Bench & Bar

About Bench & Bar

Every week, the Daily Journal's columnists weigh in on the issues shaping California law. Bench & Bar picks the three you can't afford to miss — and gives you the takeaways in minutes. Brought to by The Daily Journal Network.

Publisher

The Daily Journal Network

Category

news

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

14 May 2026

Latest episode

3 Sept 2026

Latest episodes

16 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   3 Sept 2026

   Bench & Bar: Sept. 3

   Stories in this week's episode: Avoiding two common errors on post-trial motions (https://www.dailyjournal.com/articles/394008) A favorable verdict can still unravel if post-trial motions go wrong -- and one misstep can be fatal before an appeal even starts. Rex S. Heinke of California Appellate Law Group breaks down the Rule 50(a) trap in federal court and the 75-day JNOV deadline in California state court that catches even experienced litigators. Courts should stop rescuing unlawful arbitration agreements (https://www.dailyjournal.com/articles/394003) Bad-faith arbitration clauses used to get a pass through severance -- courts increasingly aren't buying it. Calahan and Blaine attorney Scott D. Nelson traces a quarter-century of Armendariz case law to argue employers can no longer claim ignorance when their agreements fall short of its fairness minimums. California courts needed a statewide case management system (https://www.dailyjournal.com/articles/394039) A recent critique of California's failed case management system missed the stakes for vulnerable families, according to retired Judge Terry B. Friedman. Drawing on his time presiding over the Los Angeles Juvenile Court, Friedman argues the real cost of 58 disconnected county systems was measured in restraining and visitation orders courts elsewhere couldn't see.

2. 

   26 Aug 2026

   Bench & Bar: August 27

   Stories in this week's episode: California's court recording mandate leaves questions unanswered (https://www.dailyjournal.com/articles/393864) The California Supreme Court settled one access-to-justice question in Family Violence Appellate Project — and opened several more. Megan A. Moghtaderi of Offit Kurman examines what the electronic recording mandate means for hearing-impaired litigants, conservatees, and those who fall between indigence and affluence. AI chatbots are showing up in discovery: Courts can't agree on what to do about it (https://www.dailyjournal.com/articles/393896) Work product or fair game? Federal and state courts are splitting on whether AI-generated litigation materials are protected — and California practitioners are operating without controlling authority. Fisher and Phillips partner Usama Kahf maps the emerging circuit of decisions and what they mean for discovery strategy now. A lis pendens is only as good as the pleading behind it (https://www.dailyjournal.com/articles/393862) Boilerplate dissolution allegations won't save a lis pendens when a motion to expunge lands. Friedman and Friedman partner Ira M. Friedman and law clerk Alyson Atencio walk through Kirkeby and Gale to show why family law practitioners need to plead the property claim before they record — not after.

3. 

   20 Aug 2026

   Bench & Bar: August 20

   Stories in this week's episode: The radicalism of Clarence Thomas (https://www.dailyjournal.com/articles/393749) UC Berkeley Law Dean Erwin Chemerinsky examines Thomas concurrences from last term arguing equal protection doesn't bind the federal government, Congress's commerce power is limited to cross-state transactions, and the Sixth Amendment provides no right to appointed counsel — positions that would overturn decades of settled constitutional law. A jury is only as fair as who gets to sit (https://www.dailyjournal.com/articles/393750) Retired Santa Clara Superior Court Judge Philip Pennypacker responds to coverage of Justice Goodwin Liu's jury bias jurisprudence, arguing perceived bias cannot justify excluding a juror without compromising the verdict — and that recent legislation will demand more vigilance from trial judges throughout selection. Variety Media: The appeal that could decide whether CIPA applies to website technologies (https://www.dailyjournal.com/articles/393690) With oral argument set for August 25th, Variety Media v. Superior Court may produce the first published California appellate decision on whether the state's 1967 pen register statute reaches IP addresses and metadata collected by routine website technologies. Wilson Elser's Jana Slavina Farmer and Lioba Bakker break down what's at stake.

4. 

   13 Aug 2026

   Bench & Bar: August 13

   Stories in this week's episode: Fixing our broken civil discovery culture: The problem of 'any and all writings evidencing or related to' (https://www.dailyjournal.com/articles/393568) Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Lawrence P. Riff argues that boilerplate "any and all" document requests do more harm than good — and lays out how narrower, business-language requests get lawyers the discovery they actually need, faster. The safety valves are failing as ordinary cases produce extraordinary verdicts (https://www.dailyjournal.com/articles/393564) Two verdicts three days apart this summer — including a reinstated $13.1 million FEHA award — are upending long-held assumptions about venue, plaintiff sympathy and damages caps, Leonid M. Zilberman, a partner at Wilson Turner Kosmo, writes. Four steps for lawyers to harness AI without the risks (https://www.dailyjournal.com/articles/393570) Wisner Baum partner Crawford Appleby offers a four-step framework for adopting generative AI under the duty of competence, without ending up as the next hallucinated-citation headline. See task progress for longer tasks. perspectives_podcast_script.mdperspectives_show_notes.mdperspectives_decks.md (http://decks.md) Skills perspective-podcast-script-template

5. 

   6 Aug 2026

   Bench & Bar: August 6

   Stories in this week's episode: Why? (https://www.dailyjournal.com/articles/393394) Retired Second District Court of Appeal Justice Arthur Gilbert spends this week's column asking why — from bicyclists riding without helmets to judicial opinions that run past 50 pages, largely ghostwritten by staff attorneys and rarely trimmed. The public defender crisis Clara Foltz tried to prevent (https://www.dailyjournal.com/articles/393391) As Los Angeles marks 25 years since renaming its courthouse for Clara Shortridge Foltz, William M. Paparian argues the public defender system she invented still hasn't caught up to the balance she demanded between prosecution and defense. Are AI-generated briefs persuasive? (https://www.dailyjournal.com/articles/393393) Appellate lawyer Myron Moskovitz set ChatGPT and Claude loose on a case he'd already won, and found the AI-written briefs logical and well-researched — but blind to the strategic instinct that may have decided the appeal.

6. 

   29 Jul 2026

   Bench & Bar: July 30

   Stories in this week's episode: California's new jury selection law changes the rules of the voir dire game (https://dailyjournal.com/articles/393305) Felahy Trial Lawyers principal Allen Felahy breaks down Code of Civil Procedure section 231.7, which replaces the Batson/Wheeler test with a "substantial likelihood" standard and makes a wrongly denied objection automatically reversible. The Inland Empire's court congestion crisis (https://dailyjournal.com/articles/393225) With judicial vacancies continuing to strain Riverside and San Bernardino county courts, Justin H. King examines the growing backlog, the dismissed criminal cases that have followed, and practical strategies for litigators navigating crowded calendars. Defending the judiciary's core function: J.O. v. Superior Court and our court's response (https://dailyjournal.com/articles/393304) J.O. v. Superior Court marks a significant shift in the use of blanket judicial challenges. Presiding Judge Sergio C. Tapia II explains how the decision—and Los Angeles County's new general order—promote transparency while preserving the legitimate use of Code of Civil Procedure section 170.6.

7. 

   22 Jul 2026

   Bench & Bar: July 22

   Stories in this week's episode: Patchwork Resentencing (https://www.dailyjournal.com/articles/393103-patchwork-resentencing) Michael J. Raphael, Associate Justice, California Court of AppealImagine a law that granted resentencing only to defendants whose last names fell in the first half of the alphabet. Justice Michael J. Raphael argues that's effectively what California has done under Penal Code section 1172.75 — bestowing sweeping sentencing benefits on some prisoners based on an unrelated technicality, while others are left out entirely. How One Vowel Beat a $6.5 Million Judgment (https://www.dailyjournal.com/articles/393072) Appellate specialist Timothy M. Kowal, founder of Kowal Law Group, dissects the ruling that erased a $6.5 million default judgment over a single missing vowel in a defendant's legally changed name — and the strict rules of service by publication that made it happen. 10 Steps to Prepare a Witness for Deposition (https://www.dailyjournal.com/articles/393131) He couldn't remember his own birthdate. After three days of mock depositions, a witness had been coached into blankness. Michael S. Kun opens with that cautionary tale in a ten-step guide to preparing witnesses who are neither under- nor over-rehearsed.

8. 

   15 Jul 2026

   Bench & Bar: July 16

   Stories in this week's episode: The troubling implications of the Supreme Court's transgender athlete decision (https://www.dailyjournal.com/articles/392935) Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of UC Berkeley School of Law, argues the Supreme Court's ruling in West Virginia v. B.P.J. weakens intermediate scrutiny by accepting broad generalizations rather than requiring an individualized showing of harm. Chemerinsky ties the 6-3 decision to a broader pattern in which the Court has repeatedly declined to protect transgender individuals from discrimination. The limits of inadvertent disclosure (https://www.dailyjournal.com/articles/392933) Sanford Jay Rosen and Ernest Galvan, of Rosen Bien Galvan and Grunfeld LLP, break down the Fourth District's ruling in Popa v. Simpson, arguing that stretching Rico v. Mitsubishi Motors Corp. to disqualify counsel over discoverable material undermines a trial's basic function as a search for the truth. They also lay out guidance on responding to inadvertent disclosures. Remote workers, noncompetes and the new choice-of-law battlefield (https://www.dailyjournal.com/articles/392961) David S. Cunningham III, a retired judge and neutral at JAMS, examines how remote work has turned noncompete enforcement into a choice-of-law problem, since an employee's residence, work location and customer base can each point to a different state's rules. Cunningham proposes early mediation and arbitration to resolve these disputes — without a multi-jurisdictional legal battle.

9. 

   8 Jul 2026

   Bench & Bar: July 8

   Cite Out at the Big Nerd Corral (https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailyjournal.com%2Farticles%2F392786&data=05%7C02%7Cjack_needham%40dailyjournal.com%7C6ce4cfe5da684187398008dedd31e1c6%7Cd7c644ef66db4e9482dafbcadfd8bc4e%7C0%7C0%7C639191403478754856%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=UzyfhdZ1T8KYsBqkjFOD8YCsLW1NacPGQTnX6rx%2F7rA%3D&reserved=0) Benjamin G. Shatz stages The Bluebook and the California Style Manual as gunslingers fighting for supremacy under Rule 1.200, with practitioner survey data giving the Yellowbook a real edge. Licensed in Illinois, untouchable in California: The extraordinary career of Sidney Korshak (https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailyjournal.com%2Farticles%2F392789&data=05%7C02%7Cjack_needham%40dailyjournal.com%7C6ce4cfe5da684187398008dedd31e1c6%7Cd7c644ef66db4e9482dafbcadfd8bc4e%7C0%7C0%7C639191403478784640%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=UQylvHrymJztKSWUZshzhi8oIVtaGyE9aLQakOxfJmE%3D&reserved=0) William M. Paparian traces how an unlicensed Chicago lawyer ran labor deals and Hollywood contracts from a Beverly Hills corner table without ever facing indictment, and asks what that model would face today. I lied (https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailyjournal.com%2Farticles%2F392762&data=05%7C02%7Cjack_needham%40dailyjournal.com%7C6ce4cfe5da684187398008dedd31e1c6%7Cd7c644ef66db4e9482dafbcadfd8bc4e%7C0%7C0%7C639191403478807261%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=4%2F%2F2dg88bAnZqR72ipStPZNt0H2Aa6fCcbF3h%2BY6nVM%3D&reserved=0) Arthur Gilbert confesses to letting ChatGPT soften his headline, then questions whether AI can ever capture the irony of good legal writing as California's courts move to regulate its use.

10. 

    3 Jul 2026

    Bench & Bar: July 2

    Columns in this episode: After J.O., when should attorneys expect a CCP 170.6 challenge? (https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailyjournal.com%2Farticles%2F392512&data=05%7C02%7Cjack_needham%40dailyjournal.com%7C74842ee27f1c40fed1af08ded855e551%7Cd7c644ef66db4e9482dafbcadfd8bc4e%7C0%7C0%7C639186060597810757%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=gmtYfDAlk6Pjqja26zMRuclRsHlQ0mJV8O3RW15flpQ%3D&reserved=0) J.O. v. Superior Court stripped blanket CCP 170.6 challenges of their immunity from attack. Trial and litigation attorney James G. Perry asks the harder question: when unrelated attorneys all paper the same judge, how does anyone prove the coordinated "policy" Batson burden-shifting demands? An extraordinary right, narrowed by an extraordinary abuse (https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailyjournal.com%2Farticles%2F392693&data=05%7C02%7Cjack_needham%40dailyjournal.com%7C74842ee27f1c40fed1af08ded855e551%7Cd7c644ef66db4e9482dafbcadfd8bc4e%7C0%7C0%7C639186060597859630%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=UlfVEINVM%2FlhXX6HAj4NGjF3Eu5vaqbwZ8EdsSkDLXc%3D&reserved=0) The CCP 170.6 affidavit that once ended all inquiry can now begin one. Okorie Okorocha of Toxicolawgy.com (http://Toxicolawgy.com) argues J.O. narrowed the right for every litigant — hitting hardest the lawyer who challenges a judge he genuinely believes is biased. Capital punishment's forgotten Barbara Graham (https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailyjournal.com%2Farticles%2F392470&data=05%7C02%7Cjack_needham%40dailyjournal.com%7C74842ee27f1c40fed1af08ded855e551%7Cd7c644ef66db4e9482dafbcadfd8bc4e%7C0%7C0%7C639186060598106642%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=v2jrcj06SJ4LopT5WmgQFcr6a62UzYyi6LVjz%2FsEP5s%3D&reserved=0) Likely guilty, almost certainly denied a fair trial. Los Angeles lawyer John S. Caragozian revisits Barbara Graham's 1955 execution — a buried witness statement, a staged alibi, a hanging judge — and the death-penalty debate it briefly forced open.

11. 

    25 Jun 2026

    Bench & Bar: June 24

    Stories in this episode of Bench & Bar: Inconceivable! Judges mangling famous lines from literature (https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailyjournal.com%2Farticles%2F392279&data=05%7C02%7Cjack_needham%40dailyjournal.com%7C8887869b45964904b30b08ded2346ba5%7Cd7c644ef66db4e9482dafbcadfd8bc4e%7C0%7C0%7C639179319747212299%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=Ue8J9shT8Ojl20Ywe2iGsG8rzMdiFIb%2FHvGD3mWS7wI%3D&reserved=0) Glendale Courthouse Judge Ashfaq G. Chowdhury traces the misused phrase "more honored in the breach than the observance" from Hamlet to its loose courtroom life, crediting Justice Van Dyke's precise 1899 use in Wright v. Eastlick. We Came to Be Plaintiff Lawyers (https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailyjournal.com%2Farticles%2F392352&data=05%7C02%7Cjack_needham%40dailyjournal.com%7C8887869b45964904b30b08ded2346ba5%7Cd7c644ef66db4e9482dafbcadfd8bc4e%7C0%7C0%7C639179319747240020%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=H7fHNxWqOGU9vGKufLeaF6J4q1mixEXRtSwTWr0e35Y%3D&reserved=0) Litigation law clerk Imdad Rahman argues the June 18 Uber–Consumer Attorneys deal that scrapped both rideshare ballot initiatives quietly traded away the medical liens that get uninsured clients treated. The People v. The Bench and Bar (https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailyjournal.com%2Farticles%2F392277&data=05%7C02%7Cjack_needham%40dailyjournal.com%7C8887869b45964904b30b08ded2346ba5%7Cd7c644ef66db4e9482dafbcadfd8bc4e%7C0%7C0%7C639179319747261158%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=ErTvSH20yv9ejhkY3eP7hIJ%2B%2BVarD3w4kCRkmnrrqGA%3D&reserved=0) Stalwart Law Group's Edwin Hong examines eroding public trust in the profession — 17% of Americans rate lawyers' honesty highly — and argues it's rebuilt not in galas but in thousands of small, unseen courtroom decisions.

12. 

    17 Jun 2026

    Bench & Bar: June 17

    In this week's episode: With all due respect, it means the opposite (https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailyjournal.com%2Farticles%2F392198&data=05%7C02%7Cjack_needham%40dailyjournal.com%7C2a90525101aa4241286908decca1d7ef%7Cd7c644ef66db4e9482dafbcadfd8bc4e%7C0%7C0%7C639173192637788552%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=hc9xXkqZCSqqEwWmUjTR1KQsDlAtzFaaIRlPQx7ZUkg%3D&reserved=0) Baruch C. Cohen of the Law Office of Baruch C. Cohen APLC examines the courtroom phrase "with all due respect" and what it signals when counsel deploys it against a tentative ruling already committed to writing. Cohen argues the disclaimer is a shield that reveals the absence of the respect it claims, and that the most experienced litigators say less when a ruling already favors them — pressing past a firm tentative tends to harden the record, not move it. A new path for construction defects in California (https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailyjournal.com%2Farticles%2F392177&data=05%7C02%7Cjack_needham%40dailyjournal.com%7C2a90525101aa4241286908decca1d7ef%7Cd7c644ef66db4e9482dafbcadfd8bc4e%7C0%7C0%7C639173192650028516%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=puymCxLk8D14A5e5eSh2o5trstO02Tf51fUQsbbS0rA%3D&reserved=0) Brenda K. Radmacher, partner at Seyfarth Shaw LLP, breaks down Assembly Bill 1903, the most sweeping proposed overhaul of California's construction defect regime since SB 800, the Right to Repair Act. The bill would make the prelitigation repair process a true prerequisite to suit, restore a resultant-damage requirement of present physical damage, and create a voluntary "certified building" pathway that could immunize qualifying condominium projects from later defect claims. What caregiving taught me about being a better lawyer (https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailyjournal.com%2Farticles%2F392200&data=05%7C02%7Cjack_needham%40dailyjournal.com%7C2a90525101aa4241286908decca1d7ef%7Cd7c644ef66db4e9482dafbcadfd8bc4e%7C0%7C0%7C639173192650051627%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=gNesv94khgcdGIb25jLy5sxg2tdScJy%2FhkEgVLjCUy0%3D&reserved=0) Jessica K. Lomakin, partner at Best Best & Krieger LLP, reframes the unbilled, largely invisible labor of caregiving — what she calls the "fourth shift" — as a category of work in itself rather than an interruption to legal practice. Lomakin argues the judgment, triage, and decision-making under incomplete information it demands are the same skills that make a capable lawyer, and that naming that reality serves the profession better than absorbing it in silence.

13. 

    11 Jun 2026

    Bench & Bar: June 11

    In this episode of Bench & Bar: The push to rein in discovery abuse (https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdailyjournal.com%2Farticles%2F392069&data=05%7C02%7Cjack_needham%40dailyjournal.com%7C14f3a83b5e42405f87ae08dec7f9463e%7Cd7c644ef66db4e9482dafbcadfd8bc4e%7C0%7C0%7C639168070606855355%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=x2sPM308%2F%2FuFxpq%2FlgAmJl%2FkWbk1DU958VjXeG3nbps%3D&reserved=0) Retired Los Angeles County Superior Court Independent Calendar Judge Mel Red Recana responds to Judge Lawrence Riff's 10 Principles for Fixing Civil Discovery, arguing that cultural reform alone isn't enough. Recana calls for embedding the principles into daily courtroom practice, local rules, and legislation modeled after CCP 2016.090 with enforceable sanctions for violations. Deja vu: Lawyer's mistakes might mean retrying the same PI case (https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdailyjournal.com%2Farticles%2F392070&data=05%7C02%7Cjack_needham%40dailyjournal.com%7C14f3a83b5e42405f87ae08dec7f9463e%7Cd7c644ef66db4e9482dafbcadfd8bc4e%7C0%7C0%7C639168070606884213%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=lRzDuSrBnU85oT%2FsTbS59obXkBUgSa0oLtSS65LlNZs%3D&reserved=0) Daniel V. Kohls, neutral at Signature Resolution, breaks down why a clear attorney error doesn't automatically produce a viable malpractice claim. Under California's trial-within-a-trial methodology, plaintiffs must relitigate the underlying personal injury case to establish causation — and if that case lacked merit or the original judgment was uncollectible, the malpractice claim fails with it. How Rutgers' $500M fumble can help reform college football (https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdailyjournal.com%2Farticles%2F392072-how-rutgers-500m-fumble-can-help-reform-college-football&data=05%7C02%7Cjack_needham%40dailyjournal.com%7C14f3a83b5e42405f87ae08dec7f9463e%7Cd7c644ef66db4e9482dafbcadfd8bc4e%7C0%7C0%7C639168070606906994%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=KBEP1o%2FqPZ6v2EfWkqa7%2FsFVnT2hkS0ovfbMHwOB7p0%3D&reserved=0) Frank N. Darras, founding partner at DarrasLaw, uses Rutgers University's 516-million-dollar athletics deficit as a case study in what happens when elite conference ambitions outpace financial oversight. Darras proposes a dedicated college football commissioner with authority to set NIL standards, enforce spending caps, and require independent audits — backed by a governing charter with real legal teeth.

14. 

    27 May 2026

    Bench & Bar: Wednesday, May 27

    In this episode: Don't sign blind: How Campos redefines judicial responsibility (https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailyjournal.com%2Farticles%2F391666&data=05%7C02%7Cjack_needham%40dailyjournal.com%7C17f42a9605ea47b0f26308debc30d8d5%7Cd7c644ef66db4e9482dafbcadfd8bc4e%7C0%7C0%7C639155115130834335%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=ewirPfFWvQ2O%2FBcVRhxCNrSzflq35xXj5xhRK4%2BvQSc%3D&reserved=0) Bernard C. Barmann Jr. of the Metro Justice Building contends that In re Domestic Partnership of Torres Campos and Munoz extends citation verification obligations directly to the bench. With nearly 1,000 U.S. hallucination incidents logged as of May 2026, judges who sign proposed orders containing unverified authorities now face institutional, reputational, and appellate risk. Church v. State: A takings conundrum (https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailyjournal.com%2Farticles%2F391688-church-v-state-a-takings-conundrum&data=05%7C02%7Cjack_needham%40dailyjournal.com%7C17f42a9605ea47b0f26308debc30d8d5%7Cd7c644ef66db4e9482dafbcadfd8bc4e%7C0%7C0%7C639155115130882016%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=Lx7oDc4lmHNTsUTpVj%2FRbFxD4JWNOVZlYDS%2FFFgtYFY%3D&reserved=0) Michael M. Berger of Manatt, Phelps and Phillips examines the federal government's effort to condemn a 1.3-mile border wall gap owned by the Catholic Diocese of Las Cruces, setting up a rare First and Fifth Amendment collision. Under Wilson versus Block, the Diocese must first establish that the proposed wall would impair pilgrim access to the Mount Cristo Rey shrine before the government must justify its interest as compelling and least restrictive. When the benefits end: Workers' comp timelines vs. human recovery (https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailyjournal.com%2Farticles%2F391668-when-the-benefits-end-workers-comp-timelines-vs-human-recovery&data=05%7C02%7Cjack_needham%40dailyjournal.com%7C17f42a9605ea47b0f26308debc30d8d5%7Cd7c644ef66db4e9482dafbcadfd8bc4e%7C0%7C0%7C639155115130910491%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=3VD8D2DlrJFiZEmveDF4Q4Y0Co1c6ncRmYTPYm2pyA0%3D&reserved=0) Yosi Yahoudai and Melissa Jamero Herbito of J&Y Law argue that California's workers' compensation system closes cases on statutory timelines that routinely diverge from actual recovery. Labor Code section 4660.1(c) leaves cognitive and psychiatric impairments least reflected in permanent disability ratings — and third-party liability exposure is often the only path to fuller recovery.

15. 

    20 May 2026

    Bench & Bar: Wednesday, May 20

    In This Episode "I attended a law, AI and child safety conference. What I heard was shocking (https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailyjournal.com%2Farticles%2F391578&data=05%7C02%7Cjack_needham%40dailyjournal.com%7Cfd598360f2534f6fa29208deb5f2d627%7Cd7c644ef66db4e9482dafbcadfd8bc4e%7C0%7C0%7C639148251740740550%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=YJVr5nWQQo%2Fc51o%2FDyp%2Faxv6DpOfbDKE3xjj0JczfVE%3D&reserved=0)" Zachary N. Zaharoff of Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy reports that a Media Law Resource Center conference on child safety online was dominated by corporate liability strategy, not child welfare. Platform attorneys should expect Section 230 and First Amendment defenses to remain the industry's primary shield as these cases advance. "Bad AI citations: Crimes and punishments (https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailyjournal.com%2Farticles%2F391442&data=05%7C02%7Cjack_needham%40dailyjournal.com%7Cfd598360f2534f6fa29208deb5f2d627%7Cd7c644ef66db4e9482dafbcadfd8bc4e%7C0%7C0%7C639148251740931133%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=dxQejpsbyTthuVsdOXw0WEFYl8f6yh8bgTmaDuViPak%3D&reserved=0)" Myron Moskovitz of the Moskovitz Appellate Team examines a California appellate case where fabricated citations ensnared both an attorney and judicial officers in the same proceeding. The attorney faced sanctions and a State Bar referral; the judicial officers did not. Citation verification now runs to the bench — and sanctions exposure remains uneven. "Protect access to justice and be munificent (https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailyjournal.com%2Farticles%2F391444&data=05%7C02%7Cjack_needham%40dailyjournal.com%7Cfd598360f2534f6fa29208deb5f2d627%7Cd7c644ef66db4e9482dafbcadfd8bc4e%7C0%7C0%7C639148251740961506%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=4rsivrtDxC7yZsnv6nPaJgrP1AscsAJbAJAWWsDmd68%3D&reserved=0)" Arash Homampour and Nicholas Rowley of Trial Lawyers for Justice argue that Uber's proposed California constitutional amendment would cap plaintiff-side contingency fees in motor vehicle and products liability cases while leaving defense arrangements untouched. The Legislative Analyst's Office projects reduced filings and higher Medi-Cal costs. Read all three columns and browse the full Perspectives section at dailyjournal.com (http://dailyjournal.com).

16. 

    14 May 2026

    Bench & Bar: May 14

    In This Episode "Courts Ordered to Police AI Without a Budget" (https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailyjournal.com%2Farticles%2F391296&data=05%7C02%7Cjack_needham%40dailyjournal.com%7C20b3ff7ca21d45f6431c08deb12fec7f%7Cd7c644ef66db4e9482dafbcadfd8bc4e%7C0%7C0%7C639143016543522149%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=uGVc0%2BpPGX4a2HYsXNOcix%2F2%2FGs4g%2BfF%2FssxCxAYwpU%3D&reserved=0) William Slomanson, Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Thomas Jefferson School of Law In re Domestic Partnership of Campos and Munoz put the problem in sharp relief: California's 4th District reversed a court order built on hallucinated AI citations. Standard 10.80b3 now requires judicial officers to verify AI-generated material — but no funding or staffing has followed. SB 574 extends parallel restrictions to arbitrators. For attorneys relying on AI-assisted research, the verification obligation now runs both ways. "The Going and Coming Rule When an Employee Has a Hybrid Work Schedule" (https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailyjournal.com%2Farticles%2F391344&data=05%7C02%7Cjack_needham%40dailyjournal.com%7C20b3ff7ca21d45f6431c08deb12fec7f%7Cd7c644ef66db4e9482dafbcadfd8bc4e%7C0%7C0%7C639143016543550321%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=kqgLUJUWOe90xwJsjuC2W5pJp66FfQZcmOzfXPYNTIs%3D&reserved=0) Michael E. Rubinstein, Law Office of Michael E. Rubinstein Chang v. Southern California Permanente Medical Group confirms that a hybrid schedule doesn't suspend the going-and-coming rule. A standing calendar entry and pre-collision texts with coworkers weren't enough to bring a physician's personal errand within course and scope of employment. Chang is reliable precedent for employers' counsel — if the evidentiary record is locked down early. "LA's Perfect Storm of Deferred Maintenance, Crumbling Infrastructure and Stolen Copper Wire" (https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailyjournal.com%2Farticles%2F391342&data=05%7C02%7Cjack_needham%40dailyjournal.com%7C20b3ff7ca21d45f6431c08deb12fec7f%7Cd7c644ef66db4e9482dafbcadfd8bc4e%7C0%7C0%7C639143016543577935%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=5jHk4kWYXPc5JuZ7s50HWkyXcPeAk5TO63douTTM5CM%3D&reserved=0) Jason Javaheri, Co-Founder and Co-CEO, J&Y Law; Parham Nikfarjam, Senior Trial Attorney, J&Y Law Los Angeles is simultaneously funding Willits settlement repairs and absorbing claims tied to conditions those repairs haven't reached. Copper theft now drives 40% of streetlight outages, some lasting more than a year. For attorneys litigating against the city, the structural conditions generating claims aren't resolving — they're accumulating. Read all three columns and browse the full Perspectives section at dailyjournal.com (http://dailyjournal.com).

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

1 ratings