Employment & Labor Relations

My preference is for employers seeking to understand and meet their obligations as employers, thereby minimizing their exposure both on a day to day basis, and in any pending legal proceedings.

• Affirmative Action
• Age Discrimination
• Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA)
• Compensation, Benefits, & Pensions
• Disability Discrimination
• Discipline/Suspension
• Emotional Distress
• Employee Polygraph Protection Act (EPPA)
• Employee Rights
• Employment Contracts
• Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
• Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
• Immigration Reform & Control Act of 1986 (IRCA)
• Occupational Safety & Health Act (OSHA)
• Older Workers Benefit Protection Act (OWBPA)
• Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA)
• Race Discrimination
• Racial Harassment
• Section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act of 1866
• Severance Packages
• Sex Discrimination
• Sexual Harassment
• Termination
• Uniformed Services Employment & Reemployment Rights Act
• Wage & Hour Laws
• Whistleblower
• Worker Adjustment & Retraining Notification (WARN) Act
• Workers' Compensation
• Wrongful Termination

• Collective Bargaining
• Labor Arbitration
• Labor Disputes
• Labor Legislation
• National Labor Relations Act (NLRA)
• Unions

CA, Jan 1971
Bar Number: 48237

State Bar of California; United States District Court for the Northern, Central and Eastern Districts of California; United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

State Bar of California (Labor and Employment Law Section and Workers' Compensation Section); American Bar Association (Business Law Section and Labor and Employment Law Section); Marin County Bar Association (Employment Law Section); Bar Association of San Francisco

I routinely meet or exceed all State Bar requirements concerning continuing education on an ongoing basis.

While early in my career I published in peer journals, most recently I have been focusing on lay writing. Currently, I am the employment law columnist for the San Anselmo Chamber of Commerce publication "Network Success." It's been great fun.

The best of the stories unfortunately fall under the attorney-client privilege. What can be disclosed-- and what is significant-- is that I have represented clients before virtually every agency regulating employment, including the Division of Fair Employment and Housing, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Cal-OSHA, OSHA, MSHA, the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (Labor Commissioner), the Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board, the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board, and the NLRB, as well as before a broad assortment of courts, mediators and arbitrators.

1

California

I went into sole practice in 1993 when I thought that small and medium sized employers were having increased difficulty in obtaining first rate representation from large law firms due to ever increasing fees.

I've always liked working with smaller businesses, because they often have the most interesting legal issues and are most in need of experienced legal counsel.

Locally, I began practice in the Bay Area in the '70's as a consultant to the Employment Law Center. Thereafter, for over two decades, I was with the century-old law firm of Chickering & Gregory in San Francisco, where I focused on business and employment law and litigation.

I have been active in the Episcopal Church, and locally, have acted as a member of the vestry (governing body), Senior Warden (chief non-ordained officer), and legal counsel to St. Paul's Church in San Rafael, which boasts the City's oldest surviving church structure. I am a long time board member of Marin Interfaith Youth Outreach, San Rafael's premiere non-profit teen organization. Both of these experiences have given me a solid appreciation of the needs and problems of small and medium sized businesses. As a nearly lifelong computer and electronics and computer hobbyist, as a webmaster for several sites, and as counsel for several high tech firms, I have also come to understand both the jargon and problems of high tech businesses of many sizes.

No

(415) 532-1807

Monday through Friday
9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

No

None

I currently have no fixed price services or fees as such.

$235 to $290, depending on the nature of the matter.

Usually, the initial consultation is added to ongoing fees. When representation is declined, there is typically no charge.

A retainer is usually waived for credit worthy clients who timely pay the statements sent them. Clients who are late in paying my fees, and those who are approaching trial, will generally have to post a retainer equal to the expected fees and costs for the next 30 days.