Fri 11 Nov 2011
Los Angeles arbiter and mediator Barbara Reeves Neal was accustomed to seeing her clients withdraw their cases from the court’s trial calendar when they decided to settle. But recently two of her cases went “off calendar” when her clients learned their trial dates would be delayed due to court budget cuts. The defendants also indefinitely postponed any talk of settlement, preferring a wait-and-see approach.
Getting Out of Line (California Lawyer, Nov. 1, 2011)
Fri 11 Nov 2011
While deeply rooted in spiritual beginnings, many seasonal celebrations put the spotlight on a special meal.This month, we asked East Bay residents to tell us about other kinds of holiday traditions.
Rituals to Relish (East Bay Monthly, November 1, 2011)
Sun 2 Oct 2011
The cobra skeleton caught Marlene Furtado’s eye as she passed by The Bone Room on Berkeley’s Solano Avenue. The dry bones, a Slinky-like coil of toothpick-thin ribs, told her that this was no ordinary store. “That’s something that would hook anyone with any curiosity,” says Furtado, a 70-year-old retired insurance litigator who lives in Albany.
Skeletons Out of the Closet (East Bay Monthly, October 1, 2011)
Sat 3 Sep 2011
Recent funding cuts to California’s beleaguered court system may be so severe as to be unconstitutional. At issue is whether the $350 million that lawmakers permanently slashed from the budget could violate California’s separation of powers doctrine under Article III, section 3, of the state constitution.
Unconstitutional Cuts? (California Lawyer, September 2011)
Sat 2 Jul 2011
Jennie Morton wanted to do something different to celebrate her 40th birthday. She didn’t want to throw a formal party that her friends with kids couldn’t attend with their families. And she didn’t want to do something too kid-oriented, where her child-free friends would be bored stiff. So together with 60 buddies of various ages, Morton set sail from Pier 39 at Fisherman’s Wharf on Adventure Cat, a twin-hulled catamaran, on a short day trip around the Bay.
On the Water (July 1, 2011)
Sun 8 May 2011
After several years working at a small San Francisco law firm, Ken LaMance was sick of the grind. Calculating billable hours was emotionally draining. And he didn’t much care for court cases that dragged on for months at a time, hardly ever giving him a sense of closure. He needed a change. So he quit his job, bought a beat-up pickup truck, and took off on a three-month Jack Kerouac-style cross-county road trip-from San Francisco to Nova Scotia and back.
Passages (California Lawyer, May, 2011)
Sat 5 Mar 2011
Usually, Susan Anderson of Oakland doesn’t care much for dogs. The proud owner of a backyard chicken coop, she’s wary of the canine propensity to chase and eat chickens. But she doesn’t let that stop her from shopping at Concord Feed, where she finds what she considers the best supplies for her chicks.
Petapalooza (East Bay Monthly, March 2011)
Tags: animal shelter, animals, cats, chickens, dogs, east bay monthly, holistic hound, pet food express, pet stores, pets, rabbit ears, rabbits, reptiles, shopping, vivarium
Thu 3 Mar 2011
California Court of Appeal Justice Edward J. Wallin once famously described attorneys fees as “the tail that wags the dog” because the prospect of writing a check to an opponent’s lawyer can encourage even people with meritorious contract disputes to settle out of court. A new safeguard–contract litigation insurance (CLI)–offered by a Los Angeles agency could change the way business gets done.
The Lawsuit Safety Net (California Lawyer, March 2011)
Thu 6 Jan 2011
Arizona garnered national attention last year for enacting a tough new immigration law, but a handful of California cities have managed to avoid the spotlight even as they enact similar legislation aimed at repelling undocumented immigrants from municipal borders.
Cities Sovereign? (California Lawyer, January 2011)