Insights
Insights
Short, plain-English briefings on the California developments that matter to businesses, builders, employers, and owners, each with questions to raise with counsel. Written for businesses in Los Angeles and across California.
Year
Practice
2026
California moves its “stay-or-pay” ban to 2027
AB 1697 delayed California's ban on repayment clauses by a year and added new exceptions. The ban applies to offer letters, bonus agreements, and training agreements entered into on or after January 1, 2027. Read the briefing → U.S. companies no longer file beneficial ownership reports
FinCEN has made permanent its 2025 decision exempting U.S.-formed companies from Corporate Transparency Act reporting. Only foreign companies registered here must still file. Read the briefing → California cuts the first-year LLC tax to $400 for 2027 through 2029
For first taxable years beginning in 2027 through 2029, SB 122 halves the annual tax for new LLCs, limited partnerships, and limited liability partnerships. Read the briefing → Paying a lawyer a flat fee? What California requires
A 2026 State Bar ethics opinion confirms that flat legal fees are generally refundable if the work isn't finished, and that “nonrefundable” labels are off limits except for a true retainer. Read the briefing → AI-generated work can't be copyrighted without a human author
Courts and the Copyright Office agree: copyright protects human creativity. Work an AI system produces on its own isn't registrable, but human contributions to AI-assisted work can be. Read the briefing → The federal non-compete ban is gone; California's never left
The FTC's 2024 rule banning most non-competes was set aside by a federal court and formally removed in 2026. For California employers, state law still makes most non-competes void. Read the briefing → Initial disclosures in California lawsuits are here to stay
In civil cases filed since 2024, any party can demand initial disclosures within 60 days, and discovery misconduct carries a mandatory $1,000 sanction. The rule is now permanent. Read the briefing → Retention on private projects is now capped at 5%
For most private construction contracts made on or after January 1, 2026, retention may not exceed 5% of any payment or of the contract price, with exceptions for residential projects of four stories or fewer and for subcontractors who don't provide a bond required in writing before bid. Read the briefing →2025
New rules for serving lawsuits, effective January 1, 2027
The SPARE Act (AB 747) defines what a diligent attempt at personal service means and requires photo and GPS documentation in proofs of service starting January 1, 2027. Read the briefing → A late arbitration fee no longer automatically ends arbitration
In Hohenshelt v. Superior Court, the California Supreme Court held that only a willful, grossly negligent, or fraudulent late payment forfeits the right to arbitrate an employment or consumer dispute. Read the briefing → Subscriptions and auto-renewals: California's stricter rules
For agreements made, amended, or extended since July 1, 2025, California requires express consent to automatic renewal, easy online cancellation, annual reminders, and notice before price increases. Read the briefing → New USPTO trademark fees reward complete, well-prepared applications
Since January 18, 2025, a trademark application filed directly with the USPTO costs $350 per class, with surcharges for free-form descriptions and incomplete filings. Read the briefing → Small-business tenants: new protections on operating-cost charges
Qualifying small businesses, restaurants, and nonprofits can limit how landlords pass through building costs, but only after giving the landlord a written notice. Read the briefing → Hiring for small jobs: the $1,000 minor-work exemption and its limits
An unlicensed person can take on only small, permit-free jobs under $1,000, and the conditions are narrower than most owners assume. Read the briefing → Hiring freelancers? California now requires a written contract
Under the Freelance Worker Protection Act, hiring a solo freelancer for professional services worth $250 or more requires a written contract and on-time payment. Read the briefing →2024
Retail leases: California's high court upholds a co-tenancy clause
In JJD-HOV Elk Grove v. Jo-Ann Stores, the California Supreme Court held that a lease term lowering a tenant's rent when a shopping center loses anchor stores is enforceable, not a penalty. Read the briefing → Delaware corporations: investor and founder agreements get a firmer footing
After a 2024 court decision cast doubt on common stockholder agreements, Delaware amended its corporate law to allow them, with board approval and within limits. Read the briefing → Litigate first, arbitrate later? You may have waived arbitration
In Quach v. California Commerce Club, the California Supreme Court held that a party who acts inconsistently with arbitration can lose the right to arbitrate, whether or not the other side was harmed. Read the briefing → California corporations can keep holding fully remote shareholder meetings
AB 2908 removed the 2025 sunset on fully virtual shareholder and member meetings, so California corporations can keep meeting online, if they follow the rules. Read the briefing → PAGA reform rewards employers that fix problems early
California's 2024 overhaul of the Private Attorneys General Act narrowed who can sue and capped penalties for employers that take reasonable steps to comply. Read the briefing → Advertised prices must now include every mandatory fee
California's “junk fee” law requires the price you advertise to consumers to include all mandatory fees, other than government taxes and shipping. Read the briefing → Federal agencies no longer get the last word on what a statute means
In Loper Bright, the U.S. Supreme Court overruled Chevron deference. Days later, Corner Post held that a business's time to challenge a federal rule runs from when the rule first harms it. Read the briefing → When a case goes to arbitration, the court case is paused, not dismissed
In Smith v. Spizzirri, the U.S. Supreme Court held that a federal court sending a case to arbitration must stay the lawsuit if a party asks, rather than dismiss it. Read the briefing → California's commercial code now speaks the language of electronic deals
California adopted the 2022 Uniform Commercial Code amendments, which modernize signatures and records and create rules for digital assets used in commercial transactions and lending. Read the briefing →Questions about how a change affects you?
Tell us briefly what you need. The first conversation, up to 30 minutes, is free. Please do not send confidential or time-sensitive information through the form.