California’s Unique Greenhouse Gas Emissions Laws Remain in Effect—For Now

Relief is not immediately in sight for companies subject to key California greenhouse gas emission laws, note John Nelson and Matt Abbot, thanks to a federal court in California denying a motion for a preliminary injunction to pause compliance with SB-253, California’s greenhouse gas emissions reporting law, and SB-261, California’s climate-related financial risk disclosure law. As a result, they remain the only enforceable emissions reporting and climate-related risk disclosure requirements in the U.S. In this article, John and Matt break down SB-253 and SB-261, provides key details of the underlying litigation, explains why the preliminary motion was denied, identifies the government's interest in the two laws, and discusses what comes next.

📽️ Startup Legal Series: Employment Law

Startup executives are rightly focused on developing their innovations and securing capital. They also need to ensure they’re overseeing a legally compliant and productive workforce. Labor and Employment Partner Marina Gruber walks startup founders and managers through the fundamental principles of employment law, helping them navigate the complexities of hiring, managing employees, and ensuring compliance with labor regulations.

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Dozens of Procopio Attorneys Named to 2026 Best Lawyers and Ones to Watch Lists

Kudos to all of Procopio’s 2026 Best Lawyers® and Ones to Watch®! Dozens of our attorneys were recognized in all seven of our offices nationwide in more than 40 legal practices. In our press release, we’ve grouped them in several legal categories, including Commercial Litigation, Real Estate, Tax, Construction, Corporate, Family Law, Intellectual Property, Employment, and Native American Law.

A special shoutout goes to three Partners who earned “Lawyer of the Year" Recognition:

• Marie Burke Kenny for Labor Law Management;
• Paul Tyrell for Bet-the-Company Litigation; and
• David Zachry for Family Law. 

Meet all of our honored attorneys in our press release.

Mindy Morton Named by WIPR a Global Trade Secrets Leader

IP Litigation Partner Mindy Morton has been named one of the top trade secrets litigators in the world. World IP Review has recognized Mindy as one of only 45 attorneys on its 2025 Global Trade Secrets Leaders list. Mindy was recognized by WIPR in 2024 on its list of top U.S. attorneys. She’s also been recognized the last two years by IAM for her trade secrets litigation as a member of its Patent 1000 list.

Based in our Silicon Valley office, Mindy leads our Trade Secrets and Health Care practices, helping companies from funded start-ups to public companies handle trade secret, privacy, copyright, trademark, patent, and complex commercial disputes. A member of Procopio’s Management Committee, she also serves on the steering committee for Sedona Conference’s Working Group 12 on trade secrets and co-chairs the ABA IP Section’s Trade Secrets Committee.

Miku Mehta Named for 3rd Straight Year to IAM Strategy 300 list

Our Intellectual Property Team Leader Miku Mehta has been named to the IAM Strategy 300 Global Leaders list for the 3rd straight year! IAM says these IP leaders “possess a wealth of expertise across disciplines and sectors.”

For the last 2 years IAM has also named Miku to their Patent 1000 list, saying “Miku Mehta draws on a background in engineering and is ‘highly recommended as a broadly technical attorney who easily grasps intricate details and understands clients’ unique approaches.’”

Patexia Patent Intelligence named Miku one of its Top 250 Patent Attorneys, and WIPR recognized Miku as a 2024 IP Leader.

Miku not only leads our IP Team, he also leads our Asia Pacific practice.

Join our Capital Markets Webinar Series for Public Companies

Attention public company GCs and C-suite executives! You won't want to miss this new complimentary Procopio webinar series "Staying Ahead: Practical Strategies for Public Company Success."

Public companies face increasing scrutiny and evolving challenges. Three experienced attorneys on our Capital Markets and Securities team are here to help you stay ahead with two upcoming webinars:

Pending 1 hour CLE approval per session

• September 17: “Raising Capital: Trends, Traps and Tools for Public Companies,” with Ruba Qashu and Jennifer Trowbridge
• October 1: “Boards, Governance and Shareholder Activism: What Public Companies Need to Know,” with Dennis Doucette

Back by Popular Demand: Free Legally Required Ethics Training for Charter School Board Members | webinar | 3:00 - 5:00 pm PT

Starting this year, state law now requires all charter school board members to complete at least 2 hours of ethics training by January 1, 2026, commonly referred to as “AB 1234” training. This training by Greta Proctor and Kevin Davis is more extensive than the usual governance or Brown Act training. It includes the Brown Act and many other topics required by the California Attorney General and the Fair Political Practices Commission for local agency officials, including laws relating to personal financial gain, perks of office, government transparency and fair process. This popular webinar training is specifically tailored for charter school board members.

Charter School Title IX Training | webinar | 12:00 – 1:30 pm PT

Charter schools are required to receive training on a set of 2020 federal Title IX requirements that may apply to them in light of a federal court decision vacating 2024 regulations. This webinar, led by Greta Proctor and Merrick Wadsworth, is designed for Title IX Coordinators and anyone at a charter school who could act as Investigator, Decisionmaker, or Appeals Officer in a Title IX investigation. Attendees will receive a copy of the presentation which they can post on their website, meeting another regulatory requirement, as well as Procopio’s Title IX checklist to help cross-check for compliance.

Breaking Down California’s New ADMT Regulations: Automated Decisions, Real Consequences | Procopio's Del Mar Heights Office | 5:00 - 7:00 pm PT

In-house counsel will hear from Elaine Harwell in a deep dive on California’s newly passed Automated Decision Making Technology (ADMT) regulations under the CCPA, recently finalized by the California Privacy Protection Agency, in this event with ACC San Diego. Attendees will walk away with a step-by-step compliance roadmap, including conducting risk assessments and updating internal policies. If your business uses automated tools to make decisions on employment, healthcare, or to profile individuals, this session will give you the foundation to act now and mitigate risk in advance of the enforcement deadline. A networking reception with hosted beer, wine and hors d'oeuvres will immediately follow the program. The event is limited to in-house counsel, with one hour of California CLE pending.

2025 Procopio International Tax Institute | San Diego

Celebrating its 20th anniversary and held again in collaboration with the Graduate Tax Program of Georgetown University and International Fiscal Association, this premier educational and networking event is again dedicated to the latest developments in U.S. and Mexican international tax law. This year's PITI comes as tax policies are evolving with the new U.S. and Mexican presidential administrations.

Our new real estate and land use Partner Jordan Ferguson had a deep discussion with James Mills of Law360 about land use, the Southern California commercial real estate market, and more. While based in Procopio’s Orange County office, Ferguson’s practice has been focused on L.A. "Procopio is establishing more and more of a foothold in the Los Angeles market," Jordan said. "The ability to come on board and build out the land-use team, but also begin to help building out what I hope to be a robust LA office, is a big part of the premium." "I think of [land use] as one of the bedrock areas of the way that we organize our society," Jordan added. "I particularly enjoy large scale projects that are going to reshape a community.” One incentive for Jordan to join Procopio was the opportunity to work with Procopio’s Land Use practice leader Jim Vaughn, who joined the firm in January. "I have been looking to build up my land use practice for quite some time," Jordan said. "Jim and I have circled each other and hoped to work together for a couple of years now. When I saw that he made the move to Procopio, it was such a wonderful platform, that restarted our conversation pretty quickly."

What a great time we had at the Summer Golf Tournament August 18 we held with the ACC San Diego at the La Valle Golf Course in Rancho Santa Fe! Among those from Procopio in attendance were Managing Partner Dennis Doucette with attorneys Meg Dawson, Neil A. Salyards, and Matt Abbot as well as CMO Kevin Wilson. Awards included longest drive, closest to the pin, best foursome, and because it was a good time, worst foursome! We look forward to doing it again next year.

It was a great day for great causes last week at the 2nd annual San Diego Wave Fútbol Club Community Golf Classic at the Lomas Santa Fe Country Club! We were a proud sponsor of the event, with our participation organized by Sports & Active Lifestyle practice leader Neil A. Salyards and Partner Sarah Taylor. All proceeds from the event support various Wave FC nonprofit community partners, whose missions help lower barriers of entry, create new opportunities for underserved groups and inspire the next generation of leaders. Other Procopio attorneys participating in the tournament included Meg Dawson, Bob Ramos and Matt Abbot.

Let's Work Together.