Cheryl Miller

November 16, 2007 | Corporate Counsel

Heller Ehrman partner Adam Cole, a specialist in representing corporate policyholders in insurance litigation, was named GC at the California Department of Insurance on Wednesday. Cole's hiring comes as consumer activists are criticizing Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner for being too cozy with the insurance companies he regulates. One critic, noting that Cole's client list includes corporate heavy-hitters like PG&E, said Poizner's assertion that the new GC will be a consumer ally "isn't going to fly."

By Cheryl Miller

4 minute read

September 24, 2007 | The Recorder

The state's solicitor general, Manuel Medeiros, said the AG's office is filing fewer amicus briefs under Jerry Brown than it did under his predecessor. The thinking, apparently, is if they aren't as common, they'll have more value.

By Cheryl Miller

4 minute read

April 27, 2007 | Law.com

Citing a "plethora of misconduct," the California Commission on Judicial Performance on Wednesday booted Monterey County Superior Court Judge Jose Velasquez from the bench. Velasquez committed 46 acts of misconduct between January 2004 and May 2005, ranging from lengthening jail sentences of defendants who questioned his rulings, to forcing unrepresented defendants to choose jail time or diversion programs without telling them they could plead not guilty, the commission found.

By Cheryl Miller

3 minute read

June 20, 2006 | The Recorder

A proposal to end at-large judicial elections in Los Angeles County has gained new life in the wake of an attorney/bagel shop owner's victory over a 20-year incumbent.

By Cheryl Miller

4 minute read

December 04, 2007 | Law.com

A California lawyers' union tried Friday to persuade a Sacramento County Superior Court judge to intervene in a contract squabble between the bargaining unit that represents deputy attorneys general and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's administration. Lawyers say the pay scales for the union's 3,400 members have eroded so badly that entry-level state prosecutors in the San Francisco Bay Area, with a starting salary of $56,088, now earn less than half of what their counterparts in other public agencies get.

By Cheryl Miller

3 minute read

July 17, 2008 | The Recorder

David Lowe, co-chairman of the California Employment Lawyers Association's legislative committee, calls GOP attempts to use the budget stalemate to win concessions on wage-and-hour law "shameful."

By Cheryl Miller

4 minute read

May 16, 2008 | Law.com

While legislative Democrats hailed the California Supreme Court's decision Thursday, both they and critics of the ruling warned that the battle over gay marriage in California is far from over. Gay marriage opponents are confident that they have gathered enough signatures to place a state constitutional amendment on the November ballot that would supersede the justices' ruling and outlaw same-sex unions.

By Cheryl Miller

4 minute read

October 03, 2008 | Legaltech News

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has axed Assembly Bill 926, which would have enacted new electronic discovery rules sought by the state Judicial Council. "It makes no sense," said the bill's author, Assemblywoman Nora Evans. "It's just like he's throwing a temper tantrum."

By Cheryl Miller

4 minute read

October 16, 2007 | The Recorder

The Sacramento County Superior Court judge keeps things more or less relaxed in his criminal courtroom.

By Cheryl Miller

5 minute read

December 15, 2009 | The Recorder

A committee appointed by the state Supreme Court will issue formal ethics opinions, as well as casual advice to judges seeking guidance.

By Cheryl Miller

3 minute read