Family Law

• Divorce
• Adoption
• Premarital Agreement
  Burke, Williams & Sorensen lawyers handle family law disputes, including marital dissolutions. When requested, we provide specialized legal advice to family law counsel on complex business issues. Our family practice attorneys also handle expeditious and non-combative divorces, regardless of the size of the estate, and they prepare prenuptial and postnuptial agreements. We also have particular expertise in the prosecution and defense of palimony claims.
• Child Abuse
  The People vs. Julian (2019) case underscores the legal limitations of psychological expert testimony in child abuse cases. Although psychologists may testify fully about CSAAS, they may not opine, directly...

Criminal Law

• Criminal Defense
  City of Riverside v. Inland Empire Patients Health and Wellness Center, Inc., in which the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that local governments have zoning authority to prohibit medicinal marijuana dispensaries within their boundaries.  As a result of this work, Stephen was appointed in 2014 to the League of California Cities Ad Hoc Cannabis Regulation Committee.  He also served two terms as the City Attorney Department representative for the League’s Public Safety Policy Committee from 2014-2015. After law school graduation, Stephen clerked for Judge Arthur L. Alarcon on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.  He later served as a Deputy Attorney General in the Criminal Division of the California Department of Justice.  As a prosecutor, Stephen represented the state in two successful trial-level prosecutions, over seventy felony criminal appeals in the California Court of Appeal, and over eighty habeas corpus proceedings in federal district court and the Ninth Circuit.  In November 2002, he represented the California Department of Corrections successfully in an evidentiary hearing in Federal District Court in a case involving allegations of prosecutorial misconduct against the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.
• Wrongful Death
  John Horstmann is an associate in Burke’s Los Angeles office and a member of the firm’s Litigation Practice Group. John has experience in representing public entities, business entities, and individuals in a wide variety of civil litigation matters including wrongful death cases, mass casualty tort actions, traumatic brain injury cases, catastrophic injury cases, dangerous condition on public property cases, and civil rights violations. John has experience in all aspects of litigation including written discovery, depositions, and assisting with trial. John has worked on numerous high-exposure cases and consistently achieved positive results for his clients.
• Sex Crimes
  Lisa Lee is a partner at Burke, Williams & Sorenson, LLP with over 26 years of litigation experience and a strong background in constitutional law/civil rights litigation, tort litigation, contract litigation, employment litigation and criminal law.  She is a trial lawyer who has successfully represented police officers, governmental entities, businesses and individuals in more than 90 jury trials throughout California. Lisa worked as a Deputy City Attorney with the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office for six years representing Los Angeles Police Department officers, as well as the Los Angeles Police Department and City of Los Angeles, in a variety of police civil rights matters in both state and federal court.  She successfully litigated and tried use of force matters, including officer involved shootings. Lisa spent nine years in general civil practice where she served as advisory counsel for small businesses, as well as successfully litigating tort, contract and employment litigation matters. Lisa also provided administrative, legal compliance and regulatory advice for business clients, including ordinance and municipal code matters. Lisa was a criminal prosecutor for nine years with the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office and the Office of the Prosecuting Attorney in Maui, Hawaii where she prosecuted sex crimes, homicides, and serious and violent felonies.  She also investigated officer involved shootings and provided training for new prosecutors and law enforcement. Lisa is dedicated to providing her clients with zealous and cost-effective representation. She has routinely and successfully resolved many cases without the necessity for trial by utilizing assertive case strategies which drive down the settlement value of matters.  Lisa has also obtained favorable results for her clients through pretrial motions, including motions for summary judgment. Lisa is an Association of Workplace Investigations Certificate Holder (AWI-CH).
• Fraud
  ABA Journal and other legal publications. Robert was lead counsel in a pro bono matter that resulted in the largest judgment ever obtained in a Public Counsel pro bono consumer fraud case, for which he received the "California Angel" award from
• Theft
• Misdemeanors
  During her tenure as an Assistant District Attorney, Elise specialized in prosecuting domestic violence offenses. She successfully indicted more than a dozen felony cases, negotiated felony and misdemeanor plea agreements, argued in front of the Appellate Division, conducted hundreds of investigations, and litigated almost five hundred cases to resolution.
• Assault
  John Welsh is Burke, Williams & Sorensen's Managing Partner and Chairperson of the Management Committee.  He has served in these positions since 1996 and is responsible for the firm’s management strategy and financial performance.  John is a regular presenter and commentator at continuing education law forums and law practice management conferences. When not serving in the above roles, John provides corporate expertise to the firm's private business and not-for-profit clients.  Specifically, John serves as corporate counsel to numerous companies and has negotiated and drafted all of the following documents: supply agreements, distribution agreements, joint venture agreements, franchise agreements, employee confidentiality agreements, leases, sale and purchase of assets and stock agreements, covenants not to compete, partnership agreements, articles of incorporation, bylaws, and SEC filings. Additionally, John has corporate litigation experience involving discovery, law and motion, and trial work involving each of the following causes of action: breach of contract, intentional interference with prospective economic advantage, fraud, trade secrets, negligence, and infliction of emotional distress. John's education law experience encompasses a wide variety of institutional and student-related legal issues including, but not limited to, due process rights in disciplinary and tenure matters, sexual harassment, minority-based admissions and scholarship programs, reasonable accommodations for disabled students, student waivers, inappropriate discipline of students by faculty, right to privacy and public records access, duty of care of institution and its employees, free speech and assembly rights, plagiarism, student assault and battery, revocation and withholding of diplomas, campus crime disclosure, drug testing, accreditation and certification, open meeting laws, and institutional liability for employee negligence.
• Juvenile Crimes
  Pronouns: she, her, hers Gina N. Giovacchini is a senior associate in Burke, Williams & Sorensen’s Los Angeles office.  Gina’s areas of practice include public entity defense, premises liability, dangerous condition of public property, and tort litigation.   Gina is a member of the firm’s Public Law and Litigation practice groups.  Prior to joining Burke, Gina defended clients against a variety claims including product and premises liability, breach of contract, construction defect, catastrophic injury, wrongful death, class-actions, and complex tort litigation. Gina earned her Juris Doctor degree from Loyola Law School, Los Angeles and was admitted to the Bar of the State of California in 2016.  She graduated with concentrations in Criminal Justice and Public Interest Law and was a member of the Center for Juvenile Law and Policy.  Gina also clerked for the Capital Habeas Unit for the Office of the Federal Public Defender of the Central District of California, the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles, the American Civil Liberties Union, and the Honorable Julia W. Brand of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Central District of California.  Gina earned her B.A. from the University of California, Santa Barbara.
• Restraining Order
  Pronouns: he, him, his Brian Ginter is experienced in all phases of civil litigation from pre-lawsuit settlement negotiations and pre-judgment provisional relief through trial and appeal. He has obtained favorable results for clients at all stages of their dispute, including temporary restraining orders, writs of attachment, summary judgment, and verdict. Brian’s practice is concentrated in the areas of business litigation, employment law, and professional liability. Having had the benefit of working in litigation firms since he was admitted to the bar, and before that as a paralegal and law clerk, he is able to prosecute and defend a wide variety of cases, which have included allegations of fraud, mass tort, unfair competition, and breach of contract. Recently, he second-chaired a trial involving a breach of contract claim by a harbor terminal company against a defaulting tenant. The case also involved allegations by the defendant that the terminal company breached the contract and damaged the defendant’s oil trading business by approximately $30 million. After a bench trial, the defendant agreed to settle the case by paying the firm’s client over $5 million. Brian’s employment law experience involves claims of discrimination, harassment, retaliation, and wrongful termination. He is frequently called upon to assist clients in difficult and sensitive cases of whistleblower retaliation or fraud and other criminal activity. Brian represented the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Commission in matters arising out of wide-ranging public corruption. The cases included claims against event promoters that paid more than $2 million to a person who was then employed by the Coliseum Commission. After approximately six years of litigation, which included a successful appeal to the California Court of Appeal and a parallel criminal prosecution, the defendants agreed to pay the Coliseum Commission $3.5 million. Other recent work includes representation of a public entity in defense of race discrimination allegations. The case resulted in a unanimous defense verdict after a two-week trial. In the professional liability arena, Brian has successfully represented lawyers, architects, and engineers involving claims of breach of contract, malpractice, conflicts of interest, breach of fiduciary duty, and fraud. He has also litigated claims against these professionals as well as accountants when the professional’s service has caused injury to the client. Away from the office, Brian enjoys staying active in competitive sports. He is an avid baseball player. Along with his wife, he also races with the Vintage Auto Racing Association and other vintage auto racing organizations.
• Internet Crimes
  Timothy E. Campen is the Assistant City Attorney for the City of Bellflower and the City of Monterey Park. Tim focuses on code enforcement; tort, contract and employment litigation; land use and planning; and general municipal advisory responsibilities. Tim began the first seven years of his legal career at the San Diego City Attorney’s Office. His responsibilities included defending the City in general tort and complex public works litigation; working with the City’s redevelopment agencies; and advising the City on Americans with Disabilities Act compliance. Additionally, he served as Head Deputy City Attorney for the City’s nationally recognized Domestic Violence Prosecution Unit. Following his tenure with the City, Tim spent five years as a felony prosecutor with the San Diego District Attorney’s office. There he concentrated on family protection; major narcotics offenders; and internet crimes against children. After 12 years of public service, Tim entered private practice focusing primarily on civil litigation, including defending businesses and individuals in tort, contract and employment claims as well as representing plaintiffs in class action, employment, and consumer matters. Over the years, Tim has taken over 100 jury trials to verdict. In addition to his vast experience with litigation matters, Tim served as faculty with the Family Justice Center Alliance. In that capacity, he travelled throughout the United States, Europe, South America, and the Middle East, presenting trainings and working with civic leaders, judges, law enforcement, and advocates towards development of innovative coordinated community responses to family violence. Tim and his wife have found themselves outnumbered with three lovely children. In his free time, Tim sings and plays guitar in a rock ‘n roll band

Business and Corporate Law

• Corporate Law
  From its inception, the firm specialized in corporate law and business litigation. In 1938, the firm also embarked on what was at the time a unique specialty—the representation of public entities. Always striving for excellence in its attorneys, two of the firm's founding partners, Louis H. Burke and Thomas P. White, went on to serve as California Supreme Court Justices. Throughout its growth over the years, and into the new millennium, Burke has retained its roots in real estate and business law and litigation, and as one of the preeminent firms in the fields of public law, education law, and labor and employment law.
• Mergers and Acquisitions
  Pronouns: he, him, his David Rosenthal practices in the areas of general business and commercial, securities, technology, corporate, partnership, limited liability company, mergers and acquisitions, real estate, public entity, and construction law.  He has also drafted and negotiated numerous construction industry contracts, including construction, construction management, and design, for public, private, and non-profit owners, architects, engineers, and consultants.  David previously practiced with a San Francisco law firm specializing in commercial leasing and lending, as well as general corporate and public and private securities issuance.  He is admitted to practice in California. When not working, he spends his time taste-testing local ethnic foods and hiking.
• Business Disputes
  Cum laude from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law.  While in law school, she was a member of the UC Hastings Business Law Journal and studied at the University of Leiden in the Netherlands.
• Business Transactions
  Complex business transactions and litigation often generate claims involving various professionals who played a role in the underlying matter. Burke litigators have prosecuted and defended cases involving a variety of professionals, including lawyers, accountants, architects, engineers, insurance brokers, and real estate brokers.Our litigators have also defended doctors and dentists in professional malpractice actions.One of our senior litigators is a certified expert in Legal Malpractice Law.
• Limited Liability Companies
  Pronouns: he, him, his Martin Kosla primarily practices in the areas of real estate, business and public law. Martin has handled numerous judicial foreclosure matters for public entities concerning delinquent special taxes and assessments, including assisting clients with complex workouts, and taking judicial foreclosure cases to trial.  He also has experience in handling real estate transactions, including preparing agreements related to the purchase, sale, and lease of real estate.  He has experience is drafting various agreements concerning real property, including purchase and sale agreement, easements and deeds of trust, as well as affordable housing agreements.  (Martin is also licensed as a real estate broker in California.) He has also handled a broad range of business litigation cases ranging from defending companies for breach of contract arising out of the supply of goods and services to representing officers of private companies in disputes between their members.  Martin has experience in transactional work, including preparing documents associated with the formation of California corporations and limited liability companies. He also has experience in handling trademark matters for private and public clients. Martin has experience in defending government entities against alleged breaches of constitutional rights, including claims under the Fourth and Eighth Amendments. Prior to relocating to California, Martin practiced for four years as an attorney in Melbourne, Australia, where he specialized in all aspects of business litigation. During this time, Martin also handled various real estate and transactional matters for individual and corporate clients. Before becoming an attorney, Martin served as a forward observer in the Royal Australian Artillery.
• Construction Contracts
  At the heart of the firm’s litigation practice is its broad-based experience in business and commercial litigation. Overlapping many of Burke’s more specialized areas, the firm’s commercial litigators have prosecuted and defended lawsuits in state and federal courts throughout the State of California, involving every major area of business-related disputes.These include breach of contract claims in almost every form, transactions involving the purchased or sale of real and personal property, commercial leases and ground leases, financing agreements, deeds of trust and other real property security instruments, grant deeds and easement agreements, asset purchase agreements, commercial loans, joint ventures, construction contracts, municipal bond or note offerings, securities transactions, land use and development agreements, insurance policies, and many other species of contract.Our commercial litigators have handled a wide range of business torts, including claims for fraud and misrepresentation, unfair competition or business practices, breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, interference with contract, and misappropriation of trade secrets.In addition to California state and federal trial courts, our commercial litigators handle matters in bankruptcy courts throughout the state, in private arbitrations, and at the state and federal appellate levels.We work with our insurance practice specialists to explore every opportunity for defense of litigation by our clients’ insurance carriers.With an extensive background in trial work, Burke’s commercial litigators overcome perhaps the greatest obstacle to a successful result – presenting a complex business dispute to a judge, jury, or arbitration panel in a manner that is simple, economical, and persuasive.
• Trade Secrets
  Gail Kavanagh’s commercial litigation practice includes real estate title and contract disputes; eminent domain; commercial landlord-tenant matters; commercial tort actions; employment contract, discrimination and harassment actions; and trademark, copyright and trade secrets protection.
• Intellectual Property
  Mark Nys represents automobile and recreational vehicle dealerships (single point, independent and automobile dealership groups) and automobile and recreational vehicle manufacturers, direct and indirect lenders, flooring lenders, automobile service centers and surety bonding companies in litigation involving catastrophic loss, negligence, fraud, product liability, warranty, lemon law and auto financing disputes throughout California.  He has had extensive experience representing clients in franchise disputes between dealers and between dealers and manufacturers of automobiles and recreational vehicles. In the construction industry, Mark represents owners, developers, general contractors, subcontractors and design professionals in both residential and commercial construction, construction defect, workplace injuries and complex construction transactional matters. He provides guidance in both public and private works projects, counseling clients on construction financing, mechanics’ liens, stop notices, and enforcement actions. Mark also regularly represents sureties in claims against contractor license bonds. Mark also regularly defends mobile home parks and homeowners’ associations from liability arising from resident litigation. Licensed before the United States Patent and Trademark Office, Mark is also experienced in litigating intellectual property disputes. In addition to appropriate court admissions, Mark is a licensed California real estate broker and serves as a trusted legal advisor to credit unions and other financial institutions in real estate transactions, credit union operations and lender liability litigation. Originally from Santa Maria, California, Mark graduated from Claremont McKenna College in 1985 with a B.A. in Chemistry. Graduating Phi Beta Kappa, Mark was a 4-time NCAA All-American in both singles and doubles tennis. He then attended the University of California at Irvine, where he received his Graduate Certificate in Hazardous Materials Management before moving on to California Western School of Law and earning his Juris Doctorate in 1997.  Mark retired after twenty years of service as a Surface Warfare Officer in the United States Navy with the rank of Commander.
• Unfair Competition
  Burke, Williams & Sorensen litigators have for many years represented state and national banks and other financial institutions with regard to commercial loans, real estate foreclosures, bankruptcy, securities processing, lender liability, deposit accounts, checks, wire transfers and other bank operations matters, factoring agreements, intercreditor agreements, and collections.  We handle financial services litigation in state and federal courts in California, as well as in Nevada and Arizona. In recent years, as claims involving mortgage loans and foreclosures proliferated, we have frequently defended our clients – often obtaining early dismissals – in borrower claims for wrongful foreclosure, fraud and misrepresentation, negligence, Truth-in-Lending Act violations, California’s unfair competition law, and state statutes involving lending and foreclosure practices.
• Antitrust

Employment Law

• Workers Compensation
  Gregory Rubens maintains a diverse practice and enjoys assisting his clients with reasoned advice to resolve their problems in an efficient, creative and prompt manner.  Greg’s depth of experience in various types of legal disputes enables him to provide the client with the best possible advice under the circumstances of each case.  Greg is committed to problem solving and dispute resolution in a way that provides clients with a lasting solution to meet their long term needs. Greg has been practicing law since 1987.  His areas of focus include municipal law, probate, conservatorships, and real estate. In the municipal law area, since 2008 Greg has served as City Attorney for the City of San Carlos. In 2022, Greg was appointed as City Attorney for the City of Sausalito, and was appointed as the Assistant City Attorney for the City of Pacific Grove.  Greg also serves as Legal Counsel for the Pooled Liability Assurance Network (PLAN), a public entity serving self-insurance JPA of 28 cities, Sharp JPA, a self-insurance pool for workers compensation serving cities in the northern Bay Area; Legal Counsel for the South San Francisco Housing Authority; Legal Counsel for the Redwood City Improvement Association, a public business improvement district; General legal counsel for the San Mateo County Chamber of Commerce and Provident Credit Union.  He acted as Interim City Attorney for San Bruno at the time of the September 2010 PG&E pipeline explosion and its immediate aftermath through February 2011.  Greg also recently served as Interim City Attorney for the City of Tracy from November 2021 to April 2022. In 2005, Greg was appointed to the San Mateo County Superior Court Panel as independent legal counsel for conservatees. He is currently serving on the San Mateo County Probate and Estate and Civil ADR Mediation Panels, the Neutral Evaluation Panel, and is available to conduct mediations, neutral evaluations and arbitrations in other practice areas. Greg also serves on the San Mateo County Superior Court’s Arbitration Panel. Committed to volunteer and community activities, Greg developed the “Autism Awareness†project in 2005 as the local Lieutenant Governor of Kiwanis, inspired by the discovery that his youngest son is on the spectrum.  As part of his community service, Greg served as President of San Carlos Kiwanis and President of San Carlos Chamber of Commerce. He was more recently volunteer legal advisor to Green Hills Country Club and later was a member of its board until 2021.
• Wrongful Termination
  Pronouns: he, him, his Donald Le is an associate attorney in Burke’s Los Angeles office and is a member of the Labor & Employment, Labor Relations, and Education Law practice groups where he represents employers, including public agencies, municipalities, private schools, special districts, community college districts, K-12 schools, and private entities, in various labor, employment and education matters. Donald’s employment experience includes advising and representing employers on issues relating to discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wrongful termination, disability accommodation and interactive process, leaves and benefits, pre-employment and privacy issues including drug and alcohol testing, HIPAA/CMIA, free expression, employee discipline and due process, workplace investigations, and performance management.  Donald’s experience also includes advising public safety clients on the Public Safety Officers Procedural Bill of Rights Act and has worked on high-profile civil litigation cases regarding excessive force issues.  Donald also advises and represents employers in navigating meet and confer obligations under the MMBA and EERA, and works exclusively on transactional matters.  Donald also has specialized knowledge under the ACA, including the employer shared responsibility provisions and advises public agencies on their obligations. Donald regularly advises private schools, community college districts, and K-12 schools on matters such as harassment or discrimination claims, discipline and termination, independent contractor issues, employee performance management, disability accommodations, construction, preventative measures, and other student, faculty, and governance-related issues. He works extensively on contractual matters such as employment and enrollment agreements, vendor and facilities use contracts/disputes, services agreements, transportation agreements, travel waivers, releases, as well as employee and student handbooks. Donald also represents employers throughout the various stages of litigation in both state and federal courts, as well as DFEH/EEOC matters, administrative matters, writs of mandamus.  His litigation practice includes all aspects of discovery, motion practice, and trial preparation, including deposition preparation and appearances, drafting demurrers and motions for summary judgment, and preparing pretrial motions and witnesses for trial.
• Employment Discrimination
  The Authority, California Joint Powers Insurance Authority Newsletter, Issue 38 In employment discrimination cases, plaintiff-employees often attempt to prove that they were treated differently due to their membership in a...
• Employment Contract
  Richard’s experience includes assisting employers throughout the employee discipline process, preparing workplace policies and handbooks, preparing executive employment agreements, advising employers with leave related issues, guiding employers throughout the interactive process for workplace disability accommodations, and presenting workplace trainings.
• Employment Litigation
  Vanessa Hooker is an associate attorney in Burke’s Los Angeles office and a member of the Labor & Employment and Litigation practice groups, where she represents employers, including public entities, municipalities, educational institutions, and corporations in various labor and employment litigation matters.  Vanessa’s experience includes successfully defending the nation’s largest employers, including multinational entertainment conglomerates, retail giants, and major insurance providers in a wide range of tort, employment, and commercial litigation matters in federal and state court. Vanessa prides herself on fiercely defending her clients while seeking the best possible outcome for them throughout all stages of litigation, including pleadings, discovery, motion practice, trial preparation, and case resolution.  While Vanessa is a fierce litigator, who has successfully drafted and argued dispositive and pretrial motions, she is also a skilled negotiator, who has effectively negotiated the resolution of countless cases before trial. While attending law school, Vanessa participated in the Moot Court Honors Program, and served as Vice President of her school’s Black Law Students Association chapter.  Vanessa also worked in legal aid and served as law clerk for the Federal Defender Program for the Northern District of Illinois.  During her last year of law school, Vanessa was invited to study at UCLA School of Law. She had the honor of serving as Judicial Extern for the Honorable Dean D. Pregerson of the United States District Court for the Central District of California.
• Non-compete Agreement
  Pronouns: she, her, hers Patricia Peden is a seasoned trial attorney and member of Burke's Intellectual Property Practice Group. Her practice focuses on litigating patent infringement cases, trade secret litigation, and other complex commercial litigation.  In addition to bringing to the table a deep knowledge of substantive legal doctrines, Patricia offers clients solid business judgment and an unwavering commitment to client service. Patricia understands cases are won by hard work, creative thinking and mastery of the law and facts.  She litigates with an eye toward trial, allowing her to make cost-benefit judgment calls during discovery based on what is truly needed for a successful result.  Patricia maximizes early case planning to ensure litigation costs are proportional to case value.  And she understands the importance of teamwork and communication.  She strives to provide her clients with clear, concrete solutions to complex legal problems. Patricia has extensive federal court experience.  She clerked for two federal judges, the Honorable David Folsom in the Eastern District of Texas and the Honorable Richard C. Tallman at the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. She has litigated disputes ranging from large, complex cases with multi-million-dollar damage claims to smaller suits between private parties.  Her patent infringement cases have involved a wide range of technologies, including cellular telephony, recombinant human erythropoietin, LED technology, Wi-Fi, various chipsets, software and business methods, to name a few.  She has litigated non-compete agreements and trade secret disputes.  She has substantial experience litigating cases in the Eastern District of Texas, the Northern District of California, and other magnet venues for intellectual property disputes.  Patricia has considerable experience with complex commercial cases involving trade secrets and non-compete agreements, copyright, trademark, antitrust, fraud, breach of contract, business torts, and defamation. Patricia also maintains an active appellate practice.
• Severance Agreement
  Pronouns: he, him, his John McOsker has been a complex business litigator, and labor and employment litigator and day-to-day employer advisor since he joined the State Bar of California in 1993. Throughout his career he has served in various roles for the firms with which he was affiliated including managing partner, litigation group chair, business litigation subcommittee chair and management advisory board. Upon graduation from law school and admission to the bar, John’s practice has been focused on business litigation and labor and employment in the private security, healthcare, insurance, and aviation sectors. John has defended companies in California state and federal courts, various forms of administrative hearings, agency enforcement actions, and adversarial proceedings, including in front of the Federal Aviation Administration, the Small Business Administration, the United States Department of Labor, the National Labor Relations Board, the California Attorney General, California Department of Fair Employment and Housing, and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunities Commission.  John defends employers with regard to single plaintiff employment claims (Title VII, FEHA), wage and hour class actions, and PAGA claims. John represents employers in a wide variety of employment-related matters, including both defense of litigation and day-to-day counseling regarding employment decisions, employee conflict and liability avoidance, and legal compliance. John is a member of the LA County Bar Association’s Labor & Employment Section, which concerns itself with significant developments in employment discrimination law. John has not only experienced labor and employment from a lawyer’s perspective, but he has actively and directly managed legal departments, compliance departments and human resources staffs both in-house and as a dedicated outside Legal/HR Manager, for over a decade. As a result, John has not only first-hand experience giving sound labor and employment advice, but also on-the-ground experience executing legal, compliance and human resources strategies. Additionally, John assists employers developing strategies to avoid litigation. This includes working with employers to modify employment policies and practices, conducting workplace investigations, engaging in workplace counseling/interactive process, and drafting employee handbooks, employment agreements, arbitration agreements and severance agreements.  John assists employers with devising and executing recruiting strategies, reductions-in-force, onboarding and off-boarding.  John helps employers devise and roll-out policies that enhance clients’ objectives while complying with the law. Finally, John has a significant traditional labor law practice, both transactional and adversarial.  John negotiates and drafts collective bargaining agreements and memoranda of understanding covering workforces in the service industries spanning unique and diverse
• Sexual Harassment
  In response to the #metoo movement, the California Legislature passed a number of new sexual harassment laws that are effective January 1, 2019.  Many employers have questions about their obligations...

Property Law

• Real Estate Litigation
  Pronouns: he, him, his Eric Phillips practices in the areas of land use, real estate, and CEQA compliance.  Eric represents clients in all phases of the development process, including property acquisition, entitlement and administrative approvals, CEQA compliance, compliance with state housing laws, and negotiating real estate disputes.  Eric has particular experience with State Density Bonus Law, the Housing Accountability Act, SB 35, and Housing Element Law. Eric assists private clients to successfully obtain subdivision maps, density bonuses, development agreements, and other land use approvals. He also has served as special counsel to numerous public agencies and provides advice on writing ordinances and legislative findings related to zoning, subdivisions, inclusionary housing programs, rent control and tenant protection measures, and impact fees. In both roles, Eric has worked with various clients to negotiate and close purchase and sale agreements, draft loan agreements, create below-market-rate rental and for-sale programs, perform property diligence, craft residential preference programs, and work with technical consultants to prepare Draft and Final EIRs.
• Premises Liability
  Karen Lee is an associate in Burke’s Los Angeles office and a member of Burke’s Litigation practice group. Karen’s areas of practice include public entity defense, premises liability, dangerous condition of public property, and general tort litigation.
• Construction Litigation
  Springfield Interchange:  Completed in 2012 on time and within budget, the Springville Interchange was constructed on U.S. 101 in the City of Camarillo at a cost $40 million.  Brian assisted with many phases of the Springville Interchange Project including review of bid documents and advice on construction issues.
• Real Estate Transactions
  Robert Messinger practices in the areas of public agency real estate, land use, community and economic development, and general municipal law. He has represented a variety of municipalities, housing authorities, special purpose public agencies, and developers in a broad range of complex multi-party real estate transactions, land entitlement, Subdivision Map Act, and planning matters.  Robert has extensive experience with real property transactions involving real property acquisition and disposition transactions, commercial leasing, ground leasing, options, easements, and licenses.  Robert previously served for thirteen years with San Bernardino County Counsel, where he advised and represented the County’s Real Estate Services Department on all aspects of real property acquisition and disposition. Robert also has extensive experience assisting public agencies with airport matters, special purpose entity formation and governance, advising Local Agency Formation Commissions on reorganization matters, advising Countywide Oversight Boards in interpreting and implementing the redevelopment dissolution statutes, and the interpretation of and compliance with the Surplus Land Act. Robert is known for his commitment to helping his clients achieve their goals by providing pragmatic strategies and his ability to pursue a collaborative approach in order to achieve resolution. His commitment to delivering superior work product, exceeding client expectations through exceptional service, integrity, and results are the personal values that form Robert’s client relationships.
• Eminent Domain
  Meghan Nihan’s practice focuses on real estate transactional matters and public/private partnership development matters.  She has experience with purchase, sale, easement, license, and lease transactions; government purchases of property in lieu of condemnation; ancillary matters such as title review and due diligence; and advising clients on property management landlord/tenant issues. Meghan was previously an associate in the Corporate and Real Estate practice groups of two Southern California law firms. She was also an associate in the Eminent Domain practice group of a law firm based in Orange County for five years, where she advised staff during the planning phase of a public transportation project, drafted and negotiated purchase and sale agreements, and handled all aspects of eminent domain litigation if a voluntary purchase transaction was not consummated. During law school, Meghan completed environmental coursework. Early in her career, she worked as a Legal Fellow at Orange County Coastkeeper, whose mission is to protect the region’s water resources. Meghan’s work there included bringing lawsuits to enforce the Clean Water Act and reviewing and drafting comments regarding local policies or Environmental Impact Reports.
• Easement
• Land Use and Zoning
  Pronouns: he, him, his Eli Flushman is a public law partner in Burke’s Marin County office.  Eli is a skilled municipal law attorney who has great experience advising cities on general municipal law, including, drafting ordinances, advising staff on land use and development, code enforcement, public nuisance litigation, and general litigation. Eli’s code enforcement practice centers on working with cities to abate properties with nuisance conditions utilizing administrative enforcement, civil litigation, receiverships, demolitions, inspection and abatement warrants, and voluntary compliance.  He also has experience conducting criminal prosecutions for municipal code violations, and opposing
• Landlord-Tenant Disputes
  Pronouns: he, him, his Neil Yeager has developed an extensive and diverse practice in the areas of business, finance, commercial, and real property law where he has gained expertise over the course of more than forty years of legal practice.  His practice involves both private and public clients of the firm.  He has represented client interests in a broad range of complex business, finance, and commercial matters, including contract negotiation, personal property secured transactions, securities law, municipal bond law, equipment leasing, and commercial loan transactions. He also has in-depth experience in a full array of real property transactions involving commercial and industrial leasing, ground leasing, real property acquisition and sale transactions, real property finance, construction lending, options, easements and licenses, and landlord and tenant representation. During the course of his career, Neil was continuously involved in advising Unified Grocers, Inc., one of the country's largest retailer-owned grocery wholesalers. He represented this client in acquisition and leasing transactions relating to retail supermarket locations throughout California and the west, including both the acquisition and leasing of existing locations and the construction and leasing of new locations.  Neil had lead responsibility over the years in representing this client in the bulk acquisition and disposition of numerous supermarket locations which became available through divestitures connected with chain store mergers. Neil has also represented many other grocery and non-grocery industry clients in acquisition and leasing transactions, including stock and asset purchases and sales, facilities leases, and general business and contract matters. Neil's depth of experience has made him a valuable resource to the firm's many public entity clients. He serves as real property counsel to the firm's public clients regarding matters such as the acquisition of property for municipal facilities, parks and open space, and the leasing or other disposition of property for commercial development.  Neil has also had extensive involvement in a variety of public finance matters involving the firm’s clients, including the issuance of municipal bonds.
• Property Damage
  An associate in the Burke’s litigation group, Alexander Kim focuses his trial practice on the defense of public entities, such as municipalities, transportation providers, and school districts in property damage and personal injury matters, including wrongful death and catastrophic injuries.

Health Law

• Personal Injury
  Pronouns: he, him, his Michael R. Nebenzahl is a seasoned litigator with 40 trials to verdict and is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). His practice focuses on the defense of high stakes personal injury litigation matters involving wrongful death, catastrophic injuries, emotional injuries and brain damage. Michael has built his practice over the last two decades handling cases for public entities such as cities, school districts, utility companies and transportation agencies.  He defends claims of dangerous conditions of public property, claims of liability stemming from the wrongful conduct or negligent acts of employees, and claims in defense of employment-related matters. These defenses range from roadway design, to the protocols and practices for maintaining streets, sidewalks, and infrastructure, to urban forestry, as well as termination and/or discriminatory employment-related matters. While he knows that a bell can't be un-rung, Michael takes great pride in understanding how and why any incident occurred and spending much time, effort and analysis in providing advice to his clients on how to prevent future harm. One of Southern California's most experienced and well-regarded trial attorneys, Michael has been representing clients such as the City of Beverly Hills for over two decades, and his defense verdict for the Rose Bowl in a 2008 brain damage case resulted in being named to the Daily Journal's List of Top Ten Defense Verdicts.
• Medical Malpractice
  Prior to joining Burke, Karen worked at an established medical malpractice defense firm, where she represented a prominent university in a multitude of lawsuits involving Title IX claims, regulatory issues, and intentional tort allegations. Karen also served as second-chair trial counsel in a case of alleged medical malpractice, in which the jury rendered a unanimous defense verdict.
• Disability Discrimination
  With increasing frequency, our clients have called upon us to defend them from claims alleging lack of equal access to public accommodations under the Americans With Disabilities Act, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, California disability discrimination statutes, state and federal implementing regulations, and under California’s extensive building code requirements. These include construction accessibility claims for both public and private clients who are property owners, property managers, or tenants.Our ADA litigation team includes attorneys who have litigated claims involving alleged access barriers through trial and on appeal to the Ninth Circuit. Our familiarity with the technical ADA and California accessibility requirements, coupled with knowledge of the strategies employed by ADA plaintiffs, give us a unique ability to quickly assess the merits of ADA claims, retain expert consultants, make recommendations for necessary alterations, and resolve the vast majority of claims within months, significantly reducing risk and exposure if early settlement is not feasible.

Trusts and Estates

• Estate Planning
  Cum laude. During her time in law school, Danica earned recognition for providing pro bono legal service and achieving the highest grade in her Products Liability course, among others, as well as an externship for the Honorable Judge William V. Gallo.  She was further honored by the American Bar Association when she won first place in the 2015 writing competition hosted by the Section of Real Property, Trust & Estate Law for her work...
• Wills
  Several of Burke, Williams & Sorensen’s senior lawyers handle a variety of probate matters involving wills, trusts and other testamentary instruments, including litigation of disputes in probate court. Typical matters involve will contests, living trust administration and claims against trustees, disputes over gifts, and trustee petitions for instructions.
• Trusts
• Power of Attorney
  With Great Power Comes Great Culpability: Addressing Agency Costs in Durable Powers of Attorney. Prior to joining Burke, Danica worked as an associate for an established San Diego law firm where she represented both public and private entities in a range of matters, including wrongful death, regulatory violations, premises liability, and products liability, through every step of litigation. She also provided counseling with respect to estate planning as well as strategic business planning. Danica is passionate about providing clients with unique strategies for resolving disputes that align with their particular goals and values. When not in the office, Danica enjoys snowboarding, seeking out live music, and spending time with her friends and family.
• Probate

Finance Law

• Bankruptcy
  Rick Reynolds practices primarily in the areas of real estate and financial services litigation, business litigation, transactional real estate, lending law, and bankruptcy law on behalf of clients in California, Nevada, and Arizona.  He practices in the State, Federal, and Bankruptcy Courts, as well as the Courts of Appeal.  His experience includes the purchase and sale of real property and businesses, secured transactions, asset purchases and sales in Bankruptcy, receiverships, partition, easement and boundary disputes, contract and business tort litigation, and foreclosure-related litigation. The national directory of attorneys Martindale-Hubbell has awarded Rick its AV Preeminent rating, indicating that peers rank him at the highest level of professional excellence.
• Foreclosure
  Pronouns: he, him, his Jerry Ramiza's practice emphasizes real estate transactional, land use, and public/private partnership development matters. Real Estate / Land Use /Public-Private Partnerships Jerry represents private clients and public agencies throughout California in connection with complex real estate and land use matters and transactions.  Jerry’s work includes forward planning, assisting with development, land use, entitlement, design review, and permitting processes, environmental review, and CEQA/NEPA compliance. He routinely handles negotiation and documentation of purchase, sale, easement, lease and financing transactions; asset management (including loan administration, property management and landlord/tenant matters); negotiation and drafting of complex development agreements; foreclosures; public trust and tidelands transactions; surplus lands dispositions; workouts and secured transactions; and ancillary matters such as title insurance review, due diligence, environmental risk allocation and hazardous materials/ Brownfields matters.  With over 15 years of experience in the redevelopment arena, Jerry is assisting successor agencies throughout the state in the implementation of the redevelopment dissolution act, ABx1 26.  He also advises public agency clients in connection with the ferry-system transactions, affordable housing, federal contracting/BRAC process, utilization of federal grants, lease and parking revenue financing and assessment districts.
• Tax Law
  Pronouns: she, her, hers Megan A. Burke provides municipal law services to public agencies throughout California.  She currently serves as the Assistant General Counsel for Valley of the Moon Water District and as the Assistant Counsel for the Eastern Contra Costa Transit District.  Megan specializes in revenue issues, such as the adoption and defense of rates, fees, and taxes in compliance with Propositions 13, 218 and 26 and the Mitigation Fee Act.  For example, she has assisted local agencies with the establishment and increase of rates for water, sewer and solid waste services and the adoption and management of various impact fees.  Megan has also defended multiple lawsuits challenging the legality of rates and impact fees under the California Constitution and state law. In addition, Megan provides special counsel litigation and advisory services on a wide range of public law matters, including the Bradley-Burns local sales tax law, eminent domain, inverse condemnation, local land use and zoning issues, general municipal law, the California Public Records Act, and conflicts of interest.  Megan is currently prosecuting several actions on behalf of cities and successor agencies against the Department of Finance, which challenge adverse determinations related to the dissolution of redevelopment agencies.