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.


Seven Weintraub Genshlea Chediak Attorneys Named in Best Lawyers of America for Sacramento

Weintraub Genshlea Chediak congratulates all of the attorneys who were included in the distinguished list of 2011 “The Best Lawyers in America®” for Sacramento:

Banking Law

Joseph S. Genshlea

Bet-the-Company Litigation

Joseph S. Genshlea

Commercial Litigation

Dale C. Campbell

Joseph S. Genshlea

Corporate Governance and Compliance Law

David C. Adams

Corporate Law

Christopher Chediak

Intellectual Property Law

Christopher Chediak

Labor and Employment Law

Charles L. Post

Leveraged Buyouts and Private Equity Law

David C. Adams

Securities Law

Joseph S. Genshlea

Tax Law

Jim Clarke

Trusts and Estates

Malcolm S. Weintraub

Based on peer reviews, this list is widely regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence in the U.S. by both the legal profession and the public.

Weintraub Genshlea Chediak Volunteers!

Weintraub Genshlea Chediak in partnership with Hands On Sacramento and the Metro Chamber’s Project Inspire volunteered to spend an afternoon last week at RAFT Sacramento, a nonprofit that distributes materials and supplies at very low cost to the region’s teachers.

“It feels good to part of a firm that supports and encourages its attorneys and staff to volunteer to help the community we work and live in” says Donna Holtz, Shareholder at Weintraub Genshlea Chediak (and Metro Chamber Board Member). Donna, along with Shareholder James Kachmar, Human Resource Manager Cheryl Lewis, and Secretary Sandra Acosta were among the group of volunteers.

In addition to those from Weintraub Genshlea Chediak, thirty volunteers from local businesses such as the River District, SAFE Credit Union, Horizon West, Event Architects, Natomas Chamber, AT&T, Sacramento Housing Redevelopment Agency, ICF International, Sacramento State and the Metro Chamber chalked up more than 40 hours sorting and packaging supplies in an effort to help area teachers get ready for the new school year. Volunteers, Metro Chamber Board Members and staff filled four shopping carts full of donations for RAFT.

About Weintraub Genshlea Chediak:

Founded in 1978, Weintraub Genshlea Chediak specializes in corporate transactional work, real estate transactional work and business litigation. Recognized nationally for our expertise, the firm has a strong regional presence and experience representing clients throughout California. Our clients range from national institutional entities to regional businesses and individuals with personal legal needs.

We dedicate ourselves to understanding our clients and helping them with their changing business challenges. We are equally committed to supporting the community where we work and live.

Twelve Weintraub Genshlea Chediak Attorneys Honored as Northern California Super Lawyers and Rising Stars

SACRAMENTO, Calif., July 14, 2010 – Weintraub Genshlea Chediak, a Sacramento-based business law and business litigation law firm congratulates its twelve attorneys who were named as 2010 Northern California SuperLawyers and Rising Stars:

SuperLawyers:

Gary L. Bradus, Business/Corporate

Dale C. Campbell, Intellectual Property Litigation

Christopher Chediak, Corporate Law

Ed Corey, Jr., Estate & Trust Litigation

Joseph S. Genshlea, Business Litigation

Louis A. Gonzalez, Jr., Real Estate Litigation

Shawn M. Kent, Business/Corporate

Michael A. Kvarme, Real Estate

Audrey A. Millemann, Intellectual Property Litigation

Charles L. Post, Employment & Labor

Lizbeth V. West, Employment & Labor

Rising Stars:

Darrin M. Menezes, Real Estate Litigation

SuperLawyers and Rising Stars are nominated by their peers before undergoing “rigorous” evaluations in a number of areas of “peer recognition and professional achievement,” according to Law & Politics magazine’s selection process. The objective, the magazine says, is to “create a credible, comprehensive and diverse listing of outstanding attorneys.”

Each year, only 5 percent of all state attorneys are named SuperLawyers, and just 2.5 percent become Rising Stars.

Recognition is based on surveys of approximately 52,000 active lawyers in Northern California, independent research by Law & Politics magazine, and review and recommendation by practice-area panels of top lawyers. Published annually in the August issue of San Francisco Magazine and Northern California SuperLawyers, the select list is a comprehensive and diverse guide to the top 5 percent of lawyers in Northern California by practice areas.

About Weintraub Genshlea Chediak Law Corporation

Founded in 1978, Weintraub Genshlea Chediak specializes in corporate transactional work, real estate transactional work and business litigation. Recognized nationally for our expertise, the firm has a strong regional presence and is experienced in representing clients throughout California. Our clients range from national institutional entities to regional businesses and individuals with personal legal needs.

Weintraub Genshlea Chediak is a member of Meritas Worldwide, a global alliance of over 6,800 lawyers serving in 170+ full-service law firms across more than 73 countries.

www.meritas.orgwww.meritas.orgwww.meritas.org

Weintraub Firm Represents MOTO Development Group in Acquisition by Cisco Systems

Download: Kelso Press Release re MOTO Acquisition.pdf

Weintraub Genshlea Chediak, a law firm based in Sacramento, California, recently represented its client MOTO Development Group, Inc., based in San Francisco, in connection with MOTO’s acquisition by Cisco Systems, Inc. which was completed in early June. Founded in 1991, MOTO is a design consulting firm that develops innovative products and product strategies for the consumer industry. MOTO’s team has been involved in the development of a wide range of products for startups and Fortune 500 companies, including the Flip VideoTM product family which was previously acquired by Cisco. The MOTO team will join Cisco’s consumer products group.

Kevin Kelso, a shareholder in the firm’s corporate/securities group, represented MOTO and assisted its in-house attorney David Kadish. Associate Sara Davidson assisted Kelso on the transaction. “MOTO is full of smart, creative people and it was a pleasure to work with them. Working with Cisco’s inside and outside acquisition team was an interesting experience,” said Kelso. “Cisco has of course completed a large number of acquisitions over the years, brings enormous resources to transactions and is very thorough in terms of their approach to a transaction.”

“Many of the attorneys in our corporate group, including Kelso, came from larger firms and/or firms in the Silicon Valley, and that experience has been invaluable in their ability to handle larger, complicated acquisition transactions involving technology companies but at more affordable rates given our geographical location” said managing shareholder Michael Kvarme. “I think companies are looking more closely at their legal budgets and realizing that firms like ours can provide the same level of service, if not better service, at substantially lower rates.”

Click the link above to view the entire press release.

Weintraub Genshlea Chediak Attorneys Win Again!

Download: Metropolitan News Company Press Release re Shames v. CTTC.pdf

The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals yesterday rejected claims that the California Travel and Tourism Commission violated federal antitrust law by agreeing with rental car companies to pass tourism assessments on to customers. A three-judge panel said the commission was shielded from liability for price-fixing allegations under the “state action immunity” doctrine because it acted pursuant to a “clearly articulated state policy.”

To view the press release in its entirety, click the link above.

Weintraub Lawyers Win Appeal

Download: Porter v. Winter Legal Alert.pdf

Weintraub lawyers Charles L. Post and Lizbeth V. West win appeal before the Ninth Circuit re: Title VII harassment and retaliation subject matter and attorneys fees.

To view the full case summary, please click on the pdf link above.

Weintraub Lawyers Win Appeal Before the Ninth Circuit

On May 5, 2010, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal issued an Opinion, to be published, in the case titled Porter v. Winter (9th Cir. 07-171250). Attorney Charles L. Post prepared and submitted the briefs and attorney Lizbeth V. West appeared and argued before the Ninth Circuit on behalf of Appellant, Ronald Porter.

Ronald Porter, a former civilian employee of the Navy, brought a complaint before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) alleging gender discrimination and retaliation in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The EEOC found the Navy liable for retaliation, but not gender discrimination. Porter sought to recover the attorney’s fees and costs he incurred in the Title VII administrative proceedings, but the Navy awarded him only a fraction of the amount he requested. After reviewing the Navy’s fee decision, the EEOC slightly increased the award.

Porter filed a complaint in district court challenging the amount of attorney’s fees awarded to him in the Title VII administrative proceedings. The district court dismissed the complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, reasoning that it did not “have jurisdiction to adjudicate solely a claim for attorney’s fees without a claim of a substantive violation of Title VII.” Porter appeals that ruling. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 and review the district court’s decision de novo. Armstrong v. N. Mariana Islands, 576 F.3d 950, 954 n.4 (9th Cir. 2009).

We conclude that, under New York Gaslight Club, Inc. v. Carey, 447 U.S. 54 (1980), federal courts have subject matter jurisdiction over claims brought solely to recover attorney’s fees incurred in Title VII administrative proceedings. Accordingly, we reverse. For a full copy of the Opinion, visit http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2010/05/05/07-17120.pdf

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Charles “Chuck” Post and Lizbeth “Beth” West are shareholders in the Labor and Employment Law Section and Disputes, Trials & Appeals Section at Weintraub Genshlea Chediak. Chuck’s practice includes counseling employers in all areas of employment law and representing management in the defense of wrongful termination, discrimination, harassment, trade secret, employee mobility and other employment disputes. He has extensive experience defending multi-party complex litigation involving misappropriation of trade secrets, unfair competition, and corporate raiding. Beth’s practice focuses on counseling employers in all areas of employment law, and defending employers in state and federal court, as well as before administrative agencies. She has extensive experience in defending wage and hour claims, and complex whistle-blowing and retaliation claims. Chuck and Beth also provide training services on various employment issues, such as sexual harassment and violence in the workplace. If you have any questions about this Legal Alert or other employment law related questions, please feel free to contact Charles L. Post or Beth West at (916) 558-6000. For additional articles on employment law issues, please visit Weintraub’s employment law blog at www.thelelawblog.com.

Weintraub Genshlea Chediak Announces New Los Angeles Office

Sacramento’s fifth-largest law firm quietly opened a branch in Los Angeles this week.

Weintraub Genshlea Chediak Law Corp. has hired two litigators in an office on Wilshire Boulevard to solidify a toehold in the intellectual property, employment and entertainment markets in Southern California.

The firm has expanded in Sacramento, too. Four lawyers have joined the real estate, bankruptcy and corporate practice groups in recent months, including a shareholder from McDonough, Holland & Allen PC.

To read the entire article, please click the link above.

Shareholder Louis Gonzalez Quoted in Davis Enterprise re DACHA’s Ongoing Saga

In the latest chapter of the Davis Area Cooperative Housing saga, the limited-equity co-op has been jerked out of foreclosure proceedings and plunked into involuntary bankruptcy. … Louis Gonzalez, attorney for Twin Pines and Neighborhood Partners, said the trustee will determine whether DACHA can repay all, some or none of the debt owed to its creditors. At the end of the months-long process, a federal judge will decide whether to approve the trustee’s plan, Gonzalez said.

Click on link above to read the full story.

Joe Genshlea Named Sacramento Best Lawyers “Commercial Litigator of the Year” for 2010

Sacramento, Calif.–Weintraub Genshlea Chediak Law Corporation, a business law and business litigation firm, announces that Joseph S. Genshlea has been named Sacramento Commercial Litigator of the Year for 2010 by Best Lawyers of America. After more than a quarter of a century in publication, Best Lawyers is designating “Lawyers of the Year” in high-profile legal specialties in large legal communities. Only a single lawyer in each specialty in each community is being honored as the “Lawyer of the Year.”

With over 40 years of practice before the federal and California trial and appellate courts, Joe has tried many complex business jury trials and is acknowledged as one of the foremost business litigators in the state. In 2001, Joe was the tenth lawyer inducted into the Trial Lawyers Hall of Fame. It is a prestigious award given annually to one or two trial lawyers by the Litigation Section of The State Bar of California. “Joe continues to exhibit the finest qualities both as a trial lawyer and as a true professional” comments Gary Bradus, Managing Shareholder at Weintraub Genshlea Chediak.

Joe’s litigation practice has focused on commercial lending, real estate transactions, intellectual property and business dissolutions. Joe has successfully represented financial institutions in lender liability cases, commercial lending and related matters, and handled shareholder derivative suits, copyright infringement matters, real estate litigation, partnership and corporate dissolutions, accounting malpractice, contract disputes and fraud claims to name a few. Joe has held leadership positions in a number of legal organizations and is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. He is a frequent lecturer and panelist to groups such as the State Bar of California, County Bar organizations and Continuing Education of the Bar and was an instructor at the Hastings Trial Advocacy Program.

A Sacramento native, Joe has strong ties to the area and places great significance on local civic activities through his involvement in area non-profit groups. Joe is currently the Chair of the Sacramento Host Committee and has served on the Board of Directors of Friends of Light Rail; the Executive Committee and Board of Directors of Valley Vision and is a Senior Fellow of the American Leadership Forum and former Chair and Board member of its Mountain Valley Chapter. He has also served on the Board of Directors of KVIE Channel 6, the Sacramento Symphony, the League to Save Lake Tahoe, Gateway Foundation, was a Trustee of Christian Brothers High School, and was President and a Board member of the Sacramento Area Commerce and Trade Organization (SACTO). He is a former Trustee of the Mercy Hospital Foundation, was co-chair of the Sacramento Regional Economic Forum and was President of the Community Alcoholism Rehabilitation Effort (CARE).

Joe has received several other awards and recognitions including the distinguished Lawyer of the Year by the Sacramento County Bar Association (2001), Alumnus of the Year, Sacramento Chapter of the Hastings Alumni Association (2002), has been selected for inclusion in the Northern California SuperLawyers from 2004 through 2009, as well as Best Lawyers of America each year since 1993. Joe also placed 5,411th in the 83rd annual running of the Boston Marathon.

Joe received his A.B. from Stanford University in 1960 and his law degree from Hastings College of the Law, University of California, in 1964.

Best Lawyers compiles its lists of outstanding attorneys by conducting exhaustive peer-review surveys in which thousands of leading lawyers confidentially evaluate their professional peers. The current, 16th edition of The Best Lawyers in America (2010), is based on more than 2.8 million detailed evaluations of lawyers by other lawyers.

The lawyers being honored as “Lawyers of the Year” have received particularly high ratings in our surveys by earning a high level of respect among their peers for their abilities, professionalism, and integrity.

Steven Naifeh, Managing Editor of Best Lawyers, says, “We continue to believe – as we have believed for more than 25 years – that recognition by one’s peers is the most meaningful form of praise in the legal profession. We would like to congratulate Joseph S. Genshlea on being selected as the ‘Sacramento Best Lawyers Commercial Litigator of the Year’ for 2010.”

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