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It is a common perception that lienholders like to be paid first when a property owner is compensated following the acquisition of property. However, California’s Eminent Domain Law thinks differently...
Labor & Employment and Litigation partner Rachel E. Balchum authored a Daily Journal guest column article entitled "CalChamber's federal challenge to SB 399 'captive audience' meetings law". Rachel analyzes how...
In my last post, I discussed how contingent future interests are valued, where it is shown the contingent future interest holders are entitled to compensation under Section 1265.410(a)(1). But what...
Burke, Williams & Sorensen, LLP is pleased to present its 17th Edition of Legal Trends. This edition continues the tradition of producing Legal Trends. The purpose of Legal Trends is...
“Editor-in-Chief’s Forward, Volume 51, Issue 2” UC Law Constitutional Quarterly, Winter 2024
“Editor-in-Chief’s Forward, Volume 51, Issue 1” UC Law Constitutional Quarterly, Fall 2024
Where there are contingent future interests in property acquired by eminent domain, the future interest holders may be entitled to compensation. This is because the value of the fee owner’s...
California Land Use Law & Policy Reporter, Volume 33, Number 19, July 2024
Environmental, Energy, & Climate Change Law & Policy Reporter, Volume 4, Number 10, July 2024
“Editor-in-Chief’s Forward, Volume 51, Issue 4” UC Law Constitutional Quarterly, Summer 2024
(As published in League of California Cities Western City magazine / Legal Notes on May 1, 2024 / https://www.westerncity.com/article/how-could-new-ceqa-law-impact-your-citys-infill-housing-projects) How could a new CEQA law impact your city’s infill housing...
Environmental, Energy, & Climate Change Law and Regulation Reporter, Volume 4, Number 8, May 2024
“Editor-in-Chief’s Forward, Volume 51, Issue 3” UC Law Constitutional Quarterly, Spring 2024
Environmental, Energy, & Climate Change Law and Regulation Reporter, Volume 4, Number 6, March 2024
Environmental, Energy, & Climate Change Law and Regulation Reporter, Volume 4, Number 5, February 2024
Environmental, Energy, & Climate Change Law and Regulation Reporter, Volume 4, Number 4, January 2024
California Land Use Law & Policy Reporter, Volume 33, Number 3, December 2023
California Water Law & Policy Reporter, Volume 34, Number 3, December 2023
Burke, Williams & Sorensen, LLP is pleased to present its 16th Edition of Legal Trends. This edition continues the tradition of producing Legal Trends. The purpose of Legal Trends is...
Environmental, Energy & Climate Change Law and Regulation Reporter, Volume 4, Number 1, October 2023
Environmental, Energy & Climate Change Law and Regulation Reporter, Volume 3, Number 11, August/September 2023
Environmental, Energy & Climate Change Law and Regulation Reporter, Volume 3, Number 10, July 2023
Daily Journal, July 6, 2023
Excess Condemnation Part 1 article discussed legal authority to acquire more property than needed to construct the project where a partial acquisition would result in an uneconomic remnant. Where that...
Environmental, Energy & Climate Change Law and Regulation Reporter, Volume 3, Number 9, June 2023
Environmental, Energy & Climate Change Law and Regulation Reporter, Volume 3, Number 8, May 2023
Environmental, Energy & Climate Change Law and Regulation Reporter, Volume 3, Number 8, May 2023
Environmental, Energy & Climate Change Law and Regulation Reporter, Volume 3, Number 7, April 2023
Environmental, Energy & Climate Change Law and Regulation Reporter, Volume 3, Number 7, April 2023
Coveteur March 13, 2023 Kelsey Eisen was recently interviewed by Coveteur. Read the article here.
Daily Journal, March 10, 2023 www.dailyjournal.com/articles/371560-how-to-avoid-undermining-your-rule-68-offer
Environmental, Energy & Climate Change Law and Regulation Reporter, Volume 3, Number 6, March 2023
Environmental, Energy & Climate Change Law and Regulation Reporter, Volume 3, Number 5, February 2023
Two scenarios sometimes arise when a public agency is considering acquiring only a portion of a property for a public use. First, the parties may be concerned that the remainder...
Environmental, Energy & Climate Change Law and Regulation Reporter, Volume 3, Number 4, January 2023
Environmental, Energy & Climate Change Law and Regulation Reporter, Volume 3, Number 3, December 2022
Burke, Williams & Sorensen, LLP is pleased to present its 15th Edition of Legal Trends. This edition continues the tradition of producing Legal Trends. The purpose of Legal Trends is...
INTRODUCTION In County of San Bernardino v. Mancini (September 13, 2022) –Cal.App.5th – [--- Cal.Rptr.3d ---, 2022 WL 5142441, 2022 Daily Journal D.A.R. 10,510], the Court of Appeal recently upheld...
California Land Use Law & Policy Reporter, Volume 32, Number 2, November 2022
California Psychologist, vol. 57, no. 1, 2022, pp. 25-27
Environmental, Energy & Climate Change Law and Regulation Reporter, Volume 2, Number 11, September 2022
Reviewer (2016-2022 Editions)
Environmental, Energy & Climate Change Law and Regulation Reporter, Volume 2, Number 10, July 2022
Daily Journal, June 6, 2022 The 4th District affirming the agreement between San Diego and private lawyers may encourage more public-private partnerships seeking civil penalties under the UCL to protect...
Marin County Bar Association In the recently decided case, Where Do We Go Berkeley et al. v. California Department of Transportation, the Ninth Circuit weighed in on how a public entity,...
Environmental, Energy & Climate Change Law and Regulation Reporter, Volume 2, Number 8, May 2022
Environmental, Energy, & Climate Change Law and Regulation Reporter, Volume 2, Number 5, February 2022
Environmental, Energy, & Climate Change Law and Regulation Reporter, Volume 2, Number 4, January 10, 2022
Burke, Williams & Sorensen, LLP is pleased to present its 14th Edition of Legal Trends. This edition continues the tradition of producing Legal Trends. The purpose of Legal Trends is...
Environmental, Energy, & Climate Change Law and Regulation Reporter, Volume 2, Number 3 and California Land Use Law & Policy Reporter, Volume 31, Number 3, December 2021
California Land Use Law & Policy Reporter, Volume 31, Number 2, November 6, 2021
A slew of new laws related to housing will be going into effect on January 1, 2022 in Sacramento’s continued effort to improve the State’s persistent housing production and affordability...
Cannabis Business Executive
On September 10, 2021, the First District Court of Appeal published a decision emphasizing that the Housing Accountability Act severely limits local governments’ discretion to deny housing projects, and that...
Governor Newsom signed Assembly Bill 361 (AB 361) on September 16, 2021, which amends the Ralph M. Brown Act to provide additional provisions that allow meetings of legislative bodies to...
The Court of Appeal recently considered the exemption found in the California Public Records Act (Government Code § 6255 (a)) often referred to as the “catchall” or “public interest” exemption...
Environmental, Energy & Climate Change Law and Regulation Reporter, Volume 1, Number 11, August/September 2021
Burke Right to Take Blog
Environmental, Energy & Climate Change Law and Regulation Reporter, Volume 1, Number 10, July 2021
Burke Right to Take Blog
AB 571, which went into effect on January 1, 2021, makes significant changes for those cities and counties that do not have established campaign contribution limits. Campaign contribution limits are...
Environmental, Energy & Climate Change Law and Regulation Reporter, Volume 1, Number 9, June 2021
In Gallagher v. Superior Court, the Third Appellate District upheld the Governor’s authority to issue broad Executive Orders for the duration of a declared emergency. The Court held (1) an...
Allen Acosta, Co-author Sheriff & Deputy Magazine, May/June Issue
Published in The California Psychologist, Spring 2021 The California Court of Appeal recently published two cases that address the role of psychologists in conservatorship cases: Conservatorship of S.A. and Conservatorship...
Environmental, Energy & Climate Change Law and Regulation Reporter, Volume 1, Number 7, April 2021
On February 25, 2021, the California Supreme Court issued its decision in Donohue v. AMN Services, LLC, holding that: (1) employers cannot round time punches for meal periods; and (2)...
Environmental, Energy & Climate Change Law and Regulation Reporter, Volume 1, Number 6, March 2021
24 CHAP. L. REV. 575 (2021)
Environmental, Energy & Climate Change Law and Regulation Reporter, Volume 1, Number 5, February 2021
Argent Communications Group, January 4, 2021
This article appeared in the December 2020 issue of Western City Magazine, the monthly magazine of the League of California Cities. We all need a reminder now and again. This...
Playboy.com, November 30, 2020
Reviewer, 2017-2020
Burke, Williams & Sorensen, LLP is pleased to present its 13th Edition of Legal Trends. This edition continues the tradition of producing Legal Trends which was started by the law...
SB 573 - Dogs and cats: microchip implants This new law requires a public animal control agency or shelter to microchip a dog or cat with current information before releasing...
SB 288 adds 9 new alternative transportation projects that are exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”), as long as certain conditions are met. These exemptions become effective January...
Amendments to FPPC Regulation 18703 The Political Reform Act (Government Code section 81000 et seq.) prohibits a public official from making, participating in making, or attempting to influence a governmental...
AB 2231 On September 30, 2020, the Governor signed AB 2231, which provides clarification as to what constitutes a “de minimis” public subsidy in the context of prevailing wage law....
Neurodiversity in Public Schools: A Critique of Special Education in America, 47 Hastings Const. L.Q. 595 (2020)
AB 1561 –Extensions of Time for Housing Entitlements, Tribal Consultation AB 1561 extends by 18 months the life of “housing entitlements” issued before and in effect on March 4, 2020,...
AB 1286: Shared Mobility Devices On September 18, 2020, the Governor signed Assembly Bill 1286, which impacts how shared mobility service providers (e.g. scooter companies like Lime or Bird) operate...
AB 992 clarifies what kinds of communications elected and appointed officials can have on social media and what kinds of communications on social media could violate the Brown Act. According...
SB 1159 – Workers’ Compensation for COVID-19 Injury – Effective Immediately This new law establishes a rebuttable presumption that an employee who has COVID-19 contracted the disease at work for...
In general, the issuance of a permit is considered a project for the purposes of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Unless exempted, discretionary projects require some level of environmental...
*On October 21, 2020, the California Supreme Court granted the petition for review on the following limited issue: what must a plaintiff prove in order to establish vote dilution under...
The Fourth District Court of Appeal has clarified public agencies’ duties with respect to the preservation and production of records in CEQA matters. Public agencies are obligated to preserve emails...
On July 28, 2020, CalPERS issued Circular Letter: 200-019-20, “Common Issues on Special Compensation Reporting and Labor Agreement Conditions.”[1] In doing so, CalPERS continues to emphasize the importance of strict...
The Court of Appeal for the First Appellate District has ruled that a special tax placed on the ballot by voter initiative must be approved by a simple majority of...
The Fair Political Practices Commission (“FPPC”) recently made changes to Title 2, Division 6, of the California Code of Regulations, section 18707 (Disqualification Requirements) to close a loophole to prevent...
The Authority, California Joint Powers Insurance Authority Newsletter Issue 100 The California Supreme Court in National Lawyers Guild v. City of Hayward (S252445) held public agencies cannot recover redaction and compilation costs...
The Authority, California Joint Powers Insurance Authority Newsletter Issue 100 On June 15, 2020, the United States Supreme Court issued a seminal opinion for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer...
The Authority, California Joint Powers Insurance Authority Newsletter Issue 100 On June 17, 2020, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) updated the "Disability-Related Inquiries and Medical Exams" portion of...
The Authority, California Joint Powers Insurance Authority Newsletter Issue 100 As more employees physically return to work, employers are facing questions regarding an employee's leave entitlement to care for children...
On June 17, 2020, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) updated the “Disability-Related Inquiries and Medical Exams” portion of its publication “What You Should Know About COVID-19 and the...
The California Supreme Court in National Lawyers Guild v. City of Hayward (S252445) held public agencies cannot recover redaction and compilation costs incurred in response to a California Public Records...
Cyberattacks and resulting data breaches are a growing threat to cities. In January 2020, the City of Las Vegas experienced a cyberattack when bad actors gained access to the city’s...
Santa Monica Observer, May 27. 2020 (co-author)
Governor Gavin Newsom has given school districts and county offices of education until December 15, 2020 to adopt their Local Control Accountability Plans (LCAP’s), provided that they adopt a report,...
The Daily Journal, Apr. 17, 2020 (co-author)
For many employers in California, the transition of employees to work from home (“WFH”) status occurred rapidly over the last two weeks in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and...
Two new local ordinances passed by the Los Angeles City Council late last week and expected to be signed by Mayor Garcetti no later than April 7, 2020, provide relief...
As we previously reported, on March 14, 2020, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 6201, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”). On March 18, 2020, the Senate passed the...
On March 14, 2020, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 6201, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”). On March 18, 2020, the Senate passed the FFCRA, and President Trump...
On March 4, 2020, Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On March 12, 2020, the Governor issued Executive Order N-25-20, which, among other...
As most of us know, the primary purpose of the Brown Act (codified in Government Code 54950 et seq.) is to provide that all meetings of a legislative body of...
Published on LinkedIn and at Burke, Williams & Sorensen, LLP
In Burke’s ongoing effort to keep employers updated on resources for addressing concerns about coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the workplace, the EEOC issued brief guidance , which focuses on...
The status of this disease is evolving. The information in this alert is provided based on currently known information, and is subject to change. The Centers for Disease Control and...
By: Henry Agee, Denise S. Bazano, Chad W. Herrington and Thomas D. Jex A recent Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision, Calvary Chapel Bible Fellowship v. County of Riverside 948...
The Recorder, Feb. 20, 2020 (co-author)
Many public officials are unaware or forget that Government Code section 1099 (All future references are to the Government Code, unless otherwise stated.) makes it unlawful for a public official...
Western City Magazine Municipal code enforcement is only as effective as an enforcement officer’s investigation. Because not all potential code violations can be investigated from the public right of way,...
On January 6, 2020, the Ninth Circuit in Ridgeway v. Walmart[1] concluded that Walmart violated California’s minimum wage requirements by exerting undue control over its truck drivers’ use of unpaid...
On September 18, 2019, Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 5, “Worker status: employees and independent contractors,” which will take effect on January 1, 2020. AB 5 is the latest in...
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...
Editor, 2011-Present
Editor (TBA)
Defense Research Institute ERISA Report, Vol. 14, Issue 3 In Dorman v. Charles Schwab Corp., 934 F.3d 1107 (9th Cir. 2019), the Ninth Circuit held that a Plan’s arbitration provision...
Burke, Williams & Sorensen, LLP is pleased to present its 12th Edition of Legal Trends. This edition continues the tradition of producing Legal Trends which was started by the law...
Governor Gavin Newsom, on October 3, 2019, signed AB 1505 into law, resulting in significant modifications to the charter review and appeal criteria and procedures. Following is a brief summary...
In-House Defense Quarterly, Summer 2019 By Z. Logan Gould, Annie Hong, Nancy Marr, and Karen T. Tsui In its forty-fifth year, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) provides a...
Be prudent when assuming land costs. The City of Alameda received a sharp slap on the wrist for, in the view of the Court, inflating the parks and recreation impact...
Burke Beat Article In 1997, the Supreme Court had the opportunity to consider this novel question in McMillian v. Monroe County, Alabama, 520 U.S. 781 (1997). The subject lawsuit arose after...
Employee Relations Law Journal, Vol. 45, No. 1, Summer 2019
A recent Court of Appeal decision, Olson v. Hornbrook Community Services District, serves as an excellent reminder of the importance of preparing accurate agenda item descriptions, and the danger of...
The recently published TransparentGov Novato v. City of Novato (2019) decision, provides a great reminder of why it is important for municipalities to appropriately evaluate and respond to cease and...
League of California Cities, 2013-2019 (drafted and edited updates)
CEB, 2013-2019 (drafted and edited the “Open Meeting Laws” section)
A recent Court of Appeal decision, Preven v. City of Los Angeles[1], provides guidance on a seldom-used provision of the Brown Act found at Government Code 54954.3 (a), which allows...
Burke Education Law Alert Proposition 39 (Education Code section 47614), the law requiring school districts to allocate reasonably equivalent facilities to eligible charter schools, continues to generate numerous legal challenges...
The First District Court of Appeal has ruled that a suit challenging an agreement between a city and PG&E authorizing tree cutting on PG&E property, which agreement is the functional...
LexisNexis, 2019
The Court of Appeal, Second District (Div. 7), recently held that the City of Los Angeles’ mere right to access certain records of a private entity was not enough to...
OVERVIEW The Americans with Disability Act (“ADA”) has been law since 1990. This federal statute prohibits discrimination against disabled individuals in all areas of public life, including jobs, schools, transportation,...
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...
Burke, Williams & Sorensen's comprehensive annual publication of labor and employment updates affecting California public employers.
Originally published in The Authority, California JPIA Newsletter Issue 81 Earlier this year, the California Fair Employment and Housing Council adopted new regulations regarding national origin, which went into effect on...
Originally published in The Authority, California JPIA Newsletter Issue 81 California Senate Bill 1421 modifies Penal Code 832.7 by stripping the prior confidentiality of police personnel records related to 1) sustained...
Originally published in The Authority, California JPIA Newsletter Issue 81 In late 2017, #metoo went viral, and allegations of sexual harassment took center stage in the United States. The California Legislature...
Column in Flaunt Magazine, Vol. 161, p. 176 (2018)
Ninth Circuit Jury Trial Improvement Newsletter, Winter 2018
Originally published in The Authority, CJPIA Newsletter, Issue 80 On June 22, 2017, the California Court of Appeal published a decision in Rain Daugherty v. City and County of San Francisco,...
On September 30, 2018, Governor Brown signed SB 1300, the Omnibus Sexual Harassment Bill, into law. The law will take effect on January 1, 2019. Like the remainder of FEHA,...
Originally published in The Authority, CJPIA Newsletter, Issue 80 On May 25, 2018, the Public Employment Relations Board (“PERB”) in Napa Valley Community College District[1], expanded the rights of public employees...
Originally published in The Authority, CJPIA Newsletter, Issue 79 On June 2016, using a procedure permitting a federal court to request a ruling from the California Supreme Court regarding the meaning of...
The California Supreme Court recently considered the people’s reserve referendum power and a local agency’s duty and ability to amend its zoning ordinances to conform to its general plan. The...
On September 4th, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued its decision in Martin v. City of Boise. The Court held that the Eighth Amendment prohibits ordinance enforcement if such ordinances...
In Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice v. City of Moreno Valley (August, 2018), the Court of Appeal found that the legislature intended to exclusively delegate approval of development agreements to...
In Sander v. State Bar of California (August, 2018), the Court of Appeal reaffirmed the rule that the Public Records Act does not require the creation of new records to satisfy a...
INTRODUCTION In Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court,[1] the California Supreme Court established a new test for determining whether a worker should be classified as an employee or independent...
Originally published in The Authority, California JPIA Newsletter Issue 78 The dust is settling in the wake of Janus v. AFSCME,[1] prompting public sector unions and public agencies to make significant changes to...
Originally published in Northern News, A Publication of the Northern Section of the California Chapter of APA. Evolution of a CEQA exemption
Originally published in The Authority, California JPIA Newsletter, Issue 75 As is the norm, a new year will bring new laws for California employers. This article briefly outlines several key pending...
Originally published in the Chico Enterprise-Record Blue Oak Charter School will continue to operate in Chico. The Chico Unified School District board of trustees voted to renew the school’s charter for...
Originally published in Best of the Best USA Expert Guides
Kern Business Journal, February 12, 2018 (co-author)
Charter schools seeking approval of additional school sites must do so through a material revision of their charter, and not through the charter renewal process, a California Court of Appeal...
California Special District Magazine, February 2018
Entertainment – Droit, media, art, culture, Vol. 2018, n◦ 1, p. 58 (2018)
California Special Districts Association, 2017 This manual provides special districts with guidelines and tips for complying with the various meeting agenda, notice, public participation, and public reporting requirements of the...
Sexual harassment in the workplace isn’t a novel issue. But in conjunction with the fall of Harvey Weinstein and the rise of the #metoo movement, researchers are finding out just...
Fall 2017 Burke, Williams & Sorensen's comprehensive annual publication of labor and employment updates affecting California public employers. Download
Planning to hire in 2018? California employers need to prepare for new restrictions on lawful consideration of applicants’ conviction history and prior salary as of January 1, 2018. Last month,...
Education California: The Official Newspaper of the Association of California School Administrators Article
By Sharon Noguchi Originally published in the San Jose Mercury News San Jose Unified goes to pains to insist it’s been even-handed in treating charter school applicants. Here’s how that...
iSenior Care, Vol 66, No. 3. Summer 2017
League of California Cities Guide
DRI ERISA Report, Ninth Circuit Update, 12:1
American Bar Association
Burke Education Law Alert The California Charter Schools Act (Education Code section 47600 et seq.) remains an uneasy joust between two competing principles enunciated in the statute: independence and accountability....
by Anna M. Phillips (anna.phillips@latimes.com) and Adam Elmahrek (adam.elmahrek@latimes.com) Originally published by the Los Angeles Times By her own account, Vielka McFarlane was an immigrant success story. She had escaped...
Co-author HRIS Excellence Essentials, March 2017
Burke Education Law Alert Two recent cases confirm that only school districts can exercise Government Code section 53094’s power to exempt classroom facilities from local zoning requirements. That statute provides...
Attorney John Yeh was quoted in this article published by the San Francisco Daily Journal.
California Western International Law Journal, Vol. 48 No. 1; 2017
The Authority, CJPIA Newsletter, Issue 59 Article
California Litigation Review (2017 Edition) with Assistant United States Attorney Alyson Berg
DRI ERISA Report, Ninth Circuit Update, 11:3
DRI ERISA Report, Ninth Circuit Update 11:3
DRI ERISA Report, Ninth Circuit Update, 11:3
Bloomberg BNA December 2016
Burke Employment Law Update
Burke is pleased to produce Legal Trends. The purpose of Legal Trends is to inform public sector employers about key areas of labor and employment law, and to inform public...
As is the norm, a new year will bring new laws for California employers. This article outlines several key laws signed by Governor Brown during the 2015-2016 California legislative session...
USC Sol Price School of Public Policy Newsletter Download
Burke Employment Law Update With sexual harassment claims against elected officials on the rise, Governor Brown recently signed AB 1661, which mandates workplace harassment training for local elected officials. Download
By Angela Ruggiero (aruggiero@bayareanewsgroup.com) Originally published in the East Bay Times LIVERMORE — The Tri-Valley Learning Corp. and the Livermore school district have begun a back-and-forth battle as each claims...
by Dani Anguiano Originally published in the Chico Enterprise-Record Major changes are underway in the Chico Unified School District ROP program. At a Chico Unified School District board of trustees...
By Will Swaim Originally published in the San Francisco Daily Journal Article
Currently, over 200 water supply systems in California have reported TCP detections in groundwater in over 300 hundred wells. Review this fact sheet to find out if your city's water...
Western City Magazine Libraries perform a unique and important function in American society. According to the U.S. Supreme Court, “a public library [is] a place dedicated to quiet, to knowledge...
ABA Journal
Burke Education Law Alert The California Court of Appeal has issued a significant ruling on the rights of school district employees to obtain unemployment benefits during the summer, ruling that substitute teachers and classified employees who receive "reasonable...
Burke Employment Law Alert On June 8, 2016, the Court of Appeal, First District, ruled that a personnel investigation, performed by an outside attorney investigator, is protected by the attorney-client...
Today's Insurance Professionals, Summer 2016, Vol 73, Issue 2 Social media has changed every aspect of our society, including the workplace. Employers are struggling to keep up with all aspects...
San Diego Attorney Journal and Orange County Attorney Journal, May 2016
The Authority, California Joint Powers Insurance Authority, Issue 51, May 2016 Article
League of California Cities, 2013-2016 (drafted and edited updates)
League of California Cities, 2014-2016 (drafted and edited updates)
DRI ERISA Report, Volume 11 Issue 1 Today’s ERISA disability policies almost universally contain limitations capping payment on disability claims that involve mental illness.These limitations serve to provide a framework...
The Authority, California Joint Powers Insurance Authority Newsletter, Issue 50 On April 1, 2016, a comprehensive set of new regulations pertaining to the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (“FEHA”)...
The Authority, California Joint Powers Insurance Authority Newsletter, Issue 50 In the past year, California employers have been dealing with numerous developments in California wage and hour law that have...
Burke Employment Law Update For the first time, the California Court of Appeal held that the Fair Employment and Housing Act (“FEHA”) creates a duty to reasonably accommodate an applicant...
Originally published in The Mercury News by Victoria Kezra A trial pitting the city of Sunnyvale against an alternative school over a zoning dispute has come to a close. The...
Northern News If you grew up in the 1980s as I did, you are intimately familiar with the movie Back to the Future, the highest grossing film of 1985. In...
California Special Districts Magazine
California Special District Association The California Public Records Act (CPRA) was originally enacted in 1968, and requires that governmental records be made accessible to the public upon request, unless otherwise...
Carl Warren Connects, Carl Warren
Burke, Williams & Sorensen, LLP is pleased to present its 8th Edition of Legal Trends. This edition continues the tradition of producing Legal Trends which was started by the law firm...
CPER Pocket Guide
Solano Press Books This completely updated edition of Eminent Domain: A Step-by-Step Guide to the Acquisition of Real Property is a thorough and precise step-by-step guide through the process California...
The Authority, California Joint Powers Insurance Authority, Issue 42 The U.S Supreme Court recently held that an employer could not lawfully reject a job applicant because her religious headscarf conflicts...
Inside the Minds, Aspatore
Originally published in California Lawyer Magazine Public entities such as cities, counties, special districts, and law enforcement agencies have long operated websites as a means of communicating with the public....
Burke Education Law Alert The California Supreme Court has issued a long awaited ruling clarifying how school districts must calculate their student-to-classroom ratios when allocating classroom space to charter schools...
Burke partner John Yeh was quoted in this article published by the Los Angeles Daily Journal.
Education Law Alert The California Court of Appeal in East West Bank v. Rio School District (2015) (2015 DJDAR 3677) recently ruled that the grounds for public agencies to withhold...
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...
Originally published in California Lawyer Magazine In 2010 the wife of aspiring rapper Anthony Elonis left him, taking their kids. Under the name "Tone Dougie," with a public profile, Elonis...
Burke Public Law Alert The Department of Finance has revised its proposed budget trailer bill addressing redevelopment dissolution. Download
Western City
Burke Public Law Alert The California Department of Finance (“Department”) has published proposed budget trailer bill language addressing the redevelopment agency dissolution process. In a recent webinar, the Department characterized...
Burke Employment Law Update Governor Brown signed two pieces of legislation in 2014 that amend the FEHA and will have significant impacts on employers in 2015. The first, AB 2053,...
Burke Public Law Update Winter 2014 Download
Client Presentation
Western City Magazine Public health, safety and welfare issues that arise from the effects of public encampments or vehicle habitation on city streets present cities with a variety of challenging...
California Lawyer Magazine Nearly everyone these days has a social media account and an opinion or photo they feel compelled to post. This compulsion to (over)share online has led to...
The Authority, CJPIA Newsletter
Burke Education Law Alert In a case that underscores the importance of school districts correctly designating an employee's classification, the California Court of Appeal recently ruled that a former permanent...
Best of the Best USA Expert Guides, Construction
Originally published in Northern News It's funny how things work out in the end. At the outset of the 2013–2014 legislative session, California lawmakers responded to years of complaints about...
Burke Education Law Alert In the case of M.M. vs. LaFayette School District, the Ninth Circuit has ruled that a school district violated the IDEA and denied FAPE to a...
Burke, Williams & Sorensen, LLP is pleased to present its 7th Edition of Legal Trends. This edition continues the tradition of producing Legal Trends which was started by the law firm of Kay...
Burke Education Law Alert In an opinion that provides clarity for school districts on Title IX standards, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in Ollier v. Sweetwater Union High...
Burke Education Law Alert On September 29, 2014, Governor Brown signed AB 1432 (Mike Gatto, D-Burbank) which requires annual mandated reporter training of all school district, county office of education,...
Burke Education Law Alert On September 29, 2014, Governor Brown signed AB 420 (Roger Dickinson, D-Sacramento), which limits the ability of schools and school districts to suspend or expel students...
Burke Education Law Alert On February 27, 2014, in the case of Dariano v. Morgan Hill Unified School District, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that public school officials...
Burke Education Law Alert The California Court of Appeal in Los Alamitos Unified School District v. Howard Contracting, Inc. (2014) recently ruled that Education Code Section 17406 exempts K-12 school...
Burke Public Law Update Homelessness presents local governments with a variety of challenging public safety and welfare issues. One of these issues has been the use of vehicles as living...
Burke Employment Law Update In People v. Superior Court of San Francisco County (Daryl Lee Johnson, Real Party in Interest), 2014 WL 3896138 (Johnson), the First District Court of Appeal...
Burke Education Law Alert The California Court of Appeal recently ruled that dismissal of a teacher by the Hueneme Elementary School District based on charges presented orally was proper, even...
Burke Education Law Alert The California Court of Appeal recently ruled that the Los Angeles Unified School District ("LAUSD" or "District") was not required to reveal the names of teachers...
Burke Public Law Update On July 18, 2014, the Governor signed into law Assembly Bill 1963 (Atkins) (Chapter 146, Statutes of 2014). The bill was adopted as an urgency measure,...
The Authority, California Joint Powers Insurance Authority Newsletter Article
Education Law Alert Governor Brown has signed Assembly Bill 215 ("AB 215"), which revises portions of the dismissal and suspension statutes for public school district certificated employees in California. Many...
Burke Education Law Alert Vergara v. State of California, Judge Rolf Treu of the Los Angeles County Superior Court issued a tentative decision that certain statutes relating to teacher tenure,...
CSDA e-News CSDA spoke with Burke partners Traci I. Park and Kelly A. Trainer about AB 1825 Harassment Prevention Training and special districts. This article provides answers to some of...
The Authority, California Joint Powers Insurance Authority Newsletter
The Public Law Journal, Vol. 37, No. 3, Summer 2014 For 100-plus years, cities and counties have used zoning ordinances to establish permitted and prohibited uses of real property. The courts...
League of California Cities
East Bay Times By Paul Burgarino, Bay Area News Group ANTIOCH — In a case being closely followed by charter school advocates and education administrators throughout the state, a Contra...
The Authority, CJPIA Newsletter Article
Burke Public Law Alert The Court of Appeal for the Sixth District issued its decision Thursday, March 27th in the case of City of San Jose v. Superior Court (Smith)....
Burke Education Law Alert In a ruling that supports a school district's right to discipline students, a California Court of Appeal recently ruled that a school district need not exhaust...
In this edition: Commercial Property Buyer Cannot Hold Escrow Company Fully Liable After Short Delay in Closing Was Stretched Out For Over Year by Bankruptcy, Preventing Buyer From Doing 1031...
Burke Education Law Alert On February 14, 2014, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a public school's policy mandating uniforms, which displayed a logo and written motto, was...
Burke Public Law Update In January of this year, the California Supreme Court denied review of Griffith v. Pajaro Valley Water Management. The appellate decision made late last year is...
Western City Magazine The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) is the primary state law that requires public agencies and their decision-makers to understand and evaluate the environmental consequences of their...
The Authority, CJPIA Newsletter
Burke Education Law Update Pursuant to the recently-issued State Teachers' Retirement System (CalSTRS) circular, CalSTRS is providing employers with a one-time opportunity to correct instances where they did not file...
Burke Public Law Update On February 3, 2014, the First District Court of Appeal issued its decision in Reynolds v. City of Calistoga et al., rejecting the contention that a...
(Cal CEB 2014) Reviewer, Chapters §§ 9.47-9.52
Burke Education Law Alert In the recently published case of Anaheim Union High School District v. American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, Local 3112, AFL-CIO, the California Court...
Burke Public Law Update There were three legislative acts in 2013 that affected the Ralph M. Brown Act (Government Code section 54950 and following): SB 751, AB 246, and AB...
In this issue: Notice of Inspection did not Breach Lease Provisions as Tenant’s Counsel Instructed Landlord’s Counsel not to Communicate Directly with Tenant Motorcycle Manufacturer Unreasonably Withholds Sale of Dealership...
Benchmark Plaintiff
Orange County Association of Business Trial Lawyers, Vol. XIV, No. 4; law360.com, January 2013
IP/Technology/California Law360
Orange County Business Journal, July 9-15, 2012
Western City Magazine, April 2012
Safety Denied: Victim and Witness Protection in Sexual Violence Cases
California Litigation, Vol 24, No. 3, (2011)
ABA Intellectual Property Litigation, Vol. 21, No. 2, Winter 2010
IP Litigator
Melbourne University Law Review, 2001
Valid-Where-Consummated: The Intersection of Customary Law Marriages and Formal Adjudication, 10 S.Cal. Interdisc. L.J. 353 (2001)
League of California Cities, 1996-2000 (redrafted the Public Works section IV(B); renumbered to Chapter 7(I)
11 LOY.L.A.INT’L & COMP.L.J. 2 (1989)
Environmental, Energy, & Climate Change Law and Regulation Reporter, Volume 4, Number 2, November 2023
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