San francisco silicon valley

Cat Zakrzewski, The Washington Post Published 6:43 am PDT, Thursday, March 28, 2019 SAN FRANCISCO - Executives from top tech companies and California's attorney general aren't waiting for Washington to take action on pressing tech policy issues. At the first Technology 202 Live event here in San Francisco, they described how companies themselves are making changes to their own platforms to address public pressure on privacy and curbing disinformation on their platforms - and how states are seeking to rein in the tech giants with new legislation. "When it comes to the federal government, they move a lot slower," said California state attorney general Xavier Becerra. Here are some highlights: 1. The next time a public official - perhaps even a president - tweets something that violates Twitter's standards, the message could be accompanied by a label that provides more context, Twitter's Vajaya Gadde told my colleague Elizabeth Dwoskin. Twitter is exploring how to annotate … [Read more...] about The Technology 202: Silicon Valley isn’t waiting for Washington to address privacy, disinformation

Arnold & Porter will be adding 80 lawyers and a San Francisco office to its letterhead Jan. 1 with the acquisition of Howard Rice Nemerovski Canady Falk & Rabkin.The two firms announced today that they have agreed to a merger, the Daily Journal (sub. req.) reports. Arnold & Porter has more than 700 lawyers; U.S. offices in Washington, D.C., Northern Virginia, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, and Denver; and international offices in London and Brussels.Addiing the Howard Rice lawyers will double Arnold & Porter’s attorney roster in its three California offices.“We are extremely proud of what we have accomplished since our founding in 1954,” said Doug Winthrop, the chairman of Howard Rice, in a press release. He will serve on Arnold & Porter’s policy committee once the two firms combine.“Although in the past we have preferred to remain independent, we believe this time the opportunity for our clients and our attorneys … [Read more...] about Arnold & Porter to Acquire San Francisco’s 80-Attorney Howard Rice

In a ruling that may be revisited, a California judge has nixed a Silicon Valley venture capital firm’s effort to arbitrate a high-profile sex-discrimination suit brought by a former BigLaw associate with sterling credentials.Although Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers had said, in a motion filed last month, that the operating agreement for the entity for which junior partner Ellen Pao works has an express arbitration clause, San Francisco Superior Court Judge Harold Kahn disagreed. He found there was no arbitration agreement, but said his ruling was tentative, the Recorder reports.However, the judge is allowing the firm to refile its motion to compel arbitration and include new arguments after another hearing Tuesday, according to the Business Insider and a statement provided to the ABA Journal by a spokeswoman for the venture capital firm.It says Kleiner Perkins plans to file by July 13 a motion making third-party beneficiary and equitable estoppel arguments for arbitration. … [Read more...] about Kleiner Perkins to Make New Arbitration Bid in High-Profile Silicon Valley Sex-Discrimination Case

Never underestimate the power of visible trailblazers. They were sorely lacking when Anirma Gupta began as a patent attorney in 1993.“The firm I worked at had no intellectual property partners in the electrical/mechanical field,” says the deputy general counsel for litigation and IP at Intuit in Mountain View, Calif. “I had no female role models.”Ditto for Michelle Lee, Google’s deputy general counsel for patents, also in Mountain View. “When I was going through the ranks, there wasn’t a plethora of women.”Does that matter? It did to Mallun Yen, who only became confident she could step into the demanding role of being head of IP at Cisco Systems after seeing another female lawyer successfully manage her intense career and personal life.“I told the general counsel, ‘I can’t fly to China on two hours’ notice; I need some balance in my life,’ ” recalls Yen, now executive vice president at RPX Corp., a … [Read more...] about She-roes: Women Strive to Promote Their Own in Silicon Valley IP Law

The Bay Area has long been a hub of innovation and technology, so it is critical that local employers are actively engaged in developing a skilled workforce for the 21st century. Ensuring that young people learn the importance of science, technology, engineering, and math while in school is crucial to maintaining our culture of innovation, but so is exposing youth to the types of career opportunities available in these and other high-growth fields.That’s why I was so pleased that the Mayor of San Francisco and many local employers signed on to President Obama’s Summer Jobs+ Initiative. Together, we’re working hard to provide our young people with the skills, experience, and opportunities they need to succeed.Earlier this week I had a chance to sit down with the Mayor and employers like BRE Properties, Starbucks, and Jawbone who understand that summer jobs offer young people a chance they desperately need, while at the same time helping businesses develop a … [Read more...] about Power of Innovation and Opportunity on display in San Francisco