Articles

Understanding Business Interruption Insurance: What Those Impacted by the LA Fires Need to Know

The LA fires are causing significant business disruptions, with some owners wondering how their insurance policies, particularly business interruption (BI) coverage, can provide financial relief. Alexandra "Sasha" Selfridge highlights key considerations for those impacted by the fires, shares lessons learned from claims experience, and offers guidance on how to maximize recovery under BI policies with your outside legal counsel.

What Do You Mean That’s Discoverable? Developments in Discovery Obligations and Reminders on Privilege 

There’s a new California statute requiring initial disclosures in litigation, notes Litigation Partner David Gouzoules. Discovery is already time-consuming, delays the resolution of litigation, and is often quite expensive. There are also frequent challenges (and costs) related to identifying, collecting, reviewing, and producing electronically stored information, or ESI. And, of course, there can be thorny issues regarding what documents and communications may be withheld or redacted as privileged. How can attorneys and their clients minimize the cost of compliance with this new statute while keeping front of mind key aspects of the attorney-client privilege and work product doctrine? David explains.

Eleven Concepts Business Teams Need to Know About Indemnification and Protection in Private Company M&A: Cutting Through the Jargon

If you’re selling your privately held company, your buyer will likely expect a comprehensive set of “representations” or “reps,” statements about the business you assert to be true, note Helen Goldstein and Paul Johnson. Sometimes there are known issues specific to the business such as an ongoing lawsuit that the buyer wants to be protected from. All these protections are usually found in a section of the definitive agreement called “Indemnification.” Helen and Paul cut through the legal jargon to explain eleven common aspects of an indemnification package in a useful new article.

Trademark Practice Considerations Following the USPTO 2025 Fee Increases

How will a USPTO fee increase impact your pursuit of trademark protection? You’ll likely find yourself filing in fewer Classes and with shorter descriptions of goods and services. Neil Salyards breaks down the new trademark fees and surcharges that went into effect on January 17 and what applicants and practitioners need to know.

Federal Court Vacates 2024 Title IX Regulations: What Does This Mean for California Charter Schools?

Last month a federal court in Kentucky vacated the 2024 Title IX regulations that had been adopted by the U.S. Department of Education and which have been in effect since August 1, 2024. Greta Proctor and Merrick Wadsworth explain what this means for charter schools in California in a new article.

News

Accomplished Capital Markets and Securities Partner Ruba Qashu Joins Procopio

We’re thrilled to welcome our newest Partner, Ruba Qashu! She’s an experienced capital markets and securities attorney joining our Orange County office. She’s practiced in the LA/OC area for nearly 20 years with extensive experience as lead securities counsel for public companies and dealing with the SEC, Nasdaq and NYSE. 

“We’re thrilled to welcome Ruba Qashu to the firm as a Partner,” said Procopio Managing Partner Dennis Doucette. “As the former leader of our corporate law team, I know a top-notch securities attorney when I see one. Our clients will benefit greatly from Ruba’s experience, know-how, and strategic thinking.”

Along with her extensive range of legal services, Ruba also brings her expertise directly to companies by serving as a corporate director. Currently she serves on the Board of Directors of two innovative companies, Cloudastructure, Inc., and Hydro Hash, Inc., providing governance and finance leadership. 

Procopio Wins Best of Legal Service Award Based on Client Satisfaction Survey

We’re thrilled our clients valued our service so highly that we were awarded a 2025 Best of Legal® Award from ClearlyRated! Procopio was named an industry leader in service based on ratings provided by our clients in a comprehensive survey.

• Procopio received satisfaction scores of 9 or 10 out of 10 from 84% of their clients, significantly higher than the industry’s average of 49% in 2024. 
• Procopio received a Net Promoter® Score of 80%, more than twice the 2024 industry average of 37%. 

“I consistently hear positive feedback from our clients, so I can’t say I was completely surprised by our survey results,” said Kevin Wilson, our Chief Marketing and Business Development Officer. “It is extremely gratifying, however, to achieve this impressive third-party validation from ClearlyRated. All of our attorneys strive to provide our clients the highest level of client service, which is reflected in the results of this survey.” 

Events

Launch, Grow, Succeed: A 6-Part Webinar Series for Entrepreneurs

Get ready to take your startup to the next level! Join us for a dynamic six-week webinar series crafted exclusively for growth-focused startups and held each Wednesday from March 12 to April 16.

This series delivers practical, actionable insights you can apply immediately. Learn how to structure your business for success, protect your secret sauce, attract top investors, break into new markets, and tackle tricky data and employment challenges like a pro. 

You’ll hear from some of our leading Emerging Company and Venture Capital attorneys, including Paul Johnson, Noel Gillespie, Elaine Harwell, Michael Kinkelaar, Helen Goldstein and Marina Gruber. 

Social Media

Have you met the newest member of our intellectual property litigation practice? Jean M. Kim has joined us as a Senior Associate in our Orange County office! She supports clients in all forms of IP litigation, including trademark, patent, and copyright disputes, and is admitted to multiple federal courts. She also brings experience with trademark opposition and cancellation proceedings, patent and trademark prosecution, and domain name disputes.

Meet the latest attorney addition to our Charter School practice! Phillipa Altmann advises charter schools on key issues including organizational policies, contracts, agency relations, ethical issues, funding restrictions, facility issues, and a wide range of student issues for schools. She advises on board governance matters such as the Brown Act, Public Records Act, and avoiding conflicts of interest. Phillipa brings experience to her clients both as a former in-house charter school attorney and longtime litigator with the California Charter Schools Association and in private practice prior to that.

Kudos to Partners Michael Kiesling and Eric Plourde on being recognized by the Daily Journal for a Top Plaintiff Victory for a $6.3-million bench judgment for their client! The origins of Stone Ash LLC v. Stone Ash LLC are a much-publicized Lamborghini crash in November 2017 in which a successful San Diego entrepreneur passed away without a will. At the time, the entrepreneur’s sister-in-law had temporary control over a subsidiary company holding $4.6 million in cash and a $1.7-million yacht. The parent company demanded the sister-in-law return the cash and yacht. She refused, claiming they were a “gift” to the entrepreneur’s “family” made just weeks before he passed. Following a five-day San Diego Superior Court bench trial, the court ruled there was no gift, and that the cash and yacht belonged to the parent company, leading to the judgment.

A big congrats to Partner Kendra Hall on her admission to the California Academy of Appellate Lawyers, an elite organization of top appellate attorneys whose 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. Kendra was one of only two attorneys admitted this year. Kendra is a Certified Appellate Specialist whose practice is devoted exclusively to handling civil appeals and writs in the California federal and state courts of appeal. She adeptly handles the wide variety of procedural and substantive issues that arise on appeal and understands the challenges litigators and their clients face in the trial court. During Kendra’s 30-plus years of practice she has served as lead counsel in well over 200 civil and writ proceedings involving a wide variety of procedural and substantive issues resulting in more than a dozen published decisions. Kendra also regularly assists trial counsel with key motions, trial preparation and during trial. Founded in 1972, the Academy is the nation’s oldest lawyers’ organization dedicated to appellate practice. Its members are California lawyers with substantial appellate experience, who are elected to membership after rigorous scrutiny of their reputation, character, and appellate advocacy skills.

Silicon Valley IP Partner Ernest Huang breaks down in a Law360 article the evolving landscape of patent prosecution in the Americas with a focus on nearshoring. What is nearshoring? That's when goods are sent into the U.S. tariff-free from a country with a free trade agreement and a bilateral tax treaty with the U.S., which in the Americas includes Canada and Mexico, members of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement and other nations such as Chile, Brazil and Colombia. Some examples of nearshoring include a focus on Canada in steel, air compressors and heavy trucks, and Mexico for automobiles and electronic parts. As the need to obtain patent protection for innovations throughout the supply chain in multiple countries is critical, Ernest highlights differences across several countries in North and South America, including the U.S., Canada, Chile, Brazil, and Mexico (subscription may be required).

Did you know our International Tax leader Pedro Corona de la Fuente is the author of a definitive book on U.S. Tax Law? "Introducción a los Impuestos de los Estados Unidos de América" is aimed at tax experts seeking to understand the fundamental concepts of tax matters in the U.S., both in its practical and academic aspects. It is published by Thomson Reuters and written in Spanish. Pedro advises clients in international estate planning, international tax and cross-border mergers and acquisitions. He focuses on U.S. investment structures, cross-border transactions, tax treaty planning, withholding obligations and reporting compliance on international transactions, and is based in Procopio's Washington, D.C., office.

Let's Work Together.