Just a couple years ago when we talked with Ernie Svenson, the attorney who talks tech fluently, AI was not even a thing. Now in late 2025, it’s the only thing. Ernie joins Tim and Jeff to discuss the rapidly evolving landscape of AI in legal practice, why AI gives small firms an advantage, and...
Anti-SLAPP denials are no longer immediately appealable in the Ninth Circuit. That was the en banc holding in Gopher Media LLC v. Melone (9th Cir., Oct. 9, 2025, No. 24-2626) 2025 WL 2858761, which overruled Batzel v. Smith. But still hotly debated in whether the Ninth Circuit will continue to entertain anti-SLAPP motions at all....
Teaching Judges: Appellate Expert Cherise Bacalski on Brief Writing and the Human Side of Law In this compelling episode, Tim Kowal interviews Cherise Bacalski, a Western United States appellate specialist and writing coach at NYU Law's New Appellate Judges Program, about her insights from both sides of the bench and how her background in rhetoric...
Here are a few cases I did not have time to write up but seemed either important or irritating enough to mention: Seeking Family Code 2020/2032 need-based fees? Don't forget to establish the incurred fees as reasonable. Fees reversed because they were for discovery motions not even ruled on yet. (But on remand expect the...
The AI “deepfake” videos offered in support of plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment in this Superior Court case goes way beyond the innocent AI “hallucinations” more commonly reported. Plaintiff in Mendones v. Cushman & Wakefield, Inc., (Cal. Super. Ct. Alameda Cnty. Sept. 9, 2025 No. 23CV028772) submitted two videos that the trial judge easily concluded...
Appealing in the 9th Circuit? Your deadline is 30 days. Don’t let Rule 58’s “separate document” extension lead you astray. Appellate specialists Tim Kowal and Jeff Lewis also discuss ChatGPT 5 (a “market disruptor”), and sanctions strategies in federal court. And more practical insights on navigating procedural pitfalls, avoiding sanctions, and ethically incorporating AI tools...
Appealing in the 9th Circuit? Your deadline is 30 days. But sometimes the court makes certain rulings that are appealable but without a formal order—and that’s where FRCP 58 comes in, which says that those rulings are not deemed “entered,” and so the 30-day appeal deadline doesn’t yet run, until 150 days later. But in...
Failing to cite your secondary sources in briefs is poor form. But is it plagiarism? Jeff and Tim debate. And when the Supreme Court The publishes a case, should it explain itself? PJ Gilbert and Tim say yes, Supreme Court and Jeff disagree. Also in this episode: Tune in for AI ethics, briefing blunders, and...
The plaintiff's strategic decision to "not discuss" prong two of the anti-SLAPP analysis in hopes of supplemental briefing later proved fatal in *Ramirez v. McCormack* (D2d8, Aug. 8, 2025, No. B340986) reh'g denied (Aug. 19, 2025). Courts expect parties to present complete arguments in their initial briefs—don’t rely on getting a second chance. In a...
Here are a few cases I did not have time to write up but seemed either important or irritating enough to mention: RFA Fees: Unreasonably deny an RFA, get hit with attorneys fees…even if you otherwise are protected under a one-way fee statute. So if you are asked to admit you signed the document that...
Patrick Hagen is a man of the people—he still proudly uses Times New Roman! But he also has the ear of LinkedIn’s legal-writing elite, with over 36,000 followers as of August 2025. Patrick sits down with Jeff and Tim to share the source and method behind his viral legal-writing tips, how his judicial clerkships shaped...
Unlike any other state, California effectively deputizes employees to act as “Private Attorney Generals” to sue employers for PAGA claims—both for themselves, and for their co-workers. But since the individual claims can get compelled to arbitration, employees started to file claims only on behalf of the “body” of co-workers, asserting no claim on behalf of...
Here are a few cases I did not have time to write up but seemed either important or irritating enough to mention: Self-represented attorney CAN get fees awarded when co-litigant is spouse, but it's fact specific: there has to be a true professional relationship between spouses. If the attorney spouse was making all the decisions,...
Here are a few cases I did not have time to write up but seemed either important or irritating enough to mention: Not CA, but might restore your faith in the judiciary—via IJ: The Stored Communications Act allows the government to subpoena social-media companies for user data, and it even allows those subpoenas to be...
Here are a few cases I did not have time to write up but seemed either important or irritating enough to mention: Can ChatGPT testify against you? Maybe, says Open AI CEO Sam Altman: “If you go talk to ChatGPT about your most sensitive stuff and then there's a lawsuit, we could be required to...
Here are a few cases I did not have time to write up but seemed either important or irritating enough to mention: Elected officials aren't whistleblowers, Cal. Supreme Court says. “Employee” means rank-and-file public workers, not elected officials who “report to the electorate.” But: they can still bring First Amendment claims. Brown v. City of...
Summarizing the extraordinary events surrounding the 2020 election, the California State Bar Court’s review decision issued a decision in June 2025 recommending that President Trump’s election attorney, John Eastman, be disbarred. Tim and Jeff unpack. Jeff and Tim (nervously) debate the implications of the ruling. Appellate Specialist Jeff Lewis' biography, LinkedIn profile, and Twitter...
The California Court of Appeal recently warned that pasting unattributed legal content in an appellate brief is “a serious breach of ethics,” and “obviously unacceptable” and “sanctionable.” The pro per appellant in Kelly v. Tow (Jul. 17, 2025, No. G064417) 2025 WL 1982214 (nonpub. opn.) challenged an sanction against him for filing an improper discovery...
Here are a few cases I did not have time to write up but seemed either important or irritating enough to mention: The last resort to reverse a judgment when all other lights go out? Writ of coram nobis. A 9th Circuit panel, denying relief after Supreme Court confirmed that certain jury instructions on subjective...
SCOTUSblog contributor and EmpiricalSCOTUS analyst Adam Feldman joins us for a recap of the 2024–25 Supreme Court term. We dive into the end-of-term Stat Pack, ideological surprises, dissent patterns, and whether the Court is still a 6–3 conservative lock—or something more nuanced. We discuss: Tune in to learn how to read between the majority lines—and...
Here are a few cases I did not have time to write up but seemed either important or irritating enough to mention: Bad guy appealed your fee award? Remember to cross-appeal! Court not only affirmed respondent’s fees, but concluded trial court should have awarded more. BUT: No cross-appeal, so the reduced award stands. Papageorges v....
When an appellate decision is published, it is binding on all Superior Courts throughout the state, and citable in all the appellate courts. But sometimes, the Supreme Court of California decides that a published case should not be. And when it exercises its power under California Rules of Court, rule 8.1125(c), that appellate decision—previously part...
Here are a few cases I did not have time to write up but seemed either important or irritating enough to mention: Don't put a 1542 in your 998: Offer was invalid because it requested not only dismissal but a broader release of all claims, known and unknown. That made the 998 invalid. *T&R PAINTING...
Mere days after SCOTUS enjoins universal injunctions, judges find other way to afford “complete relief.” A big one: The Administrative Procedure Act allows courts to enjoin agency actions. Also: What if a defendant does not want a co-defendant dismissed and relieved of liability? The California Supreme Court says co-defendants can oppose each other’s MSJs in R&D...
No more nationwide injunctions, SCOTUS says Justice Barrett writing for the 6-3 majority in Trump v. CASA. District courts must limit their injunctions to the “case or controversy” before it. Justices Sotomayor and Jackson each wrote dissents urging that more judicial power was needed to check the executive. In response, Justice Barrett says that exceeding...
Earlier this month, , I presented my talk Winning on Appeal: Ten Essentials Every Trial Lawyer Must Know with Jeff Lewis at the California Lawyers Association Solo and Small Firms event. We shared insights based on our work as appellate specialists and addressed some of the most common mistakes that trial lawyers make that end...
Here are a few cases I did not have time to write up but seemed either important or irritating enough to mention: Using Google Maps while driving? That's illegal, says Court of Appeal, unless the phone is mounted to your dashboard. People v. Porter (Cal. Ct. App., June 3, 2025, No. H052404) Judges’ 90-day deadline...
Here are a few cases I did not have time to write up but seemed either important or irritating enough to mention: Teaching yoga is just like teaching Shakespeare, for First Amendment purposes. 9th Circuit strikes down San Diego’s beach yoga class ban. Hubbard v. City of San Diego (9th Cir., June 4, 2025, No....
The tip here is that even if your CCP 128.7 sanctions motion is righteous, the correct bases must be stated in the notice to give the other side fair warning. The grounds here weren’t stated until the reply, so the $25,000 sanction was reversed. And the motion was not only correct in Wright v. Wright...
Governor Newsom sued to enjoin President Trump’s deployment of the National Guard to quell the ongoing LA riots without Newsom’s consent. But first, we disclose our biases—about Trump, opportunistic political labeling of “rebellions” or “insurrections,” and how easily the thin veneer of civilization is pierced by masked cowards throwing rocks. Also: Appellate Specialist Jeff Lewis'...
