Berliner Cohen is a San Jose business law firm representing employers, business owners, and organizations across Silicon Valley and Northern California. Founded in 1969, the firm has offices in San Jose, Modesto, Merced, and Mariposa, and its attorneys work with corporations, closely held businesses, developers, and institutions on the legal matters that come with operating a business in this region. This page addresses the business and employer side of legal representation. It does not cover personal injury, family law, or consumer matters, since those are not areas of practice at this firm.
A San Jose business law firm serving employers needs a working understanding of the industries concentrated in this market, including technology, real estate development, hospitality, agriculture, and financial services, along with the state and local regulatory environment that applies to businesses operating in California. The sections below describe the firm's core practice areas, what distinguishes counsel with genuine Silicon Valley experience, and how a business should evaluate a San Jose law firm before engaging one.
Businesses are generally looking for one of two things: an ongoing relationship with counsel who understands their industry and structure, or representation for a specific matter already in front of them, whether that is a transaction, a compliance question, or a dispute. Both are common starting points, and the sections that follow are organized so a reader can move directly to the practice area most relevant to the matter at hand rather than reading the page in a fixed order.
What Sets a San Jose Business Law Firm Apart in This Market
Businesses operating in Silicon Valley face a regulatory and commercial environment that differs from most other parts of the country. California employment law is more detailed than the federal baseline in areas including wage and hour compliance, worker classification, and paid leave requirements, and local ordinances in some Bay Area cities add further obligations on top of state law. A San Jose attorney who works primarily with businesses in this region develops familiarity with these layered requirements that a generalist elsewhere in the state, or in another state entirely, is less likely to have.
Real estate and land use matters in Santa Clara County also carry local characteristics worth understanding before a transaction or a development project moves forward, including how the county and its cities apply zoning, environmental review, and permitting requirements to commercial and mixed use projects. Businesses that assume a national approach to real estate or employment compliance will transfer directly to Silicon Valley without adjustment often find that assumption incorrect once a specific local requirement surfaces.
The technology sector in this market also shapes the type of corporate and intellectual property work that comes up regularly, from equity financing rounds and founder agreements to trademark and trade secret protection for companies built around proprietary technology or brand identity. San Jose lawyers who handle this work on a recurring basis develop pattern recognition that reduces the time needed to identify issues in a new matter, since many of the underlying legal questions repeat across clients even when the businesses themselves are different.
Berliner Cohen's history in this market, dating to 1969, means the firm has operated through multiple business cycles in Silicon Valley and has developed relationships with the local bar, courts, and business community that inform how matters are handled here specifically, rather than applying a generic approach developed elsewhere.
Businesses relocating to or expanding into the San Jose area from other states often assume that legal requirements will transfer directly from their prior jurisdiction, and this assumption is one of the more common sources of avoidable exposure. Wage statement requirements, independent contractor classification standards, and commercial lease customs in California all differ enough from other states that a business operating here for the first time benefits from a review conducted by San Jose attorneys familiar with these specific requirements, rather than relying on documents or practices developed under a different state's law.
The pace of business in Silicon Valley also shapes what employers need from outside counsel. Financing rounds move on compressed timelines, hiring can scale quickly during a growth period, and competitive pressure often means a business cannot afford to wait weeks for a contract review or a policy update. A firm that understands this pace and structures its own responsiveness around it functions differently than counsel accustomed to a slower moving practice, and businesses should factor this into how they evaluate whether a given firm's working style actually fits their own.
Corporate Formation, Governance and Mergers and Acquisitions
Choosing the right business entity, whether a corporation, an LLC, or a partnership, affects liability exposure, tax treatment, and the ability to raise capital. Berliner Cohen's corporate attorneys help businesses select an appropriate structure and prepare the governing documents, including articles of incorporation, bylaws, and operating agreements, that keep ownership and decision making clear as a company grows. Entity formation filings are made with the California Secretary of State, and the firm's corporate team handles this process along with the related governance documents a new entity needs from the outset.
For companies being acquired, sold, or merged, the firm's mergers and acquisitions team works with buyers, sellers, and management on transaction structuring, due diligence, and closing documentation, and regularly advises on corporate governance, fiduciary responsibilities, shareholder agreements, and regulatory requirements tied to a transaction. Businesses evaluating a potential acquisition or sale benefit from a San Jose lawyer who has handled deals on both the buy side and the sell side, since that experience shapes how a transaction is structured and where the more common points of negotiation tend to arise.
Ongoing governance support, including shareholder and partnership disputes, board level advice, and contract drafting and negotiation for vendor, customer, and service agreements, rounds out the corporate practice. Businesses that engage counsel for these matters on an ongoing basis, rather than only at the point of a transaction, generally identify and resolve governance issues before they escalate into disputes.
Founder and shareholder disputes are a particularly common source of difficulty for growing companies, often arising from governance documents that were drafted quickly at formation and never revisited as the business grew. A buy sell agreement negotiated among three founders at formation may no longer reflect the actual contributions or expectations of those same individuals five years later, and a San Jose lawyer who reviews these documents periodically, rather than only when a disagreement has already surfaced, can identify gaps while they are still inexpensive to fix.
Employment and Labor Compliance for Employers
California employment law imposes requirements well beyond the federal minimum in areas including wage and hour classification, meal and rest break compliance, paid sick leave, and termination procedures. Berliner Cohen's labor and employment attorneys represent employers exclusively, assisting with policy and procedure review, employee handbooks, and compliance audits designed to reduce exposure before a claim arises. Federal wage and hour standards that form the baseline for this work are published by the U.S. Department of Labor, while state specific requirements are enforced through the California Department of Industrial Relations.
The firm represents employers in matters involving discrimination claims, wrongful termination allegations, wage and hour disputes including class and collective actions, misappropriation of confidential information, and civil rights litigation. Federal employment discrimination standards are published by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and California employers operating in multiple jurisdictions need policies that satisfy both the federal floor and the more detailed state requirements layered on top of it.
Beyond dispute representation, the firm drafts the documents an employer relies on throughout the employment relationship, including offer letters, employment agreements, and employee handbooks tailored to the employer's actual practices rather than a generic template. A San Jose attorney who works with employers on both compliance and disputes brings a more complete perspective to policy drafting, since the same attorney has seen how similar policies perform when tested in a dispute.
Independent contractor classification is an area of particular exposure for technology and services companies in this market, where relying on contract labor is common but the legal standard for who qualifies as an independent contractor under California law is stricter than many employers assume. Misclassification carries exposure including back wages, unpaid payroll taxes, and statutory penalties, and reviewing existing contractor relationships against current legal standards is a reasonable periodic exercise for any employer using contract labor at meaningful scale.
Real Estate, Land Use, and Municipal Law
Berliner Cohen's real estate practice covers acquisitions and dispositions, financing, leasing, and development matters for commercial and investment property throughout Santa Clara County and the broader region. The firm's land use and municipal law group works alongside the real estate team on zoning confirmation, entitlement approvals, and environmental review for development projects, representing both private developers and public entities before local planning commissions and city councils.
Businesses developing property in San Jose or a neighboring city need to navigate that city's specific zoning ordinances, permitting requirements, and environmental review procedures, which can differ meaningfully between jurisdictions even within the same county. The City of San Jose's official government site publishes current planning and permitting information for projects within city limits, a useful starting point before a project moves into formal review. A San Jose law firm with land use experience specific to this region can help a developer anticipate which approvals a project will need and roughly how long that process is likely to take.
Commercial leasing work for the firm's business and real estate clients includes drafting and negotiating office, retail, and industrial leases on behalf of landlords and tenants, along with lease administration matters such as common area maintenance disputes and assignment or subletting questions. Businesses expanding into a new location or renegotiating an existing lease benefit from counsel who regularly reviews lease terms specific to the Silicon Valley commercial market, where competition for space and rent structures can differ from other regions.
Property acquisitions and dispositions for business use, including office, industrial, and mixed use properties, involve due diligence considerations specific to this region as well, from confirming entitlement status on a property with a legal nonconforming use to understanding how a change in ownership affects property tax assessment under California's Proposition 13 and Proposition 19 rules. A San Jose lawyer handling a commercial real estate transaction should be reviewing these California specific issues as a matter of course, not as an afterthought once a generic due diligence checklist has already been completed.
Tax Planning and Compliance for Businesses
Business tax matters intersect with nearly every other area of corporate practice, from entity structuring and transaction planning to compliance and dispute resolution. Berliner Cohen's tax attorneys help businesses structure transactions to manage tax consequences, identify available deductions and credits, and represent businesses during audits and disputes with tax authorities. Federal tax rules governing business entity classification and reporting obligations are published by the Internal Revenue Service, and the firm's tax team coordinates with a client's accounting professionals on matters that carry both legal and tax implications.
A San Jose lawyer with tax expertise adds particular value during a transaction, since the structure chosen for an acquisition, a reorganization, or an equity financing round can materially change the tax outcome for the parties involved. Businesses planning a significant transaction benefit from involving tax counsel during structuring discussions rather than after terms have already been informally agreed upon, since some of the more favorable tax treatments depend on how a transaction is structured from the outset.
Businesses facing an audit or a dispute with tax authorities also benefit from representation experienced in that specific process, since the procedural steps involved in responding to an audit differ meaningfully from the planning work involved in structuring a transaction. The firm's tax attorneys represent businesses through both types of matters, providing continuity for a client that begins with planning advice and later faces a dispute tied to a position taken years earlier.
Intellectual Property, Hospitality, and Specialized Industries
Intellectual property protection is a recurring need for technology companies, consumer brands, and creative businesses throughout Silicon Valley. Berliner Cohen's intellectual property team handles trademark and copyright filings, portfolio protection strategy, and enforcement matters for businesses and individual creators. Trademark and patent filings are made through the United States Patent and Trademark Office, which maintains a regional office serving the Silicon Valley area given the concentration of technology and innovation businesses in this market. San Jose attorneys who handle IP matters regularly develop familiarity with both the filing process and the enforcement landscape specific to technology and consumer facing brands.
The firm's hospitality law practice supports hotels, restaurants, and hospitality asset owners with development, acquisition, financing, franchising, and leasing matters, along with intellectual property protection for hospitality brands. This work spans licensing and regulatory compliance specific to food service and lodging businesses, alongside the general commercial matters that any business faces.
ADA regulatory compliance is a distinct area of concentration for the firm, given how frequently California businesses face accessibility related claims. The firm helps clients, including retail businesses, financial institutions, hotels, restaurants, and other public facing operations, assess compliance gaps and defend against claims when they arise. Federal accessibility standards are maintained by the Americans with Disabilities Act website operated by the Department of Justice, and businesses that complete a proactive compliance review generally reduce their exposure compared to businesses that address accessibility only after a claim is filed.
California accounts for a disproportionate share of the country's accessibility litigation involving physical locations and websites, and a meaningful portion of these claims are filed by a small number of frequent plaintiffs who target technical violations rather than genuine access barriers. San Jose lawyers who defend these claims regularly develop a clear sense of which corrections meaningfully reduce future exposure and which are unlikely to matter, which helps a business prioritize a compliance budget effectively rather than treating every identified issue as equally urgent.
Business Litigation and Dispute Resolution
Even well managed businesses encounter disputes, whether with a vendor, a competitor, a former partner, or a regulator. Berliner Cohen's business litigation attorneys represent employers and businesses in contract disputes, partnership and shareholder disputes, real estate litigation, and class action defense, working through negotiation, alternative dispute resolution, or trial depending on what a matter requires. Litigation involving California businesses may proceed through the state court system, and general information about California court procedures is published by the California Courts self help resources, though procedural requirements specific to business litigation typically require counsel familiar with the applicable rules.
The firm also offers mediation and arbitration services for business and real estate disputes, with mediators and arbitrators who bring substantial litigation and trial experience to the dispute resolution process itself. San Jose attorneys serving as neutrals in these matters have handled disputes spanning complex business and securities litigation, construction disputes, environmental conflicts, real estate matters, and trust and probate claims, and this litigation background informs how they approach mediating a dispute between other parties.
Choosing mediation or arbitration over litigation is a strategic decision that depends on the relationship between the parties, the value at stake, and whether either side has an interest in keeping the dispute confidential rather than filed as a matter of public record. Businesses with an ongoing commercial relationship, such as a landlord and a long term tenant or two joint venture partners, often have more to gain from a mediated resolution that preserves the relationship than from litigation that formalizes the dispute and typically ends it. A firm experienced in both litigation and alternative dispute resolution can advise honestly on which path fits a specific situation, rather than defaulting to litigation because it is the more familiar process.
Businesses facing a dispute benefit from engaging counsel early, before a formal response deadline is close or a position has already been taken informally that limits later options. A San Jose business law firm that already understands a client's operations and history can generally respond to an emerging dispute more efficiently than counsel encountering the business for the first time after a claim has already been filed.
Class action defense is a specific area of exposure for larger employers and consumer facing businesses in this market, and defending against a certified or proposed class carries procedural complexity beyond a standard individual dispute. San Jose attorneys with class action experience understand both the substantive defenses available and the procedural mechanisms, including class certification challenges, that can meaningfully change the trajectory of a case well before it reaches trial.
Estate Planning and Business Succession
For business owners, estate planning extends beyond personal asset planning into business succession, including identifying successors, structuring buy sell agreements, and addressing the tax implications of transferring business interests. Berliner Cohen's estate planning, trust, and probate attorneys work with business owners on plans that address both personal and business assets, and the firm's probate and trust litigation group represents clients in disputes that arise during estate or trust administration.
Business owners without a succession plan in place create unnecessary uncertainty for a company if an owner becomes unable to continue running the business unexpectedly. A San Jose law firm that handles both business and estate matters can coordinate succession planning with a company's broader governance documents, ensuring the two are consistent rather than drafted independently by separate advisors who may not have reviewed each other's work.
For multi generational or family owned businesses specifically, succession planning also needs to account for how a transfer of ownership interests affects property tax reassessment and estate tax exposure, questions that intersect closely with the real estate and tax practices described above. Coordinating these disciplines within one firm, rather than across several unconnected advisors, reduces the likelihood that a succession plan overlooks a consequence that only becomes apparent once the transfer is already underway.
Firm Credentials and Recognition
Berliner Cohen has practiced business law in Northern California since 1969, and the firm's attorneys are recognized through independent peer review processes including Best Lawyers and Super Lawyers, with multiple attorneys named to the Northern California Super Lawyers and Rising Stars lists in recent years. These recognitions are based on peer review rather than paid placement, and they reflect standing within the broader legal community rather than marketing claims made by the firm itself.
The firm's attorneys are active in local and state bar associations, including the Santa Clara County Bar Association, the Silicon Valley Bar Association, and the California Lawyers Association, involvement that keeps the firm connected to changes in California law and to the broader legal community serving this region. This kind of ongoing engagement is one of the more reliable indicators that a firm stays current on developments affecting its clients, rather than relying on knowledge that may not reflect recent changes in the law.
Longevity in a single market is itself a credential worth weighing when evaluating San Jose attorneys for an ongoing business relationship. A firm that has operated continuously in this region for more than five decades has necessarily built relationships with courts, regulatory agencies, and the local business community that a newer entrant has not yet had the opportunity to develop.
Silicon Valley's legal community draws heavily from local legal education, which has trained generations of attorneys now practicing throughout the region. A firm whose attorneys remain connected to this local legal community, through continuing education, bar involvement, or teaching, generally stays current on regional legal developments more consistently than a firm operating without those local ties, which is a reasonable factor for a business to weigh when comparing San Jose law firm options.
Awards and directory recognitions are useful data points, but they work best alongside direct conversation rather than as a substitute for it. A business comparing firms should treat published recognitions as a starting filter, narrowing a list of options worth a closer look, and then evaluate fit through actual conversations with the attorneys who would handle the work, since credentials describe a firm's standing in the profession but not necessarily whether its working style matches what a specific business needs.
How to Evaluate a San Jose Business Law Firm
Businesses comparing legal counsel should start by confirming that a firm's practice is genuinely concentrated on employer and business representation, rather than split between representing businesses and representing the individuals who work for or interact with them. A San Jose lawyer who regularly represents employees in wage disputes is not well positioned to also serve as an employer's ongoing counsel, given the inherent conflict in perspective between those two roles.
Relevant transaction and matter volume in a business's specific area of need matters more than general experience. A San Jose attorney who has handled dozens of employment matters may have limited experience with land use entitlements or complex M&A transactions, and this gap is often not apparent until a matter requiring that specific experience is already underway. Businesses should ask directly about recent matters comparable in size and complexity to what they anticipate needing.
Responsiveness and communication structure are also worth clarifying before an engagement begins. A firm that assigns a consistent point of contact familiar with a client's business, rather than routing questions to whoever is available, is generally better positioned to catch issues that a rotating team might miss. Fee structure should be explained clearly as well, since flat fees for defined matters and hourly rates for litigation or open ended work serve different purposes depending on what a business actually needs.
Finally, a business benefits from choosing a San Jose business law firm capable of handling matters across multiple practice areas as they arise, rather than requiring a new search each time a different type of legal need surfaces. A firm that already understands a client's corporate structure, industry, and history can generally respond to a new employment question, a real estate matter, or a tax issue more efficiently than counsel encountering that business for the first time.
It is also worth asking how a prospective firm handles a matter that touches more than one practice area at once, since transactions and disputes rarely stay confined to a single legal discipline. An acquisition that raises corporate, tax, and real estate questions simultaneously benefits from attorneys who coordinate internally rather than treating each issue as a separate engagement handled by unconnected specialists. Asking how a firm staffs cross disciplinary matters, and whether one attorney owns the overall strategy, is a practical way to understand how the relationship will function once a matter becomes more complex than initially expected.
Community Involvement in Silicon Valley
Berliner Cohen maintains an active role in the communities where its offices are located, including financial support for local nonprofit organizations and an annual small business grant program that provides funding to a qualifying small business each year. This kind of ongoing community investment reflects a firm's commitment to the region beyond client representation, and it is one signal, among several, that San Jose lawyers at a given firm are genuinely embedded in the local business community rather than operating as an outside service provider.
Attorneys at the firm also draw on their involvement in local organizations to support community agencies with matters those organizations need guidance on, extending the firm's business and legal expertise into the nonprofit and civic sector alongside its client work. Businesses evaluating a long term legal relationship sometimes overlook community involvement as a factor, but a firm's visible commitment to the region often correlates with the stability and continuity a business wants from outside counsel over many years, rather than a firm that treats the local market as one of many interchangeable locations.
Engagement Options for Ongoing Legal Support
Businesses typically begin working with the firm in one of three ways. Some start with a single, defined matter, such as a lease review, a licensing question, or a specific dispute that has already surfaced, and the engagement concludes once that matter is resolved. Others request a broader review across their existing contracts, corporate documents, and compliance practices to identify gaps before those gaps become problems, sometimes as a first step before deciding whether an ongoing relationship makes sense. A third group establishes an ongoing arrangement from the outset, with counsel available as questions and matters arise throughout the year rather than being engaged fresh each time.
None of these approaches is inherently better than the others, and many businesses move between them as their needs change over time. San Jose lawyers who work across this range of engagement types can generally accommodate whichever structure fits a business best, and a straightforward conversation at the outset about scope, timeline, and cost helps set expectations before any work begins. Businesses uncertain which approach fits their situation should raise that uncertainty directly during an initial conversation rather than guessing, since matching the engagement structure to how a business actually makes decisions is part of what makes a legal relationship work well over time.
Next Steps
San Jose companies succeed when strong innovation pairs with reliable legal structure. Berliner Cohen serves as a steady resource for businesses seeking guidance across corporate, real estate, intellectual property, tax, and dispute resolution matters. The firm brings regional depth and coordinated support to each engagement. Whether a company is forming its first entity, negotiating a major lease, protecting new technology, or planning for ownership transition, experienced counsel helps manage risks and pursue opportunities effectively.
Berliner Cohen is a business legal firm in Northern California with locations in Merced, Modesto, and San Jose. Our lawyers are active members of many local and state legal associations, such as the Santa Clara County legal Association, the Silicon Valley Bar Association, the Stanislaus County Bar Association, the California Lawyers Association, and others. You can see Berliner Cohen's LinkedIn page, Bloomberg profile, and our profiles on Trust Analytica, US News Best Law Firms, and BCG Attorney Search.
We handle ADA law, business and real estate litigation, corporate law, estate planning, hospitality law, labor and employment law, land use and municipal law, real estate, tax law, and white-collar crime defense. The company also helps businesses settle their differences through mediation.
Please call our offices to get in touch with Berliner Cohen lawyers regarding your legal needs:
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San Jose Law Firm at 408.286.5800
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Modesto Law Firm at 209.576.011
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Merced Law Firm at 209.385.0700
SAN JOSE LAWYER FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQS)
1. What practice areas does Berliner Cohen handle for businesses in San Jose?
The firm represents employers and businesses across corporate law and mergers and acquisitions, labor and employment, real estate and land use, tax law, intellectual property, business litigation, mediation and arbitration, hospitality law, ADA regulatory compliance, and estate planning and business succession. The firm does not handle personal injury, family law, or general consumer matters, since its practice is concentrated on business and employer representation.
2. Does Berliner Cohen represent employees in disputes with their employers?
No. The firm represents employers exclusively in employment matters, including policy development, compliance, and defense against claims brought by current or former employees. This focus means the firm's employment attorneys build workplace policies and respond to disputes from the employer's perspective consistently, rather than splitting their practice between representing businesses and representing the individuals who work for them.
3. Where are Berliner Cohen's offices located?
The firm has offices in San Jose, Modesto, Merced, and Mariposa, allowing it to serve clients across Silicon Valley and California's Central Valley. The San Jose office serves as the firm's base for Silicon Valley technology, real estate, and business clients, while the Central Valley offices serve clients with agricultural, real estate, and business needs specific to that region.
4. How long has Berliner Cohen been practicing in San Jose?
The firm was founded in 1969 and has operated continuously in Northern California since then. This history means the firm has worked through multiple economic cycles in Silicon Valley and has built relationships with local courts, regulatory agencies, and the business community over more than five decades of continuous practice in the region.
5. What should a business look for when comparing law firms in San Jose?
A business should confirm that a firm's practice is concentrated on business and employer representation, ask about recent experience with matters similar in size and complexity to what is anticipated, and clarify fee structure and communication expectations before signing an engagement letter. San Jose law firms that assign a consistent point of contact familiar with a client's business generally provide more responsive service than firms that route questions to whoever is available.
6. How does California employment law differ from federal requirements?
California imposes requirements beyond the federal baseline in areas including meal and rest break compliance, paid sick leave, wage statement content, and independent contractor classification standards. Employers operating in California, including those relocating from other states, need policies built specifically around these state requirements rather than adjusted versions of documents developed under federal or another state's law.
7. What is involved in forming a new business entity in California?
Forming a business entity involves selecting an appropriate structure, such as a corporation, an LLC, or a partnership, filing formation documents with the California Secretary of State, and preparing governing documents including bylaws or an operating agreement. The right structure depends on factors including liability exposure, tax treatment, and plans for raising capital, which is why entity selection benefits from legal input rather than a default choice made without considering these factors.
8. What does ADA compliance involve for a California business?
ADA compliance involves ensuring that a business's physical locations, and increasingly its website and reservation systems, meet accessibility standards for individuals with disabilities. California sees a high volume of accessibility litigation, and a proactive compliance review, including a professional accessibility assessment, generally reduces a business's exposure compared to addressing issues only after a claim has been filed.
9. When should a business involve tax counsel in a transaction?
Tax counsel should be involved during the structuring phase of a transaction, before terms are informally agreed upon, since the structure chosen for an acquisition, reorganization, or financing round can materially affect the tax outcome for all parties. Involving tax counsel only after a transaction's business terms are finalized often means favorable tax treatments that depended on structure are no longer available.
10. What is the difference between mediation and litigation for a business dispute?
Mediation is a voluntary process where a neutral third party helps both sides reach a resolution, while litigation is a formal court process that results in a binding judgment. Mediation is generally faster, less costly, and confidential, and tends to work well when the parties have an ongoing relationship worth preserving, while litigation may be necessary when a resolution cannot be reached informally or when a formal legal precedent is needed.
11. How does commercial real estate due diligence in California differ from other states?
California due diligence should include items not always required elsewhere, such as seismic hazard zone status, accessibility compliance review, and an assessment of how a purchase will affect property tax reassessment under Proposition 13 and Proposition 19. A buyer relying on a standard national due diligence checklist may miss these California specific considerations.
12. What is involved in business succession planning?
Business succession planning addresses what happens to a company if an owner can no longer run it, including identifying successors, structuring buy sell agreements between owners, and managing the tax implications of transferring ownership interests. This planning works best when coordinated with a business's existing governance documents, so the succession plan and the company's operating agreements remain consistent with each other.
13. Can a San Jose law firm help with disputes involving intellectual property?
Yes. Intellectual property disputes, including trademark infringement and trade secret misappropriation, are handled alongside the filing and portfolio protection work involved in securing IP rights in the first place. A firm that handles both the protective and the enforcement sides of intellectual property law can respond to an infringement issue with full context on how the underlying rights were originally established.
14. What industries does Berliner Cohen serve in Silicon Valley?
The firm serves technology companies, real estate developers and owners, hospitality businesses including hotels and restaurants, financial institutions, and agricultural operations served through its Central Valley offices. San Jose attorneys who work across these industries develop familiarity with how general legal principles apply differently depending on a business's specific regulatory environment and operating model.
15. How does a business start working with Berliner Cohen?
A business can contact the firm's San Jose office directly to discuss its specific legal needs with a San Jose attorney familiar with the relevant practice area. An initial conversation typically covers what prompted the outreach, whether a specific matter or a broader need for ongoing counsel, and from there the firm can outline scope, timeline, and cost before any engagement begins.
This article is not intended to and does not constitute legal advice or a solicitation for the formation of an attorney-client relationship. Anyone with questions about this topic should consult an attorney.