Karen Kidd News
Business advocate: State Supreme Court OKs reform initiative amendments
SACRAMENTO – A recent state Supreme Court ruling that was a win for Gov. Jerry Brown's judicial reform initiative makes it plain that the high court is fine with amendments that were added after the comment period, a small business advocate said during a recent interview.
Moore Foundation's new general counsel encourages other lawyers to 'aim high'
PALO ALTO – The way into a legal career in public interest service can start in the commercial sector, Sasha Abrams, general counsel and secretary to the board for the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, said during a recent interview with the Northern California Record.
Pending ruling expected to clarify reach of medical marijuana amendment
WASHINGTON – A pending federal appeals ruling has many medical and recreational marijuana legal observers speculating over how legislation, sponsored by two California law makers, will be interpreted while others are waiting for the ruling itself.
Attorney: Northern California ruling on TCPA exemptions leaves many questions
SAN FRANCISCO – The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California recently ruled that last year's congressional amendments to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) are retroactive, but left other questions open, a TCPA specialist said during an interview.
Retired IRS Chief Counsel Paul Handleman reflects on 30 years in service
SAN DIEGO – Paul Handleman, now a couple of months into retirement from the Internal Revenue Service Office of Chief Counsel, waxed nostalgic from the initial interview question: "How would the world be different if you had not been at the center of the development of consequential tax credit regulations and guidance?"
Oakland-based advocacy group takes interest in Dish Network suit over Spanish-speaking customers
An Oakland, Calif.-based nonprofit legal service and advocacy group is helping to represent an Alameda County man suing Dish Network over claims it deceives Spanish-speaking customers.
State Supreme Court turns down appeals in long-standing asbestos case
SAN FRANCISCO – Even with 2016 shaping up to be an active year for asbestos litigation in California, the long-running Casey v Kaiser Gypsum Co. will not be heard by the state's Supreme Court.
Few developments in education lawsuit since data release order, state DOE spokesman says
SACRAMENTO – Not much has happened in a five-year-old education lawsuit since a federal court ruling ordering 10 million California students' personal data be released and a deadline to opt out of that release has passed, a state education spokesman said.
Pacific Legal Foundation interested in other mandated affordable housing cases
SAN JOSE – The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in late February not to hear a challenge to a San Jose-mandated affordable housing law has effectively ended that challenge, a Pacific Legal Foundation official said in an interview.
State Supreme Court mulls Washington Legal Foundation amicus brief in asbestos case
SAN FRANCISCO – The plaintiff and defendant in a long-standing asbestos case filed papers Friday with the state Supreme Court, which has not yet decided whether to hear the appeal, though the Washington Legal Foundation urges the court to do so.
Made in the USA Foundation chairman fights in California courts
LOS ANGELES – One attorney's man on a mission is another's "vexatious litigant," but Joel D. Joseph, co-founder and chairman of Made in the USA Foundation says he just believes the U.S. needs to be a strong manufacturing nation.
State Supreme Court case could change how plaintiff attorneys are paid in class-action lawsuits
SACRAMENTO – All eyes interested in tort reform in California are watching an almost 12-year-old class-action lawsuit expected to be heard before the State Supreme Court that could, depending on how it's decided, change the way class-action plaintiffs' attorneys are paid.
CJAC/CALA Day scheduled at capitol
SACRAMENTO – Californians who want to speak out against lawsuit abuse still have time to sign up for California Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse and California Civil Justice Association Day at the Capitol on Tuesday, March 15.
Plaintiffs mull options after judge rules state 'Bullet Train' project may proceed
SACRAMENTO – The plaintiffs in a lawsuit opposing the construction of California's $64 billion high-speed rail system are considering their options now that a judge has ruled that the project can move forward.
California Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse: Lawyers, not plaintiffs, benefit from class-action suits
SAN FRANCISCO — The $9 million class-action lawsuit settlement agreed to by software developer Carrier IQ and several mobile phone manufacturers in a U.S. District Court in California looks very large, and it certainly impressed the judge in the case.
Veteran San Jose litigator advises new attorneys to listen
SAN JOSE – Up-and-coming attorneys should keep their ears open, a civil litigator and trial lawyer with more than 24 years' experience who recently joined a San Jose law firm said during an interview.