2026 SCOCA Roundup

UC Berkely Law's California Constitution Center presents its 2026 SCOCA Roundup Feb. 27 from noon to 1, featuring the Davids (Ettinger and Carrillo), who will discuss significant recent cases and developments at the California Supreme Court. Hosted by the California Supreme Court Historical Society.  

Appellate lawyers on the move: Jenkins and Bielak and Fisher

Margaret Bielak joined Complex Appellate Litigation Group LLP as a counsel in San Francisco. Bielak served as a research attorney with the 1st District Court of Appeal for nearly a quarter century. During her tenure, she was the lead appellate court attorney in the chambers of Presiding Justice Alison Tucher in Division Three and previously a senior research attorney for Justice Maria Rivera in Division Four. She also served as a law clerk to California Supreme Court Justice Edward Panelli and practiced with a large national law firm. Bielak will be CALG's 27th appellate attorney.

Kirk Jenkins joined Kahana Feld as a partner in San Francisco. Jenkins is a member of the National Appellate Litigation & Consulting Group with nearly four decades of experience as a litigator and appellate advocate. He has handled a broad range of complex litigation, with particular emphasis on antitrust and trade regulation in both civil and criminal matters, including price-fixing, monopolization, essential facilities, and tying claims. His practice also encompasses class actions, constitutional litigation, employment law, personal injury, insurance coverage, consumer protection, privacy, intellectual property, whistleblower actions, and sophisticated business and contract disputes. Jenkins has served as lead appellate counsel in more than 250 appeals and as an appellate consultant to dozens of trial teams nationwide. An accomplished writer and researcher in judicial analytics, regression analysis, and decision-tree modeling, he frequently speaks on appellate law, legal analytics, and emerging issues in the profession.

Stanford Law Prof. Jeffrey Fisher, who has argued 50 SCOTUS cases, has joined Hecker Fink as of counsel. He was formerly special counsel at O'Melveny.

Check the local rules!

1/5 published this opinion, which begins like this:

Our local rules require that all parties promptly notify us about a bankruptcy that could affect our ability to decide an appeal. Despite this requirement, the parties in this case waited over four months after the filing of a bankruptcy petition by plaintiff Navellier and Associates, Inc. (NAI) and just two days before oral argument to tell us about that petition. Exacerbating the potential consequences of this delay, plaintiffs Louis Navellier and NAI now contend that the automatic bankruptcy stay precludes us from deciding this appeal. (11 U.S.C. § 362(a)(1).) If plaintiffs are correct, then the parties’ failure to provide timely notice of the bankruptcy would have caused this court to squander its valuable time and resources. Fortunately, plaintiffs are not correct because Navellier did not file for bankruptcy and because NAI, the debtor, brought this action. Although the harm to this court caused by the parties’ violation of our local rules is therefore minimized, this does not excuse their misconduct. Although we do not sanction the parties, we do admonish them and advise them to learn and follow our local rules in the future.

The MetNews story is Counsel Cited for Not Following Local Rule About Bankruptcy -- Opinion Says Both Sides Were Derelict in Failing to Timely Inform Court of Plaintiff’s Pending Proceedings Where First District Guidelines Call for Notice, Outside Assurance That Petition Would Not Affect Appeal Is No Excuse

New CAAL Members!

California Academy of Appellate Lawyers Announces Three New Members

The California Academy of Appellate Lawyers is pleased to announce that it admitted three new members at its January, 2026 meeting: Joshua Klein, Jeff Michalowski, and Radha Pathak.

• Mr. Klein is the Supervising Deputy Solicitor General at the California Department of Justice. Mr. Klein received his B.A. from Amherst College and his J.D. from Stanford Law School. After law school, he clerked for Judge Merrick B. Garland of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and Associate Justice Sandra Day O’Connor of the United States Supreme Court.
• Mr. Michalowski is a Partner at Quarles, where he Vice-Chairs the firm’s national appellate practice. Mr. Michalowski received his B.A. from the University of Virginia and his J.D. from Harvard Law School.
• Ms. Pathak is a Partner at Stris & Maher LLP. Ms. Pathak received her B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley, and her J.D. from NYU School of Law. After law school, she clerked for Judge Raymond C. Fisher of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Founded in 1972, the Academy is the nation’s oldest lawyers’ organization dedicated to appellate practice. Our members are California lawyers with substantial appellate experience, who are elected to membership after rigorous scrutiny of their reputation, character, and appellate advocacy skills. Academy members are frequently counsel of record in the most complex and highest-impact cases before the California Supreme Court, California Courts of Appeal, and federal appellate courts. For further information, contact CAAL President Sean SeLegue: sean.selegue@arnoldporter.com. More information about the Academy appears on its website at www.CalAppellate.org.

LASC under water today?

Superior Court of Los Angeles County to Temporarily Suspend Superior Court Operations at the Spring Street Courthouse on Wednesday, February 4, Due to Water Damage

Superior Court of Los Angeles County to Temporarily Suspend Superior Court Operations at the Spring Street Courthouse on Wednesday, February 4, Due to Water Damage

Out of an abundance of caution to protect the safety of court users, court staff and judicial officers, the Superior Court of Los Angeles County is temporarily suspending operations at the Spring Street Courthouse, located at 312 N. Spring St., Los Angeles, on Wednesday, February 4, due to potential issues resulting from remediation efforts to address a water leak.

The Court, which leases space from the Spring Street Courthouse for Superior Court operations from the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), is actively working with the GSA and the Judicial Council of California to conduct an assessment of the damage to ensure the Spring Street Courthouse is safe for court users, court staff and judicial officers

A list of Superior Court departments at the Spring Street Courthouse can be found here.

Oral arg tips

David Lat's Original Jurisdiction has 3 Tips For Appellate Advocates—From Paul Clement:

1. Listen, listen, listen.

2. Stay nimble

3. Keep it conversational--and candid

2025 Appellate Year in Review program

CEB's annual appellate year-in-review webinar has dropped: Key Developments in Appellate Practice 2025 

Justices Adams, D.Kim, and Weingart (and appellate specialist Ben Shatz) discuss the year that was for California appellate practice, focusing on new rules, new practices, appellate news of note, and cases on appealability and appellate ethics. Counts for 1.75 hours of Appellate Specialization CLE credit.

That's not spam, that's the record!

The LASC Civil Appeals Unit has received a significant increase of phones calls regarding the delivery of the electronic Record on Appeal. As reflected on the Notice to Attorneys, the email address is:

“eCART Notification <eCART – DoNotReply@courts.ca.gov.”

Check your spam filter!

CLA seeks ALHOF submissions

The Committee on Appellate Courts of the California Lawyers Association Litigation Section is soliciting nominations for the Appellate Lawyer Hall of Fame for 2026.

Please click here for details for making a nomination.      

This award is presented by the Committee on Appellate Courts of CLA’s Litigation Section.  The new inductee will be recognized, along with the next Trial Lawyer Hall of Fame inductee, during a ceremony at CLA’s Litigation and Appellate Summit at the JW Marriott in San Francisco on May 14–15, 2026. Please submit nominations by February 13, 2026.

LASC Appellate Division seeks attorneys

 

Superior Court of Los Angeles County’s Appellate Division Seeks Attorneys to Represent Indigent Defendants Appellate Division’s Panel of Appointed Attorneys Provide Access to Justice to the Most Vulnerable Litigants The Superior Court of Los Angeles County’s Appellate Division is seeking qualified attorneys to represent indigent defendants. Willing attorneys who are approved to serve on the Appellate Division’s panel provide access to justice to some of the most vulnerable litigants by representing indigent defendants who seek to appeal judgments rendered in misdemeanor cases. The Appellate Division is continually seeking experienced attorneys who are willing to serve on the Appellate Division’s Panel of Appointed Attorneys. “The 14th Amendment demands equal legal representation for both rich and poor at every significant stage of a case, including on appeal,” said Presiding Judge of the Appellate Division Patti Jo McKay. APPOINTED ATTORNEYS: Upon Appellate Division approval, appointed attorneys are compensated by the Professional Appointee Court Expenditure (PACE) program at a rate of $100/hour and are appointed to represent indigent defendants via an alphabetical rotation process. Occasionally, and in the interest of judicial economy and efficiency, an attorney may be appointed out of order when there is a related pending appeal for the same defendant. PREREQUISITES: Attorneys interested in an appointment to represent indigent defendants are required to: Be a member in good standing of the California State Bar. Possess strong research and writing skills. Have an understanding of criminal law and procedure. Be familiar with the appeals process, including the California Rules of Court and the Superior Court of Los Angeles County’s Local Rules governing misdemeanor appeals. Commit to adhering to the PACE policies and protocols. Consent to electronically receiving criminal appeals and appellate documents, including the Record on Appeal, in an electronic format. APPLICATION MATERIALS: Attorneys who meet the prerequisites should prepare the following: A cover letter detailing their education, training and experience in handling criminal law cases, including jury and court trials, and appeals; A current resume with references; and Two recent writing samples. Please electronically send the above application materials to: Patti Jo McKay, Presiding Judge, Appellate Division Care of Lynette Brooks at LBrooks@lacourt.org.

Shatz joins Duane Morris

 Law360 has Manatt Appellate Star Leaves To Join Duane Morris In LA, about a certain certified appellate specialist, which begins:

Benjamin G. Shatz

Benjamin G. Shatz has joined Duane Morris LLP as a partner at the firm's appellate division of the trial practice group in Los Angeles, after spending more than two decades at Manatt, Phelps & Phillips LLP, according to an announcement issued Monday.

Also on Law360 today, the latest edition of Wheeling & Appealing: The Latest Must-Know Appellate Action

RIP Raoul Kennedy (1944-2026)

The SF Chronicle has an obituary for Raoul Kennedy, a past president of the California Academy of Appellate Lawyers, among many other accomplishments. The obit begins:

Long time Bay Area Trial and Appel­late attor­ney, Raoul D. Kennedy, died fol­low­ing an over 20-year battle with Par­kin­son’s Dis­ease. A hugely suc­cess­ful trial law­yer, Kennedy was known for enter­tain­ing judges and jur­ies as he con­vinced them of his cli­ents’ pos­i­tions. Once after a very long trial, he was the last of dozens of law­yers to present their clos­ing argu­ment, Kennedy began with, “I feel like Zsa Zsa Gabor’s sixth hus­band. I know what I’m sup­posed to do, but I don’t know how to make it inter­est­ing.” ...

• The pub­lic­a­tion “Best Law­yers in Amer­ica” lis­ted him in five cat­egor­ies: Appel­late Prac­tice, Bet the Com­pany Lit­ig­a­tion, Com­mer­cial Lit­ig­a­tion, Insur­ance Law and Mass Tort Lit­ig­a­tion. 
• Raoul was a mem­ber of the by-invit­a­tion-only Amer­ican Col­lege of Trial Law­yers, The Amer­ican Board of Trial Advoc­ates, and was a past Pres­id­ent of the Cali­for­nia Academy of Appel­late Law­yers. In 2005, he was chosen as the Cali­for­nia Trial Law­yer of the year and induc­ted into the Cali­for­nia Trial Law­yers Hall of Fame. He was act­ive in law related activ­it­ies and was a Ninth Cir­cuit Law­yer Rep­res­ent­at­ive, a mem­ber of the Com­mis­sion on Judi­cial Nom­in­ees Eval­u­ation (JNE) and was the co-author of the Cali­for­nia treat­ise, The Expert Wit­ness Guide.

Columns & more

Today's DJ has retired PJ Gilbert's column, February, the shortest month--in praise of the short judicial opinion -- In an age of constant change and technological excess, judicial opinions--and our thinking more broadly--benefit from clarity, restraint and the enduring virtue of brevity.

... and Myron Moskovitz's column What makes a great brief? Part 2: Making the most of what you've got

And Congrats to former H&L associate Christopher Hu who has been appointed the SF superior court. He previously clerked at the 9th Circuit and the Cal Supreme Court. See (also in the DJ) Newsom appoints 10 superior court judges.

3d DCA rule re e-filing & jobs

The 3d District has amended its Local Rule 5 about Electronic Filing. The change seems to be that superior courts need not provide a paper copy of the record to indigent criminal defendants or their counsel. (Rule 5(e)(3).)

The 3d District has also posted openings for an Appellate Court Attorney and Senior Appellate Court Attorney.  For a complete job announcement and application, go to http://www.courts.ca.gov/careers.htm, or call 916-653-8038. Filing deadline is 12:00 PM, March 23, 2026.

Ret. J.Murray wants to "set the record straight"

Today's DJ has Retired Justice Murray wants to set the record straight on his retirement. He also has created a website to present his case. See WilliamMurrayJr.com 

Chief Murguia in OC on 2/18

The FBA OC Chapter presents it's Ninth Circuit Update Luncheon: Fireside Chat with Ninth Circuit Chief Judge Mary H. Murguia on Wednesday, February 18, 2026, 11:30 a.m. - 1 p.m. Avenue of the Arts Hotel
3350 Avenue of the Arts, Costa Mesa (.75 mcle hours). Flyer here.

On February 10, noon to 1, the SDCBA Appellate Practice Section presents An Appealing Life: Are State-Appointed Appeals for You?

Today's SDCBA APS zoom meeting was a discussion with appellate blawgers Prof. Shaun Martin of the California Appellate Report blog and Ben Shatz of SCAN.

And California Appellate Defense Counsel (CADC) has a conference coming on Friday, March 20, and Saturday, March 21, at the South San Francisco Conference Center. The keynote speaker is California Supreme Court Justice Kelli M. Evans. MCLEs focus on criminal defense and dependency appeals, and are intended to provide court-appointed attorneys with education relevant to their work on the statewide panels. (For this reason, CADC membership and conference attendance are not open to those affiliated with prosecutorial or law enforcement agencies). More info here.

SCOTUS hits new low

Law360 has Supreme Court Caseload Hits 160-Year Low, which begins:

Not since the Civil War has the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in as few cases as it will this term — the latest milestone for the court's shrinking docket, and one attorneys say might have more to do with the high court's culture than its expanding emergency appeals caseload.

• As of Monday, the justices have agreed to hear oral arguments in 64 individual cases this October term.
• This term's caseload is well below the average 75 cases per term the Supreme Court has been reviewing since Chief Justice John Roberts took the helm in 2005, and nine fewer individual cases than last term's docket. It is the smallest set of cases the high court has reviewed in a single term since the October term in 1865, the year the Civil War ended, according to data from Washington University School of Law's Supreme Court Database.
• The Supreme Court has steadily granted review in fewer and fewer cases since the October 1988 term, when Congress passed the Supreme Court Case Selections Act and eliminated the right to appeal state court judgments to the nation's highest court. Since then, the number of individual cases reviewed each term has been up to the discretion of the justices and has dropped from 168 during the 1988 term to 64 this term.

UVA School of Law reports Prominent Appellate Attorney Cate Stetson ’94 Joins Faculty

The latest issue of LA Lawyer (Jan/Feb 2026:1) has Gary Wax's Practice Tips: On The Record: How to Safeguard Cases for Appeal -- Trials move fast, so it's no surprise that preserving the record for appeal sometimes slips through the cracks. Gary J. Wax offers practice tips for how to avoid common record preservation mistakes, and how to ensure cases are safeguarded for appeal.

BHBA program

The BHBA Appellate Law section presents How to Avoid Sinking Your Civil Appeal Before It Sets Sail, a Zoom webinar presented by certified appellate specialist Brendan Begley of Weintraub Tobin, on Feb. 4 at 12:30 to 1:30.

9th Cir. Proposed Rules

The 9th Circuit invites comments on proposed revisions to Circuit Rules: Circuit Rule 28-1 (Briefs, Applicable Rules); Circuit Rule 39-1 (Costs and Attorneys Fees on Appeal); and Circuit Rule 46-5 (Restrictions on Practice by Former Court Employees).

The revisions to Circuit Rule 28-1 would clarify the requirements for letter briefs ordered by the court. The revisions to Circuit Rule 39-1 would clarify the process for transferring a request for attorneys’ fees to the district court or agency.

The revision to Circuit Rule 45-6 would clarify the scope of the rule and when a motion for exemption must be filed by a former court employee.

If ultimately approved by the Court, these rules would become effective no earlier than June 1, 2026. Please direct comments to Molly C. Dwyer, Clerk of Court, at Molly_Dwyer@ca9.uscourts.gov, and Susan V. Gelmis, Chief Deputy Clerk, at Susan_Gelmis@ca9.uscourts.gov.  Comments must be submitted no later than February 23, 2026. 

LA City Attorney Office seeks appellate lawyer

The Office of the Los Angeles City Attorney, one of the nation's largest municipal law offices, has an opening for an appellate lawyer. The selected attorney will be responsible for handling writs and appeals on behalf of the City and its individual employees in federal and state appellate courts, including drafting all briefs and appearing at oral argument. Apply here.