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Berkowitz Oliver Wins Class Certification Battle in Hotly Contested Sexual Harassment Case in Chicago
On August 22, 2019, Judge Robert M. Dow, Jr., of the Northern District of Illinois denied class certification in Van, et al. v. Ford Motor Company, 2019 WL 3976370. The Berkowitz Oliver team defending Ford Motor Company included Kathy Nemechek , Tim Millman , Jocelyn Villanueva , Sharon Stallbaumer , and Steve Bledsoe . A previous class action against Ford Motor Company had been brought in 1998 by the same plaintiffs’ counsel and was certified.
Read More >Morris Named Lawyer of the Year for Bet-the-Company Litigation; Five Other Attorneys Named by Best Lawyers in America
Six Berkowitz Oliver attorneys have been named to The Best Lawyers in America© for 2020. In addition, Jeff Morris was named the Best Lawyers® 2020 Bet-the-Company Litigation “Lawyer of the Year” for Kansas City, Missouri. The honored Berkowitz Oliver attorneys for 2020 are: Christina Wahl , for Criminal Defense: White Collar; Jeff Morris , for Bet-the-Company Litigation, Commercial Litigation, Criminal Defense: General, and Criminal Defense: White-Collar; Shazzie Naseem , for Commercial Litigation and Criminal Defense: White-Collar; David Oliver , for Commercial Litigation and Product Liability Litigation-Defendants; Tom Schult , for Bet-the-Company Litigation, Commercial Litigation, …
Read More >Bledsoe Presents on Salary Negotiation in Legal Field
Partner Steve Bledsoe recently participated in a panel discussion regarding salary negotiation in the legal field. The panel followed a “Work Smart” presentation created by the American Association of University Women (AAUW), and co-sponsored by the Association for Women Lawyers of Kansas City and the Women’s Foundation. The workshop at KCMBA headquarters was designed to teach women how to determine their market worth and empower them to advocate for fair and equal pay. The AAUW aims to train ten million women, across multiple fields, in salary negotiation by the year 2022. …
Read More >Christina Wahl Publishes Article on Grand Jury Abuse
Partner Christina Wahl has an article published in the May 2019 issue of the Journal of the Kansas Bar . Her article discusses the recent decisions of State v. Turner and State v. Henry & Sons Construction Company, Inc., in which the indictments were dismissed for grand jury abuse. Ms. Wahl worked extensively on both cases. These cases provide critical guidance to prosecutors for conducting a fair grand jury proceeding, and for defense counsel analyzing whether there has been grand jury abuse. The article is located at …
Read More >Jennifer Wieland Speaks to Middle Schoolers on Being an Attorney
Jennifer Wieland participated in Career Day at Monticello Trails Middle School in Shawnee, Kansas, on March 8, 2019. She presented to students on how to become an attorney, and what being an attorney is like. The topics in her presentation included what do lawyers do all day, what kinds of lawyers are there, and tips for students who are thinking of going to law school.
Read More >David Oliver Awarded 2019 Branton/Hall Community Collaborator Award by Junior League of KC
David Oliver has been awarded the Branton/Hall Community Collaborator Award for 2019 by the Junior League of Kansas City, Missouri . David has strong ties with the Junior League: his mother, Trudy Oliver (Gertrude Field Oliver) was president of the JLKCMO in 1944-1945. David knew both Shawsie Branton and Adele Hall, the two women for whom this award is named. He currently serves as a Community Advisor to the C3KC Committee. David embodies the values and volunteerism his mother passed on to him, and the JLKCMO is proud …
Read More >John Shaw and Tim Wallner Successfully Compel Arbitration of Claims Brought By Nonsignatory to Arbitration Clause
John Shaw and Tim Wallner recently obtained an order granting their motion to compel arbitration of claims brought by a putative third-party beneficiary, but non-signatory, of an account contract on behalf of their broker-dealer client. After over a year of litigation against the trustee of a trust to which Plaintiff was a beneficiary, Plaintiff amended his petition to add the broker-dealer client as a co-defendant. While there was an arbitration clause related to the accounts at issue in the lawsuit, Plaintiff was not …
Read More >Jim Eisenbrandt Retires After Fifty Years of Practice
Berkowitz Oliver partner Jim Eisenbrandt retired on December 31, 2018, after 5o years of practice. Jim was a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and a Fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers. He received the Dean of the Trial Bar Award from the Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association in 2012, and the Charles M. Shaw Award for Excellence in Trial Advocacy from the Missouri Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers in 2008. He was listed in The …
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