short

Imagine it: you’ve been practicing law for more than 15 years. You’ve completed a successful stint in the District Attorney’s office where you compiled an impressive 87% success rate at trial. You went to a big, downtown firm where you won 10 of 13 jury...

10 Sep How Netflix’s Generous Parental Leave Policy Supports Federal and California Law

Posted at 22:12h in Litigation by Karineh Tarbinian

A few weeks ago, Netflix announced its generous new paid parental leave policy, and Microsoft, Adobe Systems, Goldman Sachs, Nestlé and other industry leaders followed suit. Expanding paternity or maternity leave benefits attract employees with the promise of better work-life balance, and moves like this...