It has been nearly one year since shareholders Craig A. Livingston and Crystal L. Van Der Putten filed an amicus curiae brief with the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in Duncan v. Becerra on behalf of Livingston Law Firm client, The National Shooting Sports Foundation, Inc. The brief sought to affirm the summary judgment ruling of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California in favor of Plaintiffs-Appellees (individuals and organizations) finding California Penal Code section 32310 (banning magazines capable of holding more than 10 rounds) unconstitutional under the Second Amendment and enjoining enforcement of the statute. The NSSF brief provided statistics regarding the wide availability nationally of 10+ round magazines and argued Section 32310 violated the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms (including magazines holding 10+ rounds) and could not survive any form of heightened scrutiny.
On August 14, 2020, in a 66-page ruling siding with arguments in the NSSF brief and other amici curiae, the Ninth Circuit concluded Section 32310 violated the Second Amendment and affirmed the District Court’s judgment in favor of Plaintiffs-Appellees. Managing shareholder and founding partner Renée Welze Livingston represented Livingston Law Firm at the First Annual Bay Area Women Lawyers Retreat on February 28 – March 1, 2020 in Sonoma, California. The sold-out event was created to bring together distinguished women leaders in the law to discuss equality for women in the profession and develop tools to break down barriers and eliminate bias. The kick-off session, “Still Breaking Down the Glass Ceiling After All These Years - Judicial Perspectives on Gender and the Law,” featured California Supreme Court Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye. Livingston Law Firm was a proud Chardonnay sponsor of the event.
Shareholder Crystal L. Van Der Putten Obtains Victory for Shopping Center in Appellate Court2/5/2020
Livingston Law Firm showed up in force for the 2019 annual meeting of the National Association of Minority and Women Owned Law Firms (NAMWOLF) in Los Angeles, California last month. Renée Welze Livingston, Crystal L. Van Der Putten and John C. Hentschel joined over 900 law firm member attorneys, in-house counsel and other legal professionals from around the United States for three days of legal education, networking and fun. On behalf of the Trial Practice Committee, Ms. Livingston led a lively CLE panel entitled, Shark Tank: Sink or Swim at Trial, that focused on best practices for lawyers and in-house counsel during trial.
NAMWOLF is a nonprofit trade association that promotes diversity in the legal profession by fostering successful relationships among preeminent minority and women owned law firms and private and public entities. It is one of the most powerful networks in the industry to connect in-house counsel with highly-qualified women and minority firms. To learn more about NAMWOLF please visit www.namwolf.org. Renée Welze Livingston was unanimously approved for Fellowship in the prestigious International Society of Barristers. The Society is comprised of less than 750 lawyers adjudged by their peers and judges to be “outstanding in the field of advocacy” and to possess “excellent character and integrity of the highest order.” Renée is one of just 75 active Fellows in California to be honored with this distinction. More information about ISOB can be found at www.isob.com.
This week, shareholders Craig A. Livingston and Crystal L. Van Der Putten filed an amicus curiae brief with the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit on behalf of LLF client, The National Shooting Sports Foundation, Inc. The brief supports a constitutional challenge by Plaintiffs-Appellants (who include individuals and organizations/businesses) to that portion of Maryland’s Firearms Safety Act of 2013 which requires individuals to obtain special licensing to purchase a handgun. At the trial court level, the United States District Court for the District of Maryland summarily adjudicated the claims against Plaintiffs-Appellants on the basis they lacked legal standing to prosecute their claims – never even reaching the question of whether Maryland’s Handgun License Requirement (“HLR”) passed constitutional muster. The NSSF amicus brief addresses the standing issue but primarily argues the Second Amendment protects the right to sell firearms (either as a freestanding right or an ancillary right) following the seminal opinions of District of Columbia v. Heller and McDonald v. City of Chicago. Second Amendment jurisprudence has historically focused on the right to keep and bear firearms. The brief argues that because the HLR operates as a complete ban on the right to sell handguns to individuals who do not obtain the required license, it severely burdens conduct the Second Amendment protects – lawful commerce in arms – it should therefore be subjected to a strict scrutiny review.
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