Angela Zanin Featured in LACBA List of Women’s History Month Honorees
March 17, 2026 —
Lewis Brisbois NewsroomLos Angeles Partner Angela Zanin was recently honored for her leadership and diversity initiatives in the California legal community by the Los Angeles County Bar Association (LACBA) as part of the organization’s Women’s History Month initiative.
LACBA highlighted Ms. Zanin’s efforts in the community. After serving as President of the Italian American Lawyers Association (IALA) in 2023, she co-founded the Los Angeles County Unity Bar (LACUB), an alliance of bar associations dedicated to promoting diversity in the judiciary. Consisting of ten member organizations, the LACUB takes pride in its endorsement of over 40 candidates appointed to the California Court of Appeal, U.S. District Courts, Los Angeles Superior Court, and Orange County Superior Court.
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Lewis Brisbois
Five Payne & Fears Attorneys Named 2026 Southern California Super Lawyers
March 10, 2026 —
Payne & Fears LLPFive Payne & Fears attorneys have been named to the 2026 Southern California Super Lawyers list in recognition of their work across a range of practice areas. This honor reflects their dedication to their clients, depth of experience, and the high standard of service they bring to every matter.
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Payne & Fears LLP
For Urban Walkers, a Patchy Dilemma: Who Owns the Sidewalk?
July 06, 2026 —
Linda Poon – BloombergIn 2007, New York City’s sanitation department
threatened Natalie Shea with a $300 fine for defacing public property with graffiti. Her crime: drawing a blue flower in front of her family’s Park Slope home with sidewalk chalk. She was six years old.
The incident, which made
local and
national news at the time, captures the fraught role that sidewalks often play in US cities. These patches of pavement do more than carry pedestrians to their destinations: They’re also places for commerce, social interaction and childhood play, from chalking to learning how to ride a bike. Urbanist Jane Jacobs once likened the range of activities that city sidewalks attract to an “intricate ballet.”
In the new book
Sidewalk Nation: The Life and Law of America’s Most Overlooked Resource (Harvard University Press), author Michael Pollack explores the “tangled web of state and local regulation” that governs sidewalks, with cities often passing along responsibilities for tasks like clearing snow and keeping walkways safe. He paints a portrait of the American sidewalk a disorderly and often neglected network, filled with literal and metaphorical cracks that give rise to all sorts of conflict, from mundane clashes over maintenance to more consequential fights over accessibility and inequality.
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Linda Poon, Bloomberg
Seattle Team Obtains Summary Judgment in Real Estate Broker Professional Liability Action
July 20, 2026 —
Lewis BrisboisSeattle Partner Kathleen A. Nelson and Associate Synova M. L. Edwards prevailed on a hotly contested motion for summary judgment in Whatcom County, Washington court in a real estate broker professional liability action.
The plaintiff filed an action against Lewis Brisbois' clients, a real estate agent and brokerage firm, among several others, including the title company, purchasers and others related to the sale of real property following his complicated and long running divorce action. These claims primarily arose out of the clients’ reliance on an order signed by the court in the underlying divorce action. The order allowed the clients to execute the purchase and sale agreement, as the plaintiff was non-cooperative.
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Lewis Brisbois
HHMR: A Retrospective — Chapter One (2001–2025)
January 26, 2026 —
David McLain - Colorado Construction Litigation BlogThere comes a point in every career when you stop long enough to look back, not out of nostalgia, but out of clarity. You begin to see the arc, the accidents, the grace, and the moments when others carried more of the burden than you realized at the time. For me, that moment came recently, somewhere between the twenty-fifth year of practicing construction litigation and the rewriting of our firm’s operating agreement. I found myself asking a question I should have asked long ago: What are we building, and will it last?
The truth is that we at HHMR do not build anything. Our clients do. They are the ones building Colorado, from single-family homes and multifamily developments to commercial, industrial, and infrastructure projects, navigating every constraint, hurdle, and barrier this state presents to them. They are the men and women in the arena, in Theodore Roosevelt’s sense. They pour foundations, frame walls, manage subs, balance supply chains, and take the risks inherent in the act of building anything of value. And for that work, they get sued. My job, and the job of this firm, is to defend them. We are their champions.
Understanding this truth is the starting point of HHMR 2.0. But to appreciate where we are going, you must first understand from where we came.
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David McLain, Higgins, Hopkins, McLain & Roswell, LLCMr. McLain may be contacted at
mclain@hhmrlaw.com
New Executive Order Prohibits Federal Contractors from Engaging in DEI Through Employment and Procurement Activities
April 27, 2026 —
Laura De Santos & Monica Prieto - Gordon Rees Scully MansukhaniOn March 26, 2026, President Trump signed Executive Order 14398, entitled Addressing DEI Discrimination by Federal Contractors, requiring federal agencies to add contractual language in all federal contracts prohibiting contractors and subcontractors from engaging in any racially discriminatory DEI activities, as defined by the Executive Order (EO).
While this EO includes language similar to prior DEI-related orders, it introduces a significant expansion in enforcement by subjecting non-compliant contractors to liability under the False Claims Act (FCA), including exposure to whistleblower actions and qui tam litigation. A qui tam claim is a civil action by a private individual on behalf of the government alleging fraud against federal programs and seeking to recover damages.
The new EO states that involvement in any racially discriminatory DEI activities is not only unethical and illegal, but also deemed fraudulent against federal programs because it is material to the government’s payment decisions. The definition of DEI activities here matters, as this EO expands a contractor’s obligations beyond the management of its employment policies and includes prohibitions against funding or expending time or resources on DEI activities and contracting with subcontractors, vendors, or suppliers utilizing DEI programs.
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Laura De Santos, Gordon Rees Scully MansukhaniMs. De Santos may be contacted at
ldesantos@grsm.com
Florida's Third DCA Reasserts the Teeth of Chapter 558 and the Future of Construction Defect Litigation
February 23, 2026 —
Ryan C. Brooks & Keith G. Salhab - Wood Smith Henning & Berman LLPThe case of Moss & Associates, LLC v. Daystar Peterson and Brickell Heights East Condominium Association, Inc. represents a quiet but significant correction in Florida construction law litigation. The Florida Third District Court of Appeal granted a petition for writ of certiorari and quashed a trial court order that denied a contractor's motion to stay litigation under Chapter 558, Florida Statutes.
Though procedurally narrow, the ruling reflects an increasingly assertive appellate stance. Chapter 558's pre-suit notice and right-to-repair process is mandatory, jurisdictional in effect, and not subject to dilution by trial-level discretion. At its core, the opinion reinforces a foundational principle. Florida intends for construction defect disputes to be managed, investigated, and often resolved before they reach a courtroom. The Third DCA's insistence on strict statutory compliance signals to trial courts, and to the plaintiffs' bar, that procedural shortcuts will not be tolerated.
Reprinted courtesy of
Ryan C. Brooks, Wood Smith Henning & Berman LLP and
Keith G. Salhab, Wood Smith Henning & Berman LLP
Mr. Brooks may be contacted at rbrooks@wshblaw.com
Mr. Salhab may be contacted at ksalhab@wshblaw.com
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When Rule 702 Motions Fail: A Close Look at AECOM v. Flatiron
February 02, 2026 —
Olivia Barden - Colorado Construction Litigation BlogIn AECOM Tech. Servs., Inc. v. Flatiron | AECOM, LLC, 2024 WL 22640 (D. Colo. 2024), the United States District Court for the District of Colorado addressed when expert testimony is not subject to be limited or excluded pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 702.
Background
In 2015, AECOM Technical Services, Inc. (“AECOM”) and Flatiron | AECOM, LLC (“Flatiron”) entered into an agreement, in which they agreed to work together to assemble a design/build team for the purposes of submitting a proposal to the Colorado Department of Transportation’s (“CDOT”) construction project known as C-470 Tolled Express Lanes Segment 1 Design-Build Project (the “Project”). AECOM provided the design and engineering services, and Flatiron submitted the proposal to CDOT. On or about June 16, 2016, CDOT awarded Flatiron the Project. Flatiron later claimed that AECOM’s design failed to follow basic engineering and project requirements.
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