A labor-backed California law prohibiting employers from requiring their workers to listen to anti-union messages has been blocked by a federal judge, who says it appears to violate employers’ freedom of speech.

Justice Shama Mesiwala of the Third Appellate District was appointed co-chair of the Judicial Council's Tribal Court-State Court Forum, effective September 15. In this Q&A, she talks more about her experience with tribal issues in the state courts and the importance of working collaboratively with justice partners.

Hosted by the State Bar’s Office of Access & Inclusion, the roundtable explored new and ongoing legal challenges facing veterans amid rapidly evolving federal policies and complex support systems. Participants examined issues such as the digital divide, uneven deployment of resources, and barriers to reaching veterans in rural or underserved communities—all of which affect veterans’ ability to access legal help and essential benefits. 

(Subscription required) Current AI applications focus heavily on text analysis tasks, with 88% of users employing the technology for document summarization and 85% for document review during investigations. Risk assessments (83%) and regulatory updates (70%) round out the top use cases.