Best Best & Krieger News Feed

Best Best & Krieger Names Office Managing Partner

17 Jun 2016 00:00:00 -0800

San Diego Metro Magazine reports on Best Best & Krieger LLP Partner James Gilpin’s appointment to the San Diego Office Managing Partner position. The article appears in its June 16 Daily Business Report (bottom).

San Diego Office Ranked One of Largest Law Firms in the City

09 Jun 2016 00:00:00 -0800

For Immediate Release: June 9, 2016
Media Contact: Denise Nix • 213.787.2552 • denise.nix@bbklaw.com

SAN DIEGO, Calif. – Best Best & Krieger LLP’s San Diego office is among the largest firms in the City, according to the San Diego Business Journal. BB&K ranked No. 25 on the publication’s annual list of the 50 largest firms — moving up two slots from last year.

There are 30 attorneys in the San Diego office, practicing in a variety of areas, including public infrastructure, water and environmental, labor and employment, municipal and business law, finance and complex litigation. The office opened in 1993 and has grown from seven attorneys.

“We are proud of our sustained presence in San Diego and our continued ability to attract a diverse team of talented professionals who share the common objective of being trusted advisors to our clients in the ever changing legal environment” said San Diego office Managing Partner James Gilpin.

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Best Best & Krieger LLP is a national law firm that focuses on environmental, business, education, municipal and telecommunications law for public agency and private clients. With 200 attorneys, the law firm has nine offices nationwide, including Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Diego and Washington, D.C. For more information, visit www.bbklaw.com or follow @BBKlaw on Twitter

BB&K a San Diego Metro Magazine Most Admired Company

22 Jan 2016 00:00:00 -0800

Best Best & Krieger LLP is honored to be included in San Diego Metro magazine’s annual Most Admired Companies list. In the December 2015 edition, BB&K is lauded for the difference it makes in San Diego County through representing both private and public clients. Specifically, the magazine noted the work BB&K’s San Diego attorneys do for local municipalities and other public agencies, including the San Diego Trolley and the North County Sprinter.

To read the digital edition of SD Metro magazine, click here.

Required Sexual Harassment Avoidance Training for Supervisors

01 Jul 2015 00:00:00 -0800

BB&K provides the State-mandated Sexual Harassment Avoidance Training Program requirements at our offices through California on a quarterly basis.

Contact:
events@BBKlaw.com

Custom Training Programs at Your Facility

Our attorneys can prepare and present a customized program at your place of employment. These programs can be tailored to reflect the policies and needs of your organization.

Contact your BB&K Labor & Employment Law attorney to schedule on-site training, or call Sally.Bondy@bbklaw.com or (951) 826-8356

All participants in BB&K Sexual Harassment Avoidance Training Programs will receive a certificate of completion to acknowledge that they and your organization have satisfied this State requirement.**

* Travel over 30 miles from the nearest BB&K office may be subject to an additional charge.

* Assembly Bill 1825 requires that by January 1, 2006, any private employer with 50 or more employees and all public agencies must provide at least two hours of classroom or other effective interactive training and education on sexual harassment to all supervisory employees who are employed as of July 1, 2005, and to all new supervisory employees within six months of their assumption of a supervisory position. Furthermore, this training must be presented by trainers or educators with knowledge and expertise in the prevention of harassment, discrimination, and retaliation.

AB 1825 Sexual Harassment Avoidance Training (April 28)

28 Apr 2014 00:00:00 -0800

California's Fair Employment and Housing Act, pursuant to AB 1825, requires that employers with fifty or more employees in California provide at least two hours of Sexual Harassment Avoidance Training every two years to any employee that has a supervisory role in operations. This presentation is designed to satisfy those requirements.

Joseph Ortiz presented the training from the Riverside office. All other BB&K offices participated in the training via state-of-the-art video conferencing. The video conference is interactive, allowing attendees to ask questions and participate in other ways.

What was covered:

What constitutes sexual harassment or discrimination in the workplace
How to recognize and avoid it
What procedures to follow if you witness harassment or are harassed yourself
The potential consequences - including personal liability - of sexual harassment

Audience:

Supervisors
Human Resources Professionals
Public Officials
Managers & Private Business Professionals with 50 or More Employees

When:

Monday, April 28
9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.

Registration:

The training was also held via video conference at the following BB&K offices throughout California.

Indian wells
Irvine
Los Angeles
Ontario
Riverside – Joseph Ortiz presented from the Riverside office
Sacramento
San Diego
Walnut Creek

BB&K Presenter:

Joseph Ortiz, Partner, Labor & Employment Practice Group in Riverside office

QUESTIONS:

Contact Katey Lamke if you have any questions about this event and/or about BB&K upcoming seminars/events.

If you are not currently receiving our Legal Alerts and would like to be added to our email distribution list, please visit our subscription page.

Proposition 218 Guide for Special Districts

13 Feb 2014 00:00:00 -0800

Kelly Salt, a Best Best & Krieger partner based in San Diego, authored a guide specifically geared toward helping special districts in California navigate the requirements of Proposition 218. Published by the California Special Districts Association, the guide is designed to help special districts interpret and comply with the requirements of Prop. 218 when imposing any new, or increasing any existing, assessment or property-related fee or charge. The proposition, approved by California voters in 1996, amended the California Constitution to establish voter approval requirements for general and special taxes and provided the initiative power to voters to reduce or repeal any local tax, assessment, fee or charge.

To download a copy from the CSDA website, click here.

Note: Subsequent to the drafting of this guide, two major appellate court decisions – Morgan v. Imperial Irrigation District and Griffith v. Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency – were issued in California, which may impact some of the analysis in the guide. For any questions about Prop. 218 or this guide, contact Kelly Salt.

(Image Source: California Special Districts Association)

AB 1825 Sexual Harassment Avoidance Training (January 13)

13 Jan 2014 00:00:00 -0800

Joseph Ortiz presented the training from the Riverside office. All other BB&K offices participated in the training via state-of-the-art video conferencing. The video conference was interactive, allowing attendees to ask questions and participate in other ways.

What was covered:

What constitutes sexual harassment or discrimination in the workplace
How to recognize and avoid it
What procedures to follow if you witness harassment or are harassed yourself
The potential consequences - including personal liability - of sexual harassment

Audience:

Supervisors
Human Resources Professionals
Public Officials
Managers & Private Business Professionals with 50 or More Employees

The training was also held via video conference at the following BB&K offices throughout California:

Indian wells
Irvine
Los Angeles
Ontario
Riverside – Joseph Ortiz presented from the Riverside office
Sacramento
San Diego
Walnut Creek

BB&K Seminar: Statements of Economic Interests - Legal Requirements of Filing Officers & Officials

13 Nov 2013 00:00:00 -0800

This program addressed the statutory duties of public agency filing officers and officials regarding Form 700 Statements of Economic Interests (SEIs).

What was covered:

Legislative & Regulatory Changes
General Rules – What’s Your Role?
- Types of Public Officials – PRA vs. CIC
- Disclosure Requirements – Full vs. Limited
Guidelines – Notices, Fines & Waivers
SEI Reviews – Facial vs. Full
- What to Look For – Common Errors
SEI Records & Retention
Public Access – Two Days
Enforcement – Reporting Apparent Violations
What February 1 Deadline?

Audience:
City Clerks and Deputy City Clerks, Filing Officers and Filing Officials designated in agency conflict of interest codes; and assistant or backup personnel

Cost Per Person:
$75 for clients who participate in the Public Policy & Ethics program
$125 for non-participants in the Public Policy & Ethics program

BB&K Presenter:
Dianna Valdez, Senior Paralegal, Conflicts of Interest & Ethics Coordinator, Public Policy & Ethics Group

QUESTIONS:
Contact Katey Lamke if you have any questions about this event and/or about BB&K upcoming seminars/events.

If you are not currently receiving our Legal Alerts and would like to be added to our email distribution list, please visit our subscription page.

BB&K Boosts Eminent Domain Practice with Three New Attorneys

17 Oct 2013 00:00:00 -0800

For Immediate Release: Oct. 17, 2013
Media Contact: Jennifer Bowles • 951.826.8480 • jennifer.bowles@BBKlaw.com

RIVERSIDE, Calif._ Best Best & Krieger LLP recently hired three attorneys to join the eminent domain practice in offices across Southern California.

The eminent domain practice group focuses on helping cities, counties, special districts and school districts acquire property so they can build roads, water supply pipelines and other needed infrastructure.

“We are thrilled to be welcoming three new attorneys who bring a wealth of diverse experience into our practice,” said Mark Easter, who heads the practice from the Riverside office.

The new attorneys are:

_ Artin N. Shaverdian, who is based in the Los Angeles office. An of counsel attorney at BB&K, Shaverdian comes to the firm with nearly a decade of experience in eminent domain law. He has represented key public agencies in Southern California, including the Los Angeles Unified School District, various cities, redevelopment agencies and special districts in eminent domain/inverse condemnation cases.

Primarily a litigator, he represents public agencies, individuals and business owners. Shaverdian has been lead counsel on the acquisition of hundreds of parcels of real property for various projects, including mixed-use commercial and residential redevelopment projects, schools, grade separation and other public infrastructure projects. He has also represented multiple property and business owners in eminent domain and inverse condemnation matters across the California, recovering millions of dollars on their behalf.

Prior to joining BB&K, Shaverdian was a partner at a boutique eminent domain practice in Glendale, Calif. He received his law degree from Southwestern University School of Law in Los Angeles in 2002.

_ Gregory G Snarr, who is an associate in the Riverside office. He represents public agencies and private-sector clients in pre-litigation, real-property acquisitions as well as all stages of complex, commercial litigation in state and federal courts.

Primarily a litigator, Snarr’s eminent domain experience includes acquisitions of rights of way for major public improvement projects as well as valuation issues, water adjudications, and land use and zoning restrictions. Fluent in Spanish, Snarr received his law degree from Brigham Young University in Utah in 2009.

_Holly E. Cheong, an associate who joined the San Diego office and represents public agencies in eminent domain matters. Prior to joining BB&K, Cheong worked for Snell & Wilmer LLP in Las Vegas as a litigator handing commercial, civil and employment cases.

Cheong received her law degree from the William S. Boyd School of Law at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in 2010. After law school, she served as a law clerk to Justice Kristina Pickering of the Nevada Supreme Court. Before turning to a legal career, Cheong received a master’s degree in city planning from San Diego State University in 2003, and worked as an environmental planner for the Southern Nevada Water Authority and as a biologist for the City of San Diego Planning Department.

Cheong volunteers as the social media administrator with the San Diego affiliate of the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network. She began volunteering for the network after a friend died from the disease and she discovered that the survival rates with people suffering from pancreatic cancer are extremely low.

AB 1825 Sexual Harassment Avoidance Training (August 27)

27 Aug 2013 00:00:00 -0800

Joseph Ortiz presented the training from the Riverside office. All other BB&K offices participated in the training via state-of-the-art video conferencing. The video conference was interactive, allowing attendees to ask questions and participate in other ways.

What was covered:

What constitutes sexual harassment or discrimination in the workplace
How to recognize and avoid it
What procedures to follow if you witness harassment or are harassed yourself
The potential consequences - including personal liability - of sexual harassment

Audience:

Supervisors
Human Resources Professionals
Public Officials
Managers & Private Business Professionals with 50 or More Employees

The training was also held via video conference at the following BB&K offices throughout California:

Indian Wells
Irvine
Los Angeles
Ontario
Riverside – Joseph Ortiz presented from the Riverside office
Sacramento
San Diego
Walnut Creek