Lewis & Llewellyn celebrated its 12th anniversary this month! We express sincere gratitude to all our clients, colleagues and friends of the firm who have contributed to our firm’s remarkable journey of growth, and we are looking forward to what’s yet to come.
On January 1, 2024, the California Legislature amended the California Business and Professions Code to solidify and reinforce the prohibition of noncompete agreements in employment contracts.
Effective February 14, 2024, Section 16600.1 mandates that employers notify all current and former California employees hired after January 1, 2022, with existing “noncompete agreements” or contracts containing a “noncompete clause” that these agreements are now considered void. Additionally, Senate Bill 699 introduces Section 16600.5, declaring any contract void under Section 16600 as unenforceable, regardless of signing location or date. Employers are restricted from enforcing such contracts, even if executed and maintained outside California.
Lewis & Llewellyn is dedicated to providing an opportunity for high-achieving young adults to explore their interest in the law. We are particularly committed to enabling individuals from groups under-represented in the legal profession to gain access to mentorship, professional development, exposure and hands-on training to fast track their future legal careers.
In furtherance of this mission, Lewis & Llewellyn created our Annual Equity Fellowship geared towards undergraduate students who want to see behind the scenes and gain valuable experience in the practice of law. Applications for 2024 are now open!
This individual will work as a critical member of our team, assisting attorneys and staff with investigations, legal briefing, analyzing evidence, and much more across a wide variety of substantive legal areas in commercial litigation. The program will also offer opportunities to see the life cycle of a litigation, observe hearings and depositions, and receive one-on-one mentorship with our attorneys.
This fellowship is a paid opportunity.
Interested candidates may apply by sending a resume and a short personal statement (250 words maximum) to careers@lewisllewellyn.com.
Lewis & Llewellyn attorneys have recently been interviewed by numerous news outlets regarding high-profile lawsuits filed by the firm. Specifically, the firm has filed two lawsuits against American Airlines on behalf of two minors who were allegedly secretly filmed in an airplane restroom by a flight attendant using a hidden camera. Chris Cuomo’s interview with Paul Llewellyn on NewsNation can be watched here.
Lewis & Llewellyn also recently filed suit against Cal Poly San Luis Obispo on behalf of the family of Kristin Smart, a freshman at the university who went missing after a party in May 1996. Paul Flores, another student at the time, was ultimately convicted of her murder in 2022. Marc Lewis’s interview with CBS News Sacramento can be watched here.
Lewis & Llewellyn LLP will continue to deploy its aggressive litigation skills on on behalf of survivors of sexual abuse and sexual assault. We feel passionately about our efforts to hold individuals and institutions accountable.
As a part of our continued expansion, Lewis & Llewellyn is thrilled to welcome Erin Keefe to the firm.
Prior to joining Lewis & Llewellyn, Erin practiced at boutique litigation firms in Los Angeles and San Francisco where she obtained extensive motion and trial experience representing a range of clients from Fortune 500 companies, to start-up technology companies, to individual entrepreneurs. In addition to her corporate litigation expertise, Erin remains committed to challenging institutional biases and transforming the legal landscape to be more equitable with her experience representing indigent clients in criminal appeals.
As one of California’s premier litigation boutiques, Lewis & Llewellyn will continue to welcome the best and the brightest attorneys from the world’s leading law firms who are looking to break out of their shell and practice at the cutting edge of litigation. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you – or a colleague – is interested in applying.
On September 30, 2023, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill No. 235 (SB235) into law, which amends California Code of Civil Procedure section 2016.090. It institutes a new procedure for initial disclosures of information and documents. Beginning on January 1, 2024, parties will be required to make initial witness and document disclosures within 60 days of another party’s request. Failure to comply or act in good faith with the new law will result in a court-imposed sanction of $1,000.
The initial disclosures shall include:
The new law also clarifies that “a party is not excused from its initial disclosures because it has not fully investigated the case, because it challenges the sufficiency of another party’s disclosures, or because another party has not made it’s disclosures.” The rule will remain in effect until January 1, 2027.
These changes have the potential to streamline fact investigations and reduce the amount of written discovery exchanged between parties. The new timeline will also require counsel to evaluate their position and case strategy much earlier to ensure all relevant information is captured in the initial disclosure. Counsel would be well-advised to familiarize themselves with the new rule, which may catch opposing counsel off guard.
Paul Llewellyn recently spoke to students at University College Dublin, Sutherland School of Law about his path to becoming a lawyer, the importance of service in the profession, and leading the charge towards a more humane and compassionate legal industry.
While in Europe, Paul also hosted a London celebration in honor of his Amazon Bestselling book Unshackled: Reimagining the Practice of Law. It was a wonderful event, and we always appreciate the opportunity to reconnect with friends and colleagues in person.
Partners and Co-Founders Marc Lewis and Paul Llewellyn were recently selected by Benchmark Litigation as “Benchmark Litigation Stars” in their “Definitive Guide to America’s Leading Firms and Attorneys” 2024 edition. Additionally, Partners Ryan Erickson and Evangeline Burbidge were named as “Benchmark Litigation Future Stars” for the upcoming year.
These rankings are based on extensive interviews with litigators, dispute resolution specialists, and clients as well as analysis of the market’s most important cases and firm developments. As the definitive guide to the world’s leading litigation firms and lawyers, Benchmark recognizes attorneys who have demonstrated the ability to reliably handle complex, high-stakes cases in multiple jurisdictions.
Ryan Erickson and Erin Reding led a team that recently secured a $3.5 million settlement on behalf of a survivor of childhood sexual abuse in a case against a defendant school district.
In addition to its thriving corporate ligation practice, Lewis & Llewellyn is dedicated to representing survivors of sexual abuse in civil actions against perpetrators of abuse and institutions that enable it. We are honored to be able to deploy our business litigation skills upon this incredibly worthy cause.
Lewis & Llewellyn is delighted to welcome Brad Estes to the partnership.
Brad joined our team in 2020 after clerking for the Honorable Lawrence J. O’Neill of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California. Before clerking, Brad practiced at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP in San Francisco where he spent most of his time in or prepping for jury trials in state and federal courts across the country. We are excited for Brad to continue his proven track record of counseling senior leadership with a litigation approach emphasizing tenacity, creativity, and pragmatism. Brad’s tireless work ethic epitomizes what Lewis & Llewellyn offers its clients.
As a trial lawyer, Brad focuses on complex business litigation and has been deeply battle tested. In a recent win, Brad successfully represented an international engineering company against an electric vehicle startup in a contested two-week arbitration. Following years of litigation, the arbitrator awarded Brad’s client $28 million in damages, and rejected counterclaims valued at over $40 million.
Brad is also dedicated to his community. Brad founded and runs Lewis & Llewellyn’s annual Equity Fellowship, which provides hands-on litigation experience, law school preparation, and general professional development to high-achieving young adults from groups historically underrepresented in the legal profession.
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