Robert L. Sullivan, Jr. has been named to the Board of the Friends of the Madden Library.  The Friends of the Madden Library was established in 1984 as a nonprofit support organization for the Henry Madden Library at California State University, Fresno.

One of the most difficult wage and hour issues for agricultural employers is where the 10 hour workday for field work ends, and where the 8 hour work day for preparing agricultural commodities for market begins.

Fresno, CA (May 1, 2013) – McCormick Barstow partner Anthony Raimondo won an important victory for California agriculture in a citation hearing before the California Labor Commissioner. 

Fresno, CA (April 23, 2013) – McCormick Barstow Sheppard Wayte & Carruth is pleased to announce that Victoria R. Bernhardt will be named Pro Bono Attorney of the Year at the Fresno County Bar Association’s Law Day event on May 8, 2013.  The Law Day event will be held from noon to 1:00 p.m. at the Radisson Hotel and Conference Center.

Fresno, CA (April 16, 2013) – McCormick Barstow Sheppard Wayte & Carruth is pleased to announce that Marshall C. Whitney has become a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers (the “College”), one of the premier legal associations in America. 

Fresno, CA (February 19, 2013) –McCormick, Barstow, Sheppard, Wayte & Carruth, LLP attorneys Todd W. Baxter, Jay A. Christofferson and Daniel E. Witte are contributing authors of a new legal treatise entitled “Neighbor Disputes:  Law and Litigation.”  The book, published in January of 2013 by Continuing Education of the Bar (“CEB”), is designed the help lawyers successfully handle the most common to the most complex neighbor disputes.

On February 6, 2013, the Nevada Supreme Court issued an order reversing a major portion of an arbitration award and vacating an award of $1,040,000 due to the fact there was no substantial evidence presented at arbitration to support the award.

Fresno, CA (February 11, 2013) – McCormick, Barstow, Sheppard, Wayte & Carruth LLP is pleased to announce Mr. Scott M. Reddie has been certified by the California State Bar as a legal specialist in Appellate Law.

Fresno, CA (February 7, 2013) – McCormick, Barstow, Sheppard, Wayte & Carruth LLP is pleased to announce Mr. David R. McNamara and Mr. Timothy R. Sullivan have been elected to the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA), an exclusive and prestigious national organization of judges and civil trial lawyers.

Madera, CA (January 31, 2013) – In a hearing this afternoon in the Madera County Superior Court, Dr. Muhammad Anwar was awarded an additional $ 1,514,289.40 in costs of suit and prejudgment interest, on top of the $3,300,000 awarded to Dr. Anwar by a Madera County jury on November 8, 2012, against the State of California and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

McCormick Barstow’s, Richard Strong, is quoted in an article, featuring his son on the front page of the Fresno Bee.  Richard’s son, Jeffrey, is a part of the Marine Band playing at the 57^th Presidential Inauguration.

Fresno, CA (January 17, 2013) –McCormick Barstow is pleased to announce Anthony Raimondo, Timothy Sullivan and Daniel Wainwright have been recognized by Martindale-Hubbell as the firms newest AV® Preeminent™ Peer Review Rated attorneys.  The Martindale-Hubbell^® Peer Review Ratings^TM is a complimentary service to the bar that enables members of the legal community to benefit from the candid and objective peer-to-peer feedback of other lawyers.

The California Supreme Court has overruled one of its own decisions from more than 75-years ago that adopted a limitation on the fraud exception to the parol evidence rule.   In a decision issued on January 14, 2013 (RiverIsland Cold Storage, Inc. v. Fresno-Madera Production Credit Association, California Supreme Court case number S190581), the Supreme Court concluded that its prior decision in Bank of America etc. Assn. v. Pendergrass (1935) 4 Cal.2d 258 was “ill-considered’ and an “aberration.” 

Fresno, CA (January 2, 2013) – McCormick, Barstow, Sheppard, Wayte & Carruth LLP is pleased to announce the following individuals have joined the firm as our newest legal counsel in our Fresno office.

The founding dean and other administrative leaders have joined California Health Sciences University (CHSU) to open a privately funded post-graduate College of Pharmacy in Fresno, with hopes of starting classes in fall 2014.

Fresno, CA (November 9, 2012) – A Madera County jury awarded surgeon Muhammed Anwar, M.D. $3.3 million dollars on November 8, 2012 in his suit against California’s Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.   Dr. Anwar was represented by attorney Mike Ball of Fresno’s McCormick, Barstow, Sheppard, Wayte & Carruth law firm.

Fresno, CA (September 25, 2012) – McCormick, Barstow, Sheppard, Wayte & Carruth LLP is pleased to announce Jonathan Carlson as Partner with the firm. 

Fresno, CA (September 25, 2012) – McCormick, Barstow, Sheppard, Wayte & Carruth LLP is pleased to announce Joseph Doerr as Partner with the firm.  Mr. Doerr’s practice concentrates in tax planning, tax litigation, and business transactions. 

Fresno, CA (September 25, 2012) – McCormick, Barstow, Sheppard, Wayte & Carruth LLP is pleased to announce Betty Julian and Kelley Moran as Partners with the firm.

Fresno, CA (September 25, 2012) – McCormick, Barstow, Sheppard, Wayte & Carruth LLP is pleased to announce Ms. Jennifer Bilz as Partner with the firm located in the Cincinnati, Ohio office.

Fresno, CA (September 25, 2012) – McCormick, Barstow, Sheppard, Wayte & Carruth LLP is pleased to announce Anthony Raimondo as Partner with the firm.

Fresno, CA (July 13, 2012) – McCormick, Barstow, Sheppard, Wayte & Carruth LLP is pleased to announce the following attorneys have been recognized as The Top Women Attorneys in Northern California for 2012 by Super Lawyers

Fresno, CA (July 10, 2012) – McCormick, Barstow, Sheppard, Wayte & Carruth LLP is pleased to announce 23 attorneys have been selected as “Northern California Super Lawyers” for 2012. Six of the 23 attorneys have also received distinction in the “Top 100 Attorneys in Northern California.”

Fresno, CA (July 2, 2012) – McCormick, Barstow, Sheppard, Wayte & Carruth LLP is featured in Nevada Lawyer.  Published by the State Bar of Nevada, Nevada Lawyer’s mission is to publish items of interest and importance to the Nevada legal community and to provide a forum for thoughtful and respectful commentary on current issues affecting their members.

It doesn’t matter whether a business oversees a fleet of vehicles or just one or two company cars.  It doesn’t matter if an employee driver was in a MIST accident – minor impact, soft tissue – or a major pileup.  All it takes is one lawsuit for a company to learn the hard way that there are some common misconceptions involving employee-operated automobiles on the job.  But a little self-help before the inevitable employee car crash can go a long way in limiting the exposure of the company and its insurer to expensive claims and suits.

Fresno, CA (June 25, 2012) – McCormick, Barstow, Sheppard, Wayte & Carruth LLP is pleased to announce Mr. Michael (Mike) Graves has been recognized by the Fresno State Alumni Association as a 2012 Top Dog for  Mike’s representation of the Henry Madden Library.

Fresno, CA (June 14, 2012) - McCormick, Barstow, Sheppard, Wayte & Carruth LLP is pleased to announce Mr. Jared Green has been recognized as Legal Elite in Nevada.

Employees are entitled to various leaves of absence and time off work under both state and federal law. Many employers, particularly small employers, are unaware of the extent and in some instances even the existence, of various rights employees have to leaves of absence and time off from work.  What follows is an abbreviated version of California employers’ legal obligations to provide leaves and time off from work for small businesses, i.e., those employing fewer than 25 employees.

Fresno, CA (June 5, 2012) - McCormick, Barstow, Sheppard, Wayte & Carruth LLP celebrated with a ground breaking ceremony today at the site of their new office building to be located on the northwest corner of El Paso and Fresno Streets.  Working with Zinkin Development, the firm broke ground on a new 68,000 square foot three story office building that will be able to comfortably house 105 attorneys.  McCormick Barstow will lease the building from Zinkin Development in the late fall of 2013.

Fresno, CA (June 1, 2012) - McCormick Barstow awarded three students with scholarships at McLane High School’s Academic Awards Ceremony on Wednesday, May 30th. 

Fresno, CA (May 23, 2012) - McCormick, Barstow, Sheppard, Wayte & Carruth LLP is pleased to announce Mr. Justus Spillner has joined the firm as our newest legal counsel in our Fresno office.

Fresno, CA (March 22, 2012) - McCormick, Barstow, Sheppard, Wayte & Carruth LLP will relocate its Fresno office to a new development located on the Northwest corners of El Paso and Fresno Streets in the fall of 2013.

Fresno, CA (MAy 23, 2012) - McCormick, Barstow, Sheppard, Wayte & Carruth LLP is pleased to announce that Ms. Mara Erlach has joined the firm as our newest legal counsel in our Fresno office.

Fresno, CA (May 19, 2012) - McCormick, Barstow, Sheppard, Wayte & Carruth LLP is pleased to announce Mr. Adam Gill has joined the firm as our newest legal counsel in our Las Vegas office.

Fresno, CA (May 21, 2012) - McCormick, Barstow, Sheppard, Wayte & Carruth LLP is a proud supporter of the American Cancer Society’s Daffodil Days.

Fresno, CA (March 14, 2012) - McCormick, Barstow, Sheppard, Wayte & Carruth LLP is pleased to announce Ms. Vincenza Rabenn has joined the firm as our newest legal counsel.

Fresno, CA (April 16, 2012) - McCormick, Barstow, Sheppard, Wayte & Carruth LLP is a proud sponsor of Relay for Life benefiting the American Cancer Society.

 Fresno, CA (April 16, 2012) - McCormick, Barstow, Sheppard, Wayte & Carruth LLP is a proud sponsor of the American Heart Association.

Fresno, CA (April 16, 2012) - McCormick, Barstow, Sheppard, Wayte & Carruth LLP is partnering with Make A Wish to create new dreams.

Fresno, CA ( April 16, 2012) - McCormick, Barstow, Sheppard, Wayte & Carruth LLP is partnering with Public Radio station KVPR to raise funds for the valley station.  McCormick Barstow is one of the sponsors for Valley Public Radio’s 2012 Wine Tasting on Sunday, May 6, 2012 at the Lester Estate in Fresno.

Fresno, CA (April 16, 2012) - McCormick, Barstow, Sheppard, Wayte & Carruth LLP is a proud supporter of HandOn Central California and recently honored Mr. Tom Tran for his outstanding achievement as a student volunteer.

Fresno, CA (April 16, 2012) - McCormick, Barstow, Sheppard, Wayte & Carruth LLP is a proud supporter of St. Anthony’s celebration of their 20^th Annual Spring Auction.

Fresno, CA (May 11, 2012) -  McCormick, Barstow, Sheppard, Wayte & Carruth LLP is pleased to announce Mr. Ryan Marshall has joined the firm as our newest legal counsel.

Fresno, CA (May 11, 2012) - McCormick, Barstow, Sheppard, Wayte & Carruth LLP is pleased to announce Mr. Dylan P. Todd has joined the firm as our newest legal counsel in our Las Vegas office.

McCormick Barstow Associate, Joanna MacMillan, is quoted in the Wall Street Journal Online.

On April 12, 2012, the California Supreme Court issued the highly anticipated decision in Brinker Restaurant Corp. v Superior Court,  a case that provides badly needed clarification with respect to employers' obligations to provide meal and rest periods.  Unfortunately, especially for agricultural employers, the decision leaves some critical issues unresolved that will create confusion regarding management and rest breaks on farms and ranches.

As most California employers have learned by now, it is getting more and more difficult to own a business in California due to the ever-increasing employee-friendly laws that make "extortion" lawsuits convenient and perfunctory, even with the most justified of terminations. To minimize exposure, it is important for employers to understand and comply with what, for most, is a complicated area of law. A large part of this strategy requires that employers stay up to date on new legislation and case authority in the realm of labor and employment law. The following is non-exhaustive summary of new laws and cases that will affect most employers.

By now, it’s likely that most attorneys have figured out that unmasking an anonymous Internet speaker (“Anony”) seems impossible.  It’is also just as likely that the list of questions regarding how to reveal an Anony, so they can be pursued for damages or served with an injunction, is still longer than the list of answers.

Federal trademarks are registered by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).  That office also issues patents upon an extensive application and review process.  Holders of these intellectual property rights might sit up and take notice if receiving emailed notifications appearing to be from the USPTO.

By Scott E. Chapman, Esq., MBA, CIPP

By now, it’s likely that most attorneys have figured out that unmasking an anonymous Internet speaker (“Anony”) seems impossible... © Originally published in the COMMUNIQUÉ (November 2011, Vol. 32, No. 11), the official journal of the Clark County Bar Association.

A recent Ninth Circut opinion again points up the need to draft arbitration clauses carefully and specifically, to capture the client's objectives in considering a suitable alternative forum to resolve disputes over the contractual relationship.  If the parties want the arbitator to follow legal athorities, they not only need to specify that in the clause but also need to avoid incorporating fereral law.  Other issues such as the form of decision, the scope of discovery, and the scope of court review also need to be discussed with the client and not simply presumed

Searching for information on the Internet has become commonplace. People use search engines to locate sources for goods and services of all descriptions, including legal services. People also use the Internet as a source of information to educate themselves about topics and issues that concern us in our personal lives and professions.  Much of the time, when we receive our search results, the list contains several blogs.

For those of you who have had any contact with the Medicare Secondary Payer Act recently, you understand the ridiculousness of the title of this article.  No matter the amount of time spent delving into the details in the Medicare Secondary Payer Act no one, not even Medicare itself, could possibly “understand” all of the requirements of the Act.  So much so, that there are currently bills before the Senate and House of Representatives written to hopefully clarify some of these issues and make the process of resolving claims involving Medicare beneficiaries more efficient. 

McCormick, Barstow, Sheppard, Wayte & Carruth LLP is pleased to welcome their 2011 class of associate attorneys.

Dairies are taking greater control of employee performance and succeeding at creating a culture of high performance that benefits both the business and the employees.