Published in Trellis Research·Sep 25, 2019Member-onlyVaping in the CourtsThe Legal Lessons Learned from the Fight against Big Tobacco You may have heard the commercials, the ones that end with the dramatic warning: NICOTINE IS BRAIN POISON. Launched by the Tobacco Control Program of the California Department of Public Health, the Flavors Hook Kids campaign seeks to educate the public about the country’s newest epidemic-teen vaping. Listeners learn that…Vaping5 min read
Published in Trellis Research·Sep 18, 2019Ripping Her Dollars in HalfA Case of Gender Pay Discrimination in Silicon Valley As a Director of Sales Operations of Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Company (HPE), R. Ross regularly encountered financial and personnel documents, some of which revealed confidential details about the salaries of her male colleagues. She began to notice a pattern. It appeared as…Women5 min read
Published in Trellis Research·Sep 10, 2019Evicted from HollywoodHow the Community Redevelopment Law Paves the Way for a Gentrified Los Angeles Its design resembles an ocean liner, with rounded edges and porthole windows. The building is surrounded by a small village of bungalows, a commercial complex constructed in 1936 by Robert V. Derrah, the architect behind the Coca-Cola Building in Los Angeles. This is the Crossroads of the World. This cluster…Affordable Housing3 min read
Published in Trellis Research·Aug 28, 2019Member-onlyPlaying with Patients?Gilead Sciences, HIV Antiretrovirals, and the Pursuit of Profit Over the summer, a series of pharmaceutical product liability actions have been brought to California state courts against Gilead Sciences, Inc., …Patents3 min read
Published in Trellis Research·Aug 13, 2019Member-onlyEmployment Discrimination and the Push to State CourtsA new law will go into effect across California on January 1, 2020. California Senate Bill 188 revises the definition of race articulated in the Fair Employment and Housing Act (1959). This definition will now include hair texture and protective hairstyles-traits historically associated with race. Senate Bill 188 creates an…Discrimination4 min read
Published in Trellis Research·Aug 13, 2019A Closer Look at CCP 170.6 Peremptory Challenges in California(Visit here for my first look at 170.6.) Everyone knows that a lawyer must understand the legal thresholds applicable to their cases. However, it is just as important that a lawyer understands their judge-their background, their preferences, their tendencies. This is the information through which a lawyer can map an…Law4 min read
Published in Trellis Research·Jul 25, 2019Member-onlyThe Medical Malpractice Crisis: Urban Legend or True Story?“What’s happening all across this country is that lawyers are filing baseless suits against hospitals and doctors,” began George W. Bush to a room filled with medical professionals and industry allies. “That’s just a plain fact. And they’re doing it for a simple reason. They know the medical liability system…Legal3 min read
Published in Trellis Research·Jul 12, 2019Member-onlyA Peremptory Challenge: Studying the Lawyers that Study the JudgesEnacted in 1957, Section 170.6 of the California Code of Civil Procedure (CCP) granted litigants the opportunity to peremptorily disqualify a superior court judge from presiding over their case. This disqualification requires no justification other than a litigant stating that the assigned judge is prejudiced against the attorney, the attorney’s…Lawyers4 min read
Published in Trellis Research·Jun 4, 2019France Drama: Say Goodbye to Judicial AnalyticsAs the legal tech sector intensifies its global expansion, governments around the world are grappling with ethical, technical, and political questions about public access to electronic court records. The digitization of these records has allowed artificial intelligence and machine learning companies to collect this public data, synthesizing it in ways that allow them to model how individual judges rule on particular types of matters.Legaltech1 min read
Published in Trellis Research·May 29, 2019Overburdened Dockets: A Comparison of Two SolutionsThe United States District Courts adopted the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP) in 1938. Drafted in reference to the types of cases most common at the time, these rules were designed to regulate pre-trial pleading and discovery practices. …Law3 min read
