Welcome to the Weintraub Resources section. Here, you can find our Blogs, Videos, and Podcasts, in which Weintraub attorneys regularly provide insights and updates on legal developments. You can also find upcoming Weintraub Events, as well as firm and client News.


Founding Partner Joe Genshlea Turns a New Page

Download: Genshlea Press Release 2012.pdf

SACRAMENTO / SAN FRANCISCO / LOS ANGELES –Weintraub Tobin Chediak Coleman Grodin Law Corporation, a business law and litigation firm, announced that founding partner, Joe Genshlea, is leaving the firm at the end of 2012 to focus his attention on his new mediation practice.

While Joe has enjoyed his years as one of our state’s most pre-eminent trial attorneys, receiving countless accolades over four decades, he has always had an appetite for peacemaking. As a mediator, or “negotiator” as Joe likes to say, he will continue to put his lifetime of experience to good use. Joe’s knack for persuading parties to recognize their own solutions to intractable conflict is unmatched.

“Joe has been our esteemed partner since 1978, and while we are losing a dear friend, we fully support his decision to turn a new page and wish him tremendous success and happiness” says Michael Kvarme, Managing Shareholder.

“The firm is on solid ground and in good hands with its current leadership. The direction the firm has gone these last few years gives me great confidence that the legacy I helped to build will carry on” says Joe. “I am equally confident in the future generation of leaders at the firm and will be watching with pride where the firm goes in the years to come.”

Joe has successfully represented both plaintiffs and defendants in an extraordinarily wide range of disputes, both large and small, including banking, real estate, commercial contracts, fraud, intellectual property, accounting malpractice, labor and employment, personal injury, and securities just to name a few. His accomplishments are impressive and include being the tenth lawyer in California to be elected to its State Bar Trial Lawyer Hall of Fame, a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers since 1986, and selected in 2001 as the “Distinguished Lawyer of the Year” by the Sacramento County Bar Association. Joe will move into his new office at 400 Capitol Mall, Suite 1750, on January 1st. You will then be able to contact him at [email protected].

Ask the Experts: Do I need to set up a trust?

This week, Sacramento, Calif., attorney Kay Brooks answers one of the most basic questions in financial planning: Do I need a trust or not?

Q: When is it best to set up a trust? My assets are four cars, household goods (but no house), less than $100,000 in savings, and a federal retirement account. What type of trust would you recommend, and how do I select a firm to set one up?

To read Kay Brooks answer, visit the Ask the Expert column here on the Sacbee.com.

WEBINAR: Tips When Hiring and Firing – Get It right Before The Fight

Download: Tips when Hiring and Firing.pdf

Summary of Program

The Labor and Employment Group at Weintraub Tobin Chediak Coleman Grodin is pleased to offer this very informative training session that will discuss recent cases to help business owners, human resource professionals, and managers avoid liability and effectively hire employees as well as carry out disciplines and terminations.

Some of the topics to be discussed include:

  • Effective hiring practices.
  • What can you ask during an interview?
  • An employer’s right to discipline employees; is it limited?
  • Effective policies, training and documentation to reduce liability.
  • Beware of “Progressive Discipline” policies.
  • Did the employee quit or was [s]he “constructively terminated?” (What does that mean?)
  • What type of conduct can constitute “retaliation” and under what law?
  • Who is a “whistleblower” and under what law?
  • Can an “at-will” employee be wrongfully terminated?
  • What constitutes “wrongful termination?”

 

Lunchtime Webinar:

This program is available only via webinar.
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.

HRCI credits available upon successful completion and verification of attendance for duration of webinar.

There is no charge for this webinar.

RSVP

Ramona Carrillo
400 Capitol Mall, 11th Fl.
Sacramento, CA 95814
916.558.6046
[email protected]

Information on registering and logging in to this webinar will be provided after you have RSVP’ed and approximately one week prior to the session.

TRAINING: Mandatory AB 1825 Sexual Harassment Prevention

Download: Sexual Harassment Prevention.pdf

Summary of Program

The regulations regarding California’s Mandatory Sexual Harassment Prevention Training for supervisors require that certain employers provide training to their supervisors every two years.

The Labor and Employment Group at Weintraub Tobin is offering a two hour in-person training session that will comply with all the requirements outlined in the regulations, including things like:

  • an overview of sexual harassment laws;
  • examples of conduct that constitute sexual harassment;
  • lawful supervisory responses to complaints of harassment in the workplace;
  • strategies to prevent harassment in the workplace; and
  • practical and inter-active hypotheticals and examples to help illustrate what sexual harassment, discrimination, and retaliation can look like.

If you are an employer with 50 or more employees, and have supervisors who have not yet been trained, this training is a must. We look forward to hearing from you and helping you comply with your continuing sexual harassment training obligations.

Training Program:

Thursday, December 6, 2012

9:00 a.m. Registration and Breakfast

9:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. Training

Charge: $50.00 per supervisor

Location:

Weintraub Tobin
400 Capitol Mall, 11th Floor
Sacramento, CA 95814

Parking validation provided. Please park in the Wells Fargo Center parking garage.

RSVP

Ramona Carrillo
400 Capitol Mall, 11th Fl.
Sacramento, CA 95814
916.558.6046
[email protected]

Asks the Experts:Trustee can act without her sisters’ consent

What happens when siblings don’t agree on dividing up their parents’ estate?

That issue is addressed this week by Sacramento estate planning attorney Kay Brooks, part of our online “Ask the Experts” panel.

Q: My parents passed away in December 2011 and July 2012. My two sisters and I are to divide everything equally, according to their trust. Our middle sister is the trustee. Much to our surprise, she wants to make all the decisions without our consent. She insists that we sell the house, which was recently assessed and is well below what we thought it was worth. My other sister and I would like to rent it out until the market is up. I know we can buy her out, but what determines the price? Does the house come out of the trust? Does it involve a lot of legal problems? My parents also owned property in Nevada. Would we be better off just liquidating everything as opposed to waiting for a better market? It has been two months since my dad died. Do we get a grace period before we have to decide? My sister, the trustee, says we need to decide by Nov. 1, which seems too soon, as we are still grieving our parents.

To read Kay Brooks answer, visit the Ask the Expert column here on the Sacbee.com

SEMINAR: Risks and Benefits of Social Media and Computers in the Workplace – Sacramento

For employers, are social networking sites Happy or Sad?

Summary of Program

Employees use networking sites to communicate with one another (as well as current and potential customers). They post their daily thoughts and activities, upload photos and, occasionally, adversely impact ther employers’ buusiness. What can an employer do to protect itself without intruding on employee rights?

Some of the topics to be discussed include:

  • Employer’s use of employee’s social media information versus the employee’s right to privacy.
  • Protection of employer’s Confidential and Proprietary Information.
  • Potential employer liability for employee’s on-line conduct.
  • The importance of effective Electronic Use and Social Media policies.

Location

Weintraub Tobin
400 Capitol Mall, 11th Floor
Sacramento, CA 95814

Parking validation provided – please park in the Wells Fargo Center garage

Seminar Program

8:30 a.m. Registration and Breakfast
9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Seminar

Approved for 3.0 hours MCLE credit;
HRCI credits available upon request.

There is no charge for this seminar.

RSVP

Ramona Carrillo
400 Capitol Mall, 11th Fl.
Sacramento, CA 95814
916.558.6046
[email protected]

Ask the Experts: See Estate Lawyer About Gifting Assets

Changes in estate tax laws can be extremely confusing. This week, Sacramento estate planning attorney Kay Brooks answers a reader’s question about how to preserve a mother’s financial assets in the Sacramento Bee column “Ask the Experts.”

Q: I’m concerned that Congress may fail to act on the 2013 estate tax law, letting the estate tax exclusion return to $1 million per individual ($2 million per couple). I’m responsible for managing my mother’s estate, which consists of $4.9 million in cash and real estate. My plan is to gift assets so that her remaining assets total $1 million cash, with no estate tax due (hopefully!) when it’s time to settle her estate. How long would you wait on Congress before going ahead?

To read Kay Brooks answer, visit the Ask the Expert column here on the Sacbee.com

SEMINAR: NEW LOCATION! Risks and Benefits of Social Media and Computers in the Workplace

Download: Social Networking SF v2.pdf

For employers, are social networking sites Happy or Sad?

Summary of Program

Employees use networking sites to communicate with one another (as well as current and potential customers). They post their daily thoughts and activities, upload photos and, occasionally, adversely impact ther employers’ buusiness. What can an employer do to protect itself without intruding on employee rights?

Some of the topics to be discussed include:

  • Employer’s use of employee’s social media information versus the employee’s right to privacy.
  • Protection of employer’s Confidential and Proprietary Information.
  • Potential employer liability for employee’s on-line conduct.
  • The importance of effective Electronic Use and Social Media policies.

Location – UPDATED!

The location of this event has changed. The new location:

Weintraub Tobin
475 Sansome Street, Suite 1800
San Francisco CA

Seminar Program

8:30 a.m. Registration and Breakfast
9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Seminar

Approved for 3.0 hours MCLE credit;
HRCI credits available upon request.

There is no charge for this seminar.

RSVP

Ramona Carrillo
400 Capitol Mall, 11th Fl.
Sacramento, CA 95814
916.558.6046
[email protected]

Upcoming Speaking Engagement: Whose Book (of Business) Is It Anyway?

Download: Multi-State Chart re Covenants Not to Compete (1550390).PDF

Labor & Employment attorney Chuck Post will speak at the 2012 ALTA National Convention, October 17-20 in Colorado.

Chuck will join two other speakers for the seminar: “Whose Book (of Business) Is It Anyway,” on Saturday, October 20, 8:30-9:45 a.m.

“Whose Book (of Business) Is It Anyway”

Protecting the willingness of real estate professionals to refer business and growing that willingness can be essential to a successful title career or the very survival of a title company.

But who owns those referral sources? What can title companies lawfully do to protect this essential intangible asset? What can departing employees lawfully utilize? A panel of three attorneys, deeply experienced in trade secret protection, offer a review of the most recent court decisions and cutting edge strategies to protect trade secrets and maintain the right to compete lawfully. The session will include a brief power point presentation (multistate overview), a panel discussion of recent cases, and questions and answers.

For more information on the seminar and the conference, check out the 2012 ALTA Conference Brochure.