Max Montgomery

Demand for experienced lawyers drives expansion of law firms in California Several law firms in Los Angeles have recently opened or expanded their offices, driven by the demand for experienced labor and employment, intellectual property, and financial services lawyers in California. Thompson Hine LLP established its first West Coast office after acquiring litigation boutique Conkle, Kremer & Engel. Alston & Bird also announced the opening of a second LA office in Century City. California is home to about 86 Am Law 100 firms, leasing a combined 4.5m square feet. Subscribe to Legal Slice if you want to stay up-to-date on the latest news and trends in the legal world: ➡️ https://lnkd.in/dZp_tvpt #Law #Legal #LawFirms #LALaw #Lawyers

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In this edition of the KF&C California Law Blog, we discuss a recent decision by the California Supreme Court finding that under California law, the economic loss rule does not bar a claim for fraudulent concealment. After a lengthy analysis of the history and evolution of the economic loss rule, the court ruled that a plaintiff may assert a fraudulent concealment claim based on conduct occurring during a contractual relationship if (1) the elements of the claim can be established independently of the parties’ contractual rights and obligations and (2) the tortious conduct exposes the plaintiff to a risk of harm beyond the reasonable contemplation of the parties when they entered into the contract. (See Rattagan v. Uber Technologies, Inc. (Cal. 2024) 324 Cal.Rptr.3d 433)   Differing judicial interpretations and applications of the economic loss rule among federal courts and other state courts have created uncertainty for our clients regarding the risk of conducting business in various jurisdictions. Now, under California law, parties will be able to sue counterparties to their contracts for both affirmative deception and fraudulent concealment, even if the resulting harm is an economic loss, so long as the resulting harm was “beyond the reasonable contemplation of the parties when they entered into the contract.” When drafting contracts, practitioners may seek greater certainty for their clients by choosing at the outset to contractually guard against certain risks by imposing specific obligations on the other party and allocating agreed-upon remedies should a breach occur. Practitioners may also want to draft contracts that provide for how violations will be treated, provide greater deterrence for some kinds of violations, or that eliminate the need to litigate regardless of whether the breach was intentional or negligent. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/gMUt6_Wf

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