BERGESON - Key Persons
Commercial litigator Adam Trigg represents directors, officers, and founders in complex securities litigation, shareholder disputes, business divorces, and other intracompany controversies. His Silicon Valley-based clients include executives and leaders of venture capital, life sciences, biotechnology, and high-tech companies.
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- Addison Distrib. V. Commissioner
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- Founder of Seagate Technology
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- Legal Secretary
- Office Administrator
Andrew Bilson joined the Bergeson team in 2019 as Office Administrator/Legal Secretary for our Beverly Hills office, bringing with him over 25 years' experience in the legal field. Andy works directly with his team in the Beverly Hills office both as an Office Administrator and Legal Secretary ensuring the Beverly Hills office runs smoothly in coordination with the Executive Director.
Annette Hogue joined Bergeson, LLP in 2017 as a Legal Secretary, with over 30 years of experience. Ms. Hogue currently assists as overflow and provides secretarial assistance to the team of secretaries and attorneys by processing legal documents, preparing court filing, trial preparation and case organization.
Anthony Michael Glassman focuses his practice in the areas of First Amendment rights, media law, product disparagement, publicity and privacy rights, crisis management, and white-collar criminal defense.
He has tried over 100 civil and criminal trials to jury verdict, and has handled numerous appellate matters before the California Supreme Court and federal appellate courts for the Ninth Circuit en banc, the Fifth Circuit, and the Tenth Circuit. Anthony is a Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers.
Areli Garza is a paralegal with Bergeson, LLP. She has been with the firm since 2014 where she began her career as the Executive Assistant to the Chief Operations Officer. Areli is involved in all aspects of litigation and assists attorneys in both State and Federal Courts by managing document productions, document control, deposition preparation, conducting legal research and trial preparation. Areli also assists the Chief Operations Officer with a wide array of administrative tasks. Ms. Garza is a member of the Paralegal Association of Santa Clara County (P.A.S.C.C.O).
Job Titles:
- Los Angeles Real Estate Investor
Known for delivering favorable outcomes in complex securities, venture capital, and business litigation, Caroline McIntyre leverages her trial skills to protect clients' interests and resolve disputes efficiently. Her recent trial achievements include securing a jury verdict for damages and attorney's fees for the purchaser of a high-tech company in a sharply contested retrial involving breach of contract claims.
Caroline represents numerous Silicon Valley and Bay Area technology and financial industry clients-directors, officers, and companies-in high-stakes individual, derivative, and class action litigation and trials. She has led Bergeson, LLP as Managing Partner since 2003.
In securities litigation, Caroline's effective defense and strategies address the upfront battles and unique issues in these cases. She acts to resolve disputes early when possible, from knocking out claims of breach of fiduciary duty and other allegations to lowering damage claims, targeting discovery, and defending depositions.
When a company or its leaders are at risk, founding partner Daniel J. Bergeson uses his substantial litigation and trial experience to advocate for their rights and reputations in lawsuits involving securities, intellectual property, employment, and commercial law. He focuses on the essential facts to persuade juries, judges, and triers of cases in state and federal courts and arbitration forums in Silicon Valley, Delaware, New York, and other dispute resolution venues nationwide.
Daniel brings more than 35 years of business trial experience to bear in the most contentious and prominent business litigation disputes and investigations. His clients have ranged from Fortune 500 companies to start-ups facing bet-the-company threats. In addition, he has protected the rights of several Silicon Valley entrepreneurs and executives in state and federal courts throughout the nation as well as in state and federal regulatory and investigative matters.
Job Titles:
- Financial Advisors to Mark Zuckerberg
Betsy Lear guides clients through internal and government investigations, regulatory enforcement matters, and related litigation. Whether conducting an internal investigation for an Audit or Special Litigation Committee or representing officers and directors before the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Betsy advises clients regarding legal issues while also keeping in mind their business interests. She represents a wide range of publicly traded companies and their directors and officers, as well as privately held companies and their executives and not for profit organizations.
Betsy applies her investigation experience and business and accounting knowledge to keep investigations efficient, on point, and on track. She calibrates her counsel to the unique issues each client faces and the appropriate scope of each investigation. Betsy has conducted more than 40 investigations into business issues, including:
Revenue recognition
Breaches of fiduciary duties
Corporate funds tracing
Government contract billing
Leaks of inside information
Reimbursement of executive personal expenses
Stock option granting practices
Skilled at managing the complex legal and technical issues in trade secret, patent, and employment disputes, intellectual property litigator Jaideep Venkatesan advocates for Silicon Valley's entrepreneurs, founders, and growth companies. Jay has been particularly effective in obtaining and defeating temporary restraining orders (TROs) and preliminary injunctions in trade secret disputes, and in compelling arbitration in the defense of lawsuits alleging breach of contract, trade secret, and other tort claims.
Sometimes litigation is not in a client's best interests. Jay frequently advises companies and individuals in how to resolve business and employment disputes before they get to litigation - or deescalate once there. Jay has counseled businesses and employees in negotiating employment agreements and separation agreements, and resolving issues concerning compensation, non-competition and non-solicitation clauses, and protection of confidential information and trade secrets.
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- Chief Operations Officer
- Member of the Association of Legal Administrators
As Chief Operations Officer, Ms. Zoccoli oversees the firm's business, financial and administrative operations. One of her primary focuses is planning and implementing the firm's strategic growth strategy by improving profitability while delivering exceptional client service and value. Jan collaborates with the Firm equity partners to maintain an atmosphere and culture of civility, dignity, inclusion, confidence and respect in which all Firm personnel can engage and succeed.
Jan is responsible for the Firm's financial planning, including the Firm's retirement plans, and health and welfare benefits. She leads the Human Resource department and management of all support personnel. Jan is also the liaison with the Firm's insurance brokers, systems administration, information resources, and support vendors. During her tenure with Bergeson, LLP, Jan has led the firm through the expansion of two additional office locations (San Francisco and Beverly Hills). Ms. Zoccoli has been a member of the Bergeson team since 1999.
Ms. Zoccoli is a long-standing member of the Association of Legal Administrators (ALA), where she recently served on the board as the Law Association Outreach and Community Connection Chair. Jan served as President of the ALA and has held multiple committee positions with the association. Ms. Zoccoli has been a member of the National Notary Association since 2000. Further, Jan holds memberships in Next Concept HR Association, Society for Human Resource Management, and the National Association of Professional Business Women. She has received certification with SHRM-SCP and Virtual CA HR: Applying CA Law to Employment Practices. Jan was also awarded Boss of the Year by Santa Clara County Legal Professional Association in 2011.
Represented a tech-focused investment bank in an action brought by a former client alleging breach of contract and negligence.
John Bergeson joined Bergeson, LLP as an intern during the summer of 2020. Working as a contributing team member, John supports attorneys and paralegals in all aspects of litigation. He assists in reviewing, drafting and organizing a wide variety of contracts, assists with document productions and deposition preparation, and conducts legal research and trial preparation in state and federal courts. John graduated with honors from the University of Michigan in 2019 with a bachelor's degree in Sociology and obtained a master's degree in Global Thought from Columbia University in 2020.
John D. Cooke is a trial lawyer and former federal prosecutor who represents clients in high-stakes civil litigation, criminal and regulatory matters, and corporate investigations.
When business partnerships, startups, and investment funds are in the throes of intra-company disputes or face claims of wrongdoing, business litigator John D. Pernick guides companies and their founders, directors, executives, and investors toward resolutions that serve their overall interests, be it through negotiation or litigation. He also represents companies and individuals in complex state and federal litigation matters and in connection with investigations by the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC), Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), and other regulatory agencies and authorities.
Job Titles:
- Partner
- Leader of Bergeson 's M & a Dispute Resolution Group
Lloyd Winawer is known for his work on complex business litigation and investigations. Lloyd focuses on disputes arising from mergers and acquisitions and other commercial transactions and securities law matters.
Lloyd is the leader of Bergeson's M&A Dispute Resolution Group. Lloyd has significant expertise in M&A disputes, having litigated and advised on numerous post-closing controversies related to earnouts, purchase price adjustments, contingent value rights, milestone and performance payments, escrow arrangements and indemnification claims. Lloyd represents equity, option and other security holders, venture and private equity firms, targets, acquirors and shareholder representatives in these matters. On the plaintiff-side, Lloyd has successfully obtained significant eight-figure recoveries, both through early-stage negotiation and the aggressive prosecution of claims in judicial and arbitration proceedings.
Lloyd has substantial securities litigation experience, having led high profile matters involving cutting-edge issues. Lloyd's experience encompasses shareholder class actions, derivative lawsuits, internal investigations, and investigations and proceedings brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice. These matters have spanned a range of industries, including apparel, financial services, life sciences, technology, and transportation. In addition, Lloyd has counseled public companies on various accounting and financial reporting issues, including matters related to revenue recognition, reserves, and the valuation of assets and instruments, among others.
Prior to joining Bergeson, Lloyd was a partner at two global law firms.
Monique Flores joined the Bergeson team in 2020 as a Legal Assistant, bringing with her 17 years of experience in the legal field. Mrs. Flores provides secretarial and administrative assistance to her team of attorneys by processing legal documents, preparing court filings, trial preparation and overall case organization.
Patrick M. Costello practices law with Vectis Law Group. Mr. Costello has practiced law for over 25 years, primarily in the areas of insolvency, bankruptcy, creditors' rights, workouts, secured transactions, and commercial law. He has represented debtors, creditors, trustees, creditors' committees, purchasers, licensors, licensees, non-institutional lenders, officers, boards of directors and investors in bankruptcies, out-of-court workouts, assignments for benefit of creditors, dissolutions and a broad range of highly leveraged and distressed transactions with an emphasis on IP centric companies in transactions ranging from small start-ups to billion dollar transactions. Mr. Costello has counseled directors, senior management, investors, and creditors concerning potential duties and liabilities to creditors and/or the corporation in the "zone of insolvency" and has advised and represented such parties in state and federal court litigation concerning their conduct in distressed circumstances. He has successfully represented members of management in appeals before the Ninth Circuit.
Mr. Costello has lectured on a range of bankruptcy and insolvency issues before bar associations, corporate law firms and trade groups, and has been a guest lecturer at Santa Clara Law School and the University of California Haas School of Business. He has served on the Insolvency Law Committee of the Business Law Section of the State Bar of California and as a co-chair of the UCC Committee of the Business Law Section of the State Bar of California.Mr. Costello has co-authored "Technology Licensing: Protecting Licenses Against the Risk of the Licensor's Insolvency" in the California Business Law Practitioner, Vol. III, No. 2, Spring 1988; "New Bankruptcy Code Section 365(n): Limited Comfort for the Technology Licensee" in California Business Law Reporter, Vol. X, No. 5, January 1989; "Intellectual Property Licenses After the Enactment of Special Legislation: Limited Security" in Business Law News, Vol. 11, No. 3, Winter 1989; and "Now That the Tide Has Turned: The Impact of Bankruptcy on Customers of Technology Licensors and Service Providers" in Technology Access Report, (January 2002).
Peeyush Jain, an attorney with Law Plus II, specializes in intellectual property licensing and providing general counsel services to clients. Mr. Jain has extensive experience in the technology and semiconductor industry, and currently represents a MEMs foundry in Europe, a Fortune 500 semiconductor company in Arizona, and cloud based business solutions companies in California. He previously served as Deputy General Counsel for United Microelectronics Corporation, a semiconductor foundry in Taiwan, and as the Director of Legal Affairs at Chromatic Research, Inc. (a $100 million venture-backed start-up focused on multimedia microprocessors and related software solutions). Mr. Jain also has extensive experience serving clients in a variety of industries, including software, hardware, and internet companies as an Associate in the Technology Transactions Group at Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich & Rosati, and as Of Counsel at Latham & Watkins. Mr. Jain also was an Associate in the International Trade Group at Weil, Gotshal & Manges (Washington D.C.).
In her counsel on First Amendment rights, online defamation, media law, product disparagement, rights of publicity and privacy, and crisis management, Rebecca Nell Kaufman advises prominent individuals, companies, and institutions. She works seamlessly with clients' public relations, business, and criminal defense teams to exert their rights and to prevent-and repair-damage to their reputations and livelihoods.
Rebecca's main objective in her practice is to help clients before their reputations are damaged. She has helped numerous individuals and corporations avoid the publication of false, defamatory, and potentially ruinous allegations by major media outlets. Her collegial yet firm style with news and media outlets has helped eliminate, or contain, the negative impact of potentially unfavorable publicity for scores of clients.
"Can you get the post taken down?" is a question clients frequently ask Rebecca after being blindsided by negative allegations online. In those circumstances, when adverse content is already public, posted, or broadcast, Rebecca provides insightful advice on the efficacy of a well-worded demand letter for a takedown, litigation, or the pursuit of a damage award.
In addition, Rebecca has helped broker confidential settlements for several clients, and in the process has preserved their valued privacy. She also advises victims of baseless #MeToo allegations. In addition, Rebecca has advised such clients as DynCorp International, Prime Healthcare, and Feed the Children on countering privacy and reputational threats.
Her services and counsel have included and addressed:
Defamation
Invasion of privacy
#MeToo claims
Negative reviews
Not-for-profit and religious institutions
Revenge porn
SLAPP suits
Rebecca is a graduate of Cardozo School of Law, Yeshiva University and University of California Berkeley. Her background includes such pro bono work as post-sentencing appeals for death row inmates and helping asylum seekers fleeing religious persecution.
Rowena Stewart is the Accounting Coordinator at Bergeson, LLP. She has been with the Firm since 2013. Ms. Stewart maintains the firms accounting database. She is responsible for the creation of monthly bills, billing, trust accounts, accounts receivable, accounts payable, and all collections.
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- Symphony - President, Board of Directors
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- Senior Affiliated Counsel
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- Executive Assistant
- Executive Assistant With
Shauna Brill is an Executive Assistant with Bergeson, LLP. She has been with the firm since 2004. Ms. Brill assists her team in various capacities including processing legal documents, trial preparation, and client relations. She is also a member of the marketing team and is responsible for implementing the firm's marketing strategies, social media presence and managing the website. Ms. Brill is a member of the Legal Marketing Association and Santa Clara County Legal Professional Association.
Steven L. Walker is a tax attorney in San Jose, California at the Law Offices of Steven L. Walker, A Professional Law Corporation. Mr. Walker is a former IRS Trial Attorney at the Office of Chief Counsel, Internal Revenue Service, where he furnished legal advice and representation to the IRS on all matters relating to the administration and enforcement of the Internal Revenue laws, including audits, administrative appeals, collections and federal and state litigation. Mr. Walker also worked at the California Franchise Tax Board. He is admitted to practice before the United States Tax Court, has 18 civil tax trials and 13 published United States Tax Court cases, and is a recipient of the IRS Special Act Award.
Mr. Walker is actively involved in the legal community. He is a member of the California State Bar Association and serves on the Executive Committee of the Taxation Section. Mr. Walker is the Chair of the Taxation Section of the Santa Clara County Bar Association, and serves on the Executive Committee for the Silicon Valley Bar Association.
Mr. Walker was invited to Washington D.C. in 2010 by the Taxation Section, State Bar of California, to present a position paper regarding a significant tax issue facing businesses in California. The paper proposed needed relief for California businesses and was presented to the Internal Revenue Service, United States Treasury Department, U.S. Tax Court, and Congressional personnel.
Mr. Walker is a former partner of a major international law firm in Palo Alto, California, and former Associate General Counsel of a publicly-traded Silicon Valley company.
Business litigator Susan Bower uses her depth of experience in commercial litigation to create advantages for clients. Working from the onset of litigation, Susan frequently is able to identify related claims and create strategic defenses, often overlooked by others, that further her clients' rights.
Job Titles:
- American Inn of Court - Member