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Ellen London Presents MCLE on Whistleblower-Reward Programs for Bar Association of San Francisco

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Ellen London attended the 2025 Labor and Employment Law Conference, hosted by The Bar Association of San Francisco, at the historic Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite, California. At the Conference, Ellen London, Jane Mackie, and Ari Yampolsky gave an MCLE presentation on February 8 titled “Rewards for Some, Risks for Others: What Every Employment Lawyer Should Know about Whistleblower-Reward Programs,” moderated by Jeff Osofsky, in which they discussed aspects of Whistleblower-reward programs that employment lawyers should be especially attuned to, including anti-retaliation provisions that protect individuals who come forward, the enforceability to releases in post-employment agreements, and best practices for compliance programs.

 

Ellen London Presents CLE on Ethics for Bar Association of San Francisco

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Ellen London, Lily Becker, and Sharon Frase gave an MCLE presentation on January 30 titled “Ethics in Action – Client, Company, and Counsel Collide” at the 2025 Solo & Small Firm Annual Conference, hosted by the Bar Association of San Francisco, in which they discussed ethical dilemmas that may arise at different stages of litigation and how practitioners can navigate them.

Rachel Naor and Michael Lundholm Publish Article in Journal of the Litigation Section of the California Lawyers Association

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In August, Rachel Naor and Michael Lundholm published an article in the Journal of the Litigation Section of the California Lawyers Association on the key distinctions between California state and federal privilege law. The article focuses on three distinct areas where California and federal courts take different approaches to the application of the attorney client privilege. The article can be found here.

FINRA Escalates Unit Investment Trust Short Term Trading Enforcement

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With FINRA announcing its largest enforcement settlement of 2020 last Wednesday with Stifel, Nicolaus & Co. for short term trading of Unit Investment Trusts (“UITs”), now is a good time to catch up with recent FINRA enforcement activity and the progress of one of its enforcement priorities over the last several years.

First, some recent history. The Stifel settlement appears to be the culmination of a four-year long push by FINRA to rein in firms it views as engaging in unsuitable short-term trading of UITs and other long-term investments.