Ervin Cohen & Jessup LLP

There are occasions when an employer desires to contractually tie an employee to it for an extended period of time. These situations typically involve unique individuals who have special talents that cannot be easily replaced,…more

In estate planning, we often focus heavily upon (a) reducing estate taxes and (b) avoiding probate. But equally important are the considerations regarding our family who survive us, and the legacy we wish to leave behind…more

It is an unfortunate reality that as people get older, they become more and more susceptible to influence, abuse, and neglect. In fact, California has recognized that its elders are a disadvantaged class, that the cases of…more

Marc Santos and Geraldo Zaffa are two firefighters who filed a lawsuit against the Milpitas Fire Department for alleged age discrimination. The two men were placed on a list of qualified state and local firefighters by the…more

Like many other auto dealerships and other employers throughout the state, Downtown LA Motors, LP (“DLAM”), a Mercedes Benz dealership, compensates its service technicians on a piece rate basis. Under their system, technicians…more

Julie Gilman Veronese sued Lucasfilm Ltd. in 2009 after she was hired—and then fired—as an assistant to the estate manager at George Lucas’s San Anselmo estate. She claimed she was fired because she was pregnant…more

Remember all that hubbub about the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) requiring employers to display a poster advising employees of their right to organize?…more

A group of former employees of a popular vitamin and nutritional supplement store filed a lawsuit against their employer for allegedly failing to pay them for overtime hours. The suit was originally filed in July of 2011…more

No family is perfect. And while all litigation is emotional, our experience is that almost all trust and estate litigation is driven by underlying emotional disputes among family members. And death, like divorce, can open the…more

We have all lived in a highly regulated, pro-employee environment for years. Moreover, there is no hiding it; employers are bombarded by news about the hazards of having employees which illustrate the various pitfalls, often in…more

Generations X, Y and Z: educated, independent, entitled and media savvy. When motivated, these workers can be very valuable. Retaining them, however, can be a problem. Conventional wisdom is don’t try; they will be moving on…more

I have been asked to be a receiver to help collect a judgment. The judgment debtor has intellectual property assets. Plaintiff’s counsel has asked me how hard it will be to get me appointed and if I would be able to sell the…more

As the budget crisis has unfolded, the tax community has been predicting that the IRS would get aggressive about imposing penalties in order to raise more revenue. And we are starting to see just that happen. The IRS has…more

An employee (Prock) becomes temporarily but totally disabled by an anxiety disorder, goes out on a disability leave and receives disability benefits. The disability leave is extended by the employee’s doctor several times…more

If you’ve been following the news, or our considerably more pithy reportage, the original plan of the both maligned and anticipated (depending on who you are) Affordable Care Act required the U.S. government to create onsite…more