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The Rutter Group’s Federal Civil Procedure Before Trial, California and Ninth Circuit Edition has been updated for 2017 with new case law, statutes, and important info to help guide you through the procedural minefield that is federal litigation in California. Updates are still available for current subscribers. (Disclosure: The Rutter Group is part of Thomson Reuters, FindLaw’s parent company.) For federal litigators in California that don’t have The Rutter Group’s best selling guide, or that might have missed a few updates, it’s never too late to start using the industry leading practice guide....

In plaintiff’s action against defendant-district concerning its adoption of Rule 1406 claiming that it was exempt from environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act, judgment of the trial court is reversed as there was insufficient evidence to support the District’s finding that the adoption of Rule 1406 was within the Class 8 categorical exemption. Read California Unions for Reliable Energy v. Mojave Desert Air Quality Mgmt. Dist., No. E046687 [PDF]...

He thought of everything. Well, almost everything. Dontavius Jackson, the man who robbed the Atlanta, Georgia house of his victim and then bound her to the headboard should have tied her feet up as well. His female victim was able to get a message to her boyfriend by typing it with her toes on her laptop. No word as to whether or not this was a known or new-found skill for Amy Windom....

And das gonna make me dance - “Make it Rain,” Tyga. I wanna see some cash, Keep dem dollars comin', And dance he did. All over YouTube. It turns out that the first thing MacBook thieves do when they get their “prizes” home is play with PhotoBooth. The enjoyment of an embedded camera just can’t be resisted. If you insist on carrying out a laptop theft, here’s some advice: Don’t take video of yourself dancing to Tyga’s “Make It Rain....

He loves me, he loves me not. Oh, who cares? He forgot Valentine’s Day again. We’re getting a divorce. Practicing law makes you a cynical, bitter person. Well, most of us, but that isn’t the point. Valentine’s Day is one of those holidays that cynics love to hate, especially since many Americans feel the need to celebrate with gusto. All the pink and chalky candy hearts get old fast. Divorce apparently doesn’t....

This article begs the question: “Do lawyers still need business cards?” The simple answer is, “Yes you do.” Just as your profiles on LinkedIn or FindLaw connect you to the digital realm, your business card connects you to the physical realm (which is still a part of reality, last I checked…). These dos and don’ts will help you make a great business card and use it to further the success of your law practice....

Welcome to “First Week at the Firm,” a new FindLaw feature for beginning associates, focused on helping you navigate the transition into firm life. We hope you’ll enjoy this new series and come back regularly for more insider tips. Your first client meeting is one of those great lawyer milestones. This is the chance to really test your lawyerly chops. Do it well and you can be on your way to becoming a firm rainmaker....

Correct Format Cover letters follow a specific format – business letter format (Daily Writing Tips has some great examples). Your letter should not exceed one page and should be three paragraphs in all: intro, body and closing. If you are emailing your application you have two options: (1) you can attach your cover letter; or (2) your email can be your cover letter. We tend to like the attached cover letter so you can be sure all your formatting won’t get messed up in the email....

With the makings of a perfect post-Halloween story, a family in the UK was temporarily driven out of their home by deadly spiders that were living on their store-bought bananas. British supermarket chain Sainsbury’s says it will pay the expenses the family incurred as a result of being forced out by newly hatched Brazilian wandering spiders – one of the world’s deadliest spiders with venom that may treat erectile dysfunction…...

We’ve come long way from the days of wigs and robes; and to prove it, Fordham University is celebrating the opening of its Fashion Law Institute, just in time for New York Fashion Week. “As someone who has been around this business a long time, I can tell you that a lawyer who understands fashion is a very important thing,” designer Diane Von Furstenberg told those assembled to celebrate the Institute’s inauguration....

A California appeals court turned down a request to intervene in a lawsuit between 20th Century Fox and Netflix. The Second District Court of Appeals said Fox, which wanted to stay the lawsuit and challenge a trial court’s rulings, may appeal if it loses in the trial court. Fox had sued Netflix in September 2016, alleging the company had poached Fox executives Tara Flynn and Marco Waltenberg. Netflix counter-sued, claiming Fox’s employment agreements violate state law....

Here at Legally Weird, we don’t bat an eyelash at titles like “Georgia Man Arrested With Chicken in His Pants.” Business as usual, one might say. Nevertheless, the story of one Joseph Lee Stringer is worthy of mention. According to Rome, Georgia police, Stringer stuffed a rotisserie chicken down his pants at a Walmart. To wash it down, he also allegedly stuffed some chicken wings, a mouth guard and two toothbrushes down his pants, then tried to walk out of the store, the Associated Press reports....

Securities Fraud Action Dismissal Affirmed In In re: Interbank Funding Corp. Sec. Litig., No. 09-7167, an action by purchasers of securities of InterBank Funding Corporation, claiming that they relied on materially false misrepresentations and omissions by Interbank’s auditor, the court affirmed the denial of plaintiffs’ motion for leave to amend their complaint where, because, as plaintiffs conceded, the Affiliated Ute presumption of reliance did not apply to affirmative misrepresentations, plaintiffs’ proposed amendment to their complaint would be futile....

Some TV shows will bill episodes as pulled straight from the headlines. But one Kentucky man reversed that popular trope when he tried to haul over 10,000 bottles and cans through three states just to get the recycling deposit. Eagle-eyed Seinfeld fans might remember that little gambit – Kramer and Newman tried the same scam in the show’s seventh season. And if those guys can’t pull it off, what hope do the rest of us have?...

Los Angeles Lakers forward Jordan Hill allegedly choked and assaulted his girlfriend during an argument just weeks before he was traded to LA, Houston’s KTRK-TV reports. Hill, who was playing for the Houston Rockets when the alleged choking incident occurred Feb. 29, was charged Monday with third-degree felony assault, according to KTRK. An arrest warrant will be issued once paperwork is complete, ESPN reports. Hill, 24, apparently had just two words in response to the felony charge, according to ESPN, which he shared with fans via Twitter:...

Former Latham & Watkins legal secretary Demetria Peart was fired in January 2008, right around the spark point of the housing bubble collapse and recession. The culling of staff over the next few years, including 440 layoffs at Latham one year later, are the stuff of BigLaw nightmares. But she wasn’t fired because of the recession, nor was she “laid off.” She claims that she was fired because the firm didn’t want to accommodate her pregnancy-related medical issues....

An Indiana lawyer who stayed in the game and brought a parking ticket all the way to Indiana’s appeals court won on the issue of when a ticket is “paid”. Score one for motorists everywhere. It’s nice to see that at least some within the population do not simply pay parking tickets lying down and are still contesting these things using the old ways rather than apps like Fixed. Indiana lawyer James Gilday was ticketed Saturday when Indianapolis police closed the entrance to his usual parking garage during the weekend and he parked on the street....

Legal counsel for Led Zeppelin urged a Los Angeles federal district court judge to dismiss the current copyright suit against the band over allegations that they stole a riff from the song “Taurus” by Spirit. Based on what we know now of the suit, it appears that issues of fact could still be fleshed out – despite our view that reasonable minds might disagree about the “substantial similarity” between “Taurus” and “Stairway to Heaven....

Science, technology, engineering, and math majors interested in law school are few and far between. This is partly due to a booming job market with lucrative salaries for these grads, which makes law school that much less attractive. For some STEM grads, the idea of going into patent law can be rather attractive, and can be extraordinarily lucrative. For others, it may be that they missed their calling completely, or maybe they’re looking to change the legal tech landscape....

Manny Pacquiao didn’t need a lawsuit to defeat Antonio Margarito Saturday. The Filipino boxing sensation only needed his lightning-fast fists. Pacquiao annihilated Margarito in a lopsided, unanimous decision that sent Margarito to the hospital for surgery on his right eye socket. But before the fight, when word that Margarito had gained 15 pounds overnight to come into the ring at 165, people worried for the smaller Pacquiao’s safety, who was giving away 17 total pounds....