Jason Dearen

October 02, 2002 | Law.com

Consumer advocates who want to shed light on the state's consumer arbitration process scored a victory Monday as Gov. Gray Davis signed legislation requiring more disclosure by private arbitration providers. The bill is one of six that crossed the governor's desk this session that deal with regulating consumer arbitration providers. On Monday, the last day of the session, Davis signed five of the bills and pocket-vetoed the sixth.

By Jason Dearen

4 minute read

August 14, 2002 | Law.com

Teri Jackson, of counsel at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe and a former prosecutor, has been named to the San Francisco bench, the first African-American woman to win a seat on the city's Superior Court. The former head of the homicide unit for the San Francisco district attorney's office, Jackson, 45, said being named a judge is "a dream fulfilled."

By Jason Dearen

4 minute read

December 03, 2002 | Law.com

Administrators at the University of California, Berkeley's Boalt Hall School of Law, still reeling from Dean John Dwyer's departure after allegations of sexual harassment, have begun scrambling to fill the void. While Dwyer says the encounter was consensual, the lawyer for the complaining student said "Dean Dwyer sexually assaulted" the student. The charges also call into question Boalt's compliance with sexual harassment laws.

By Jason Dearen

4 minute read

August 30, 2002 | Law.com

Those seeking to dismiss a suit using the state's anti-SLAPP law don't need to prove the suit is intended to chill their First Amendment rights, the California Supreme Court held Thursday. In the first of three SLAPP law rulings issued Thursday, the justices unanimously concluded that an intent-to-chill requirement "would contravene the legislative intent" behind the anti-SLAPP law.

By Jason Dearen

4 minute read