While you shouldn’t be scared to transfer an interest in an entity, you should proceed with caution. If not done with careful analysis, huge increases in annual property taxes can result. Today, entities such as LLCs and partnerships often own California real property. The members or… Read More
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) recently ruled that employers may not offer employees severance agreements that contain broad confidentiality and non-disparagement provisions. In McLaren Macomb, the NLRB ruled that an employer violates the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) when it offers… Read More
The Internal Revenue Service has announced the 2023 inflationary adjustments to the estate and gift tax applicable exclusion (from $12.06 million in 2022 to $12.92 million in 2023) and to the annual gift tax exclusion (from $16,000 in 2022 to $17,000 in 2023).[1] Currently (2023), the applicable… Read More
On February 15, 2023, a federal appeals court for the Ninth Circuit ruled that the Federal Arbitration Act preempts California State Assembly Bill 51, a bill that limited the use of employment arbitration agreements. With this decision, California employers can require employees to sign arbitration… Read More
In September of 2022, the California State Senate approved SB 1246 excluding from gross income amounts received from the Fire Victim Trust in connection with the California Wildfires that occurred in 2017 and 2018. The Fire Victim Trust was established and funded on July 1, 2020, after being… Read More
Berliner Cohen would like to welcome Alan Law to the firm’s Litigation department in San Jose. Alan graduated from the University of San Francisco School of Law and was accepted to the California Bar in 2009. He focuses on complex civil litigation and has previously practiced class actions,… Read More
The California Legislature passed a flurry of housing-related bills at the end of the 2021-22 California Legislative Session. AB 2097, SB 6, and AB 2011 are three of these bills that have received a lot of attention because of how dramatically they will change the way Californians view and interact… Read More
We are pleased to welcome Julia L. Covello to Berliner Cohen's Litigation department in our San Jose Office. Julia received her Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from the University of Chicago. She then worked for a financial investment advisor before pursuing her J.D. at the… Read More
At the 2022 Corporate Philanthropy Awards hosted by the Silicon Valley Business Journal, Berliner Cohen received recognition as one of the top 50 corporate philanthropists in Silicon Valley. Since our founding, we have built our culture on supporting and giving back to the communities which we… Read More
We are pleased to welcome Maysa Saeed to Berliner Cohen’s Labor & Employment department in our San Jose office. Maysa's practice focuses on litigation and general advice and counsel in all aspects of employment law. Her litigation practice includes, but is not limited to, Private… Read More
California has been steadily redefining the definition of family under the California Family Rights Act and the California’s Healthy Workplaces Healthy Families Act (HWHFA) over the last three years. In the last three years, CFRA was amended to expand who is eligible for leave while removing… Read More
Berliner Cohen is pleased to welcome Jace D. Lynch to the Business and Tax department in our San Jose office. A bay area native, Jace received his Bachelor of Arts in History and Bachelor of Science in Political Science from Santa Clara University. After graduating, he returned to SCU to work… Read More
We’re excited to announce our 2022 Small Business Grant winner! Congratulations to Nirvana Soul Coffee Purveyors on being this year’s recipient of the small business grant for local, minority-owned businesses. Jeronica Macey and Be’Anka Ashaolu, co-founders of Nirvana Soul, started… Read More
If you are a for-profit business that does business in California and meet any of the following three criteria: (1) annual gross revenue in excess of $25 million; (2) annual purchases, receipt or sales of the personal information of 50,000 or more California residents, households, or devices; or (3)… Read More
The California Corporations Code affords rights and protections to shareholders of a corporation. One of the major protections afforded to shareholders is their right to corporate records. This article briefly addresses what records a corporation must keep and provide to its shareholders,… Read More