Relationships change throughout a person’s life, and those changes are often accompanied by a new or updated estate plan. Still, you may be surprised to learn of a significant modification to your parent’s will or trust during a period when his or her mental condition was… Read More
In early March 2022, President Biden signed into law the “Ending of Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021” (“Act”). This Act makes pre-dispute (entered into before a dispute arises) agreements to arbitrate sexual harassment and sexual… Read More
Berliner Cohen is thrilled to announce Kevin S. Landis has joined the employment department in San Jose. Before joining Berliner, Kevin represented public and private sector unions in various areas of law, including contract negotiations, discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wrongful… Read More
Berliner Cohen is pleased to welcome Edward C. Hsu to the litigation department, based out of our San Jose office. Ed brings experience working with a boutique law firm specializing in toxic tort and insurance bad faith, as a legal research attorney for the civil division of the Alameda County… Read More
Berliner Cohen is pleased to announce that Sam Atabay Bidgoli has joined the Land Use department in San Jose. Prior to joining Berliner Cohen, Mr. Bidgoli interned with the Los Angeles County Counsel’s Office and the California Department of Justice, externed with the San Francisco City… Read More
California law provides substantial protections to residential tenants. Because “ignorance of the law is no defense”, it behooves landlords to better understand the obligations owed to tenants, even if those obligations are not set forth in an underlying lease agreement. One such… Read More
What are corporate responsibilities and formalities? This article highlights the responsibilities and formalities for a board of directors, corporate officers, and shareholders. Board of Directors The Board of Directors (the “Board”) has the responsibility and legal authority to manage… Read More
A decision many people struggle with when creating their estate plan is deciding on a successor trustee to administer their trust if they die, become incapacitated, or are unable or unwilling to continue serving as trustee. This article discusses several options for successor trustees, as well as… Read More
You are exhausted. For the last couple of weeks, you and your attorneys have been rapidly preparing for trial. You have attended mandatory settlement conferences and have kept a close watch on your phone and email for any correspondence from your attorneys indicating that a settlement… Read More
The 2022 Emergency Paid Sick Leave standards were signed into law on February 9, 2022, and are retroactive to January 1, 2022. The law creates new California Labor Code Section 248.6 and takes effect on February 19, 2022. Time Period Covered It applies to all employers with 26 or more employees and… Read More
The Internal Revenue Service has announced the 2022 inflationary adjustments to the estate and gift tax applicable exclusion (from $11.7 million in 2021 to $12.06 million in 2022) and to the annual gift tax exclusion (from $15,000 in 2021 to $16,000 in 2022).[1] Currently (2022), the applicable… Read More
Employers everywhere relaxed on January 13, 2022 when the U.S. Supreme Court voted 6-3 that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's Emergency Temporary Standard could not be enforced. The Court found among other things that although COVID–19 is a risk that occurs in many… Read More
If you are a California affordable housing developer, this article is for you. It is intended as a quick reference guide for understanding the so-called “super density bonus.” Part I below describes the four general components of a density bonus in California under Government… Read More
Berliner Cohen, LLP is pleased to announce that Joshua Borger, Benjamin Johnson, Eileen Kennedy, and Stephen Scordelis were elected as new partners effective January 1, 2022. Mr. Borger, Ms. Kennedy, and Mr. Scordelis are based in San Jose, while Mr. Johnson is based in Modesto. “We’re… Read More
The excessive number of individuals testing positive for COVID has employers scrambling to figure out what laws are in play and what they are to do. While the State’s mandate on mandatory COVID-19 Sick Pay ended, the State does still require employers to provide 24 hours of paid sick leave to… Read More