BURKHALTER KESSLER CLEMENT & GEORGE - Key Persons
Mr. Burkhalter is the founding partner of BKCG. He is an AV Preeminent rated lawyer, the top ranking in ability and ethics by Martindale- Hubbell. Mr. Burkhalter has been selected as a Southern California Super Lawyer for Business Litigation every year since 2007, and was selected as one of Orange County's Top 50 Super Lawyers in 2019. Mr. Burkhalter is also a new member of the American Board of Trial Advocates.
Amanda V. Dwight is a graduate of the UCLA School of Law where she was the recipient of two fellowships. At UCLA, Ms. Dwight served as the Chief Articled Editor of the Pacific Basin Law Journal and judicial extern for the Honorable Gary L. Taylor, U.S. District Court of California, Central District. Ms. Dwight also created a program to intake asylum seekers for the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law.
Ms. Dwight is co-author of two leading treatises on trademark and copyright prosecution law, Trademark Registration Practice (Thomson Reuters) and Copyright Registration Practice (Thomson Reuters), and the only practice guide in the U.S, concerning trademark examining procedures, Practitioner's Trademark Manual of Examining Procedure (Thomson Reuters). She has been a guest speaker and instructor at local and national organizations; including the national MAGIC Marketplace fashion tradeshow, regarding intellectual property matters.
Prior to attending law school, Ms Dwight was a computer programmer and systems consultant for Anderson Consulting (now Accenture) and an in-house systems analyst for Gannet, Co. At Andersen, Ms. Dwight developed distribution control systems for Fortune 500 companies. At Gannet, Ms. Dwight installed and supported advertising systems for over fifty newspapers throughout the country.
Ms. Dwight received her Bachelor of Science as an honors graduate from the University of Virginia, McIntire School of Commerce with a major in Management Information Systems and a minor in Marketing.
Amy Turner provides day-to-day advice to senior executives, human resources managers and in-house attorneys regarding all aspects of human resources issues and legal compliance, including hiring and firing, employee discipline and termination, personnel policies and procedures, wage and hour laws, benefits, leaves of absence, workplace investigations, corporate restructuring, layoffs, protection of trade secrets and proper handling of employment-related disputes, including claims of harassment, discrimination, breach of contract, wrongful termination, retaliation and wage and hour violations. Ms. Turner drafts and updates employment agreements, separation agreements, consulting agreements, confidentiality agreements, waiver and releases, and employee handbooks. Ms. Turner conducts investigations of, and/or assists clients in, conducting investigations of employee complaints (including harassment and discrimination complaints and claims asserted in administrative proceedings (such as DFEH and EEOC charges)). Ms. Turner also provides training programs for management and employees.
Education
Loyola Law School, Los Angeles, California
J.D. - 1994
University of Michigan
Drew S. Levine is an associate with the firm's litigation department. Prior to joining BCKG, Mr. Levine owned and managed his own solo law practice specializing in civil litigation, basic corporate transactions, and removal defense of refugees in U.S. Immigration Court.
Mr. Levine was born and raised in Orange County, spending most of his childhood in Tustin. He received his Bachelor's of Science in Philosophy at University of California, Berkeley. He went on to receive a Master's in Science of Management from N.Y.U. Polytechnic's extension campus in Rishon L'Zion, Israel, and then received his Juris Doctorate from Cornell Law School in Ithaca, New York. During his time at Cornell, Mr. Levine participated in various prestigious competitions on behalf of the school's organizations for Moot Court, Mock Trial, and the Alternative Dispute Resolution Society.
Gregory M. Clement's practice focuses on corporate, real estate and other transactional matters, as well as a wide array of employment law issues. Mr. Clement has handled the purchase and sale of numerous companies, including several multimillion dollar acquisitions by publicly traded companies and represents clients in a wide variety of fields including transportation, software, entertainment, insurance, Internet and telecommunications.
Mr. Clement began his legal career as a business litigator in Washington, D.C. before joining the business litigation firm of Whitcombe, Makin & Pentis in Long Beach. Before joining BKCG in 2000, he was general counsel of Golden Eagle Express, Inc., a regional transportation company based in Pomona with offices in multiple states. As general counsel, Mr. Clement served five years on the management committee and was responsible for all contractual and litigation matters, insurance and risk management. While employed with Golden Eagle Express, Mr. Clement served as a Board Member of the Los Angeles chapter of the Association of Transportation, Law, Logistics & Policy.
Mr. Clement grew up in the United Kingdom and graduated in 1985 from Aston University in Birmingham, England with a Bachelor of Science (with Honors) in Business Administration and French. Mr. Clement worked as a licensed real estate agent in Philadelphia before attending the National Law Center at George Washington University in Washington, D.C, from which he graduated with honors. During law school, Mr. Clement served on The George Washington Journal of International Law and Economics. He authored, "The New Job-Creating Investor Visa Provision: A Legitimate Spur to Investment or a Sell-Off of U.S. Citizenship to the Highest Bidder?" 24 Geo. Wash. J. Int'l. L. & Econ. 195 (1990).
Mr. Clement is admitted to practice in California, the United States District Court for the Central District of California, Maryland and the District of Columbia and is an honorary member of Delta Theta Phi Law Fraternity, International. Mr. Clement is fluent in French and German and, when not drafting or reviewing business contracts, his interests include running, crime novels, independent movies and travel with his wife and two daughters.
Joshua Waldman is a partner at the firm whose practice focuses primarily on business disputes. Mr. Waldman began his legal career as an extern for the Honorable Napoleon Jones, Jr. from the U.S. District Court, Southern District of California. He was an associate for Walsworth, Franklin Bevins and McCall and Collins & Bellenghi, focusing on civil litigation, with an emphasis on business and employment disputes before joining BKCG.
Since joining BKCG, Mr. Waldman has secured many positive outcomes for BKCG clients by winning dipositive motions, achieving extremely favorable settlements, and prevailing in multiple trials and arbitrations.
Born in Phoenix, Mr. Waldman graduated from The University of Arizona in 1998 with a B.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies with an emphasis in Business, Philosophy and Communications. He attended the University of San Diego School of Law and obtained a J.D. in 2002, where he graduated in the top fifth of his class, and earned an M.B.A. from the University of San Diego School of Business in 2003.
Mr. Waldman is admitted to practice in all courts of the State of California and the United States District Court for the Central District of California. Mr. Waldman is a member of the American Bar Association and the Orange County Bar Association. Mr. Waldman became AV rated by Martindale Hubbell's peer review rating system in 2019, the highest ranking (5.0 out of 5.0) in legal ability and ethics.
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Senior Associate
Keith Butler is a Senior Associate whose practice focuses on business disputes. Mr. Butler spent a number of years representing corporate clients including the representation of insurance companies where he litigated commercial first party property disputes. Keith has also represented municipal clients where he litigated real estate, eminent domain, and construction defect cases in both state and federal court.
Prior to entering private practice, Mr. Butler was an Assistant State's Attorney for Cook County, Illinois.
Mr. Butler is admitted to practice law in California, Illinois, and Georgia. He is also admitted in all districts for the U.S. District Court of California as well as the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
Keith received his J.D. from Emory University School of Law (1990) and his undergraduate degree from the University of Colorado, Boulder (1987).
Michael McConnell is an associate with the firm's litigation department. Prior to joining BKCG, Mr. McConnell managed his own law practice which focused primarily on business law. Mr. McConnell represented numerous corporate clients and individuals in a variety of litigation and transactional matters.
Mr. McConnell was born in Mission Viejo, California. Mr. McConnell graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with a B.A. in Political Science, and subfield specializations in International Relations, Comparative Politics, and American Politics. Mr. McConnell then went on to receive his J.D. from the University of California, Irvine School of Law. During his time at UCI Law, Mr. McConnell served on the inaugural staff of the UCI Law Journal of International, Transnational, and Comparative Law.
Michael Oberbeck is a senior counsel focusing on business litigation issues. At BKCG, Mr. Oberbeck has extensively litigated employment disputes, commercial and real property disputes, international manufacturing and distribution litigation, and trademark and franchise issues. Mr. Oberbeck has litigated cases throughout California in both state and federal courts, and he has obtained many client-favorable results at trial, arbitration, and mediation. Mr. Oberbeck also has authored and successfully argued several matters before the California Courts of Appeals for BKCG clients.
Born in Evansville, Indiana, Mr. Oberbeck graduated, cum laude, from Purdue University in 1993 with a double major in Psychology and Criminology. He earned his J.D. from Northwestern University School of Law.
Mr. Oberbeck is admitted to practice in all courts of the State of California and in the United States District Courts for the Central, Eastern and Southern Districts of California. He is a member of the American Bar Association, the Los Angeles Bar Association, and the Provisors business networking group. Mr. Oberbeck lives in Long Beach with his wife, Vacharee, and their three children, Elizabeth, Paul, and Emily.
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Senior Associate
Rosamund Lockwood is a senior associate with the firm's litigation unit. Prior to joining BKCG, Ms. Lockwood was an Assistant Attorney General with the State of Alaska's Department of Special Prosecutions and Appeals. Ms. Lockwood was promoted to the State's appellate unit after spending three years cumulatively as an Assistant District Attorney serving in the Anchorage Violent Crimes Unit and the Bethel and Kotzebue bush offices. Ms. Lockwood successfully prosecuted dozens of cases through trial.
Ms. Lockwood's trial experience made the transition from criminal law to civil business litigation a smooth one and since joining BKCG in 2004, Ms. Lockwood has skillfully managed cases involving trade secret and unfair competition claims, contract disputes, securities litigation, commercial litigation, and a wide variety of other business torts. Ms. Lockwood is also heavily involved in the firm's appellate practice, both in state and federal court.
Ms. Lockwood graduated from the University of California, Santa Cruz in 1993 with a B.A. in Philosophy. She earned her J.D. at McGeorge School of Law and graduated second in her class, summa cum laude in 1997. While at McGeorge, Ms. Lockwood was Assistant Articles Editor for the Transnational Lawyer, made the Dean's List each academic year, received the Annabel McGeorge Academic Achievement Scholarship consecutively in 1996 and 1997, and was the recipient of the American Jurisprudence Award in Criminal Law, White Collar Crime, Federal Securities Regulations, and Constitutional Law. Ms. Lockwood also was a member, Traynor Oral Advocacy Team; Member. Upon graduation, Ms. Lockwood was received into the Order of the Coif.
Ms. Lockwood is admitted to practice in both the State of California and the State of Alaska. Outside of the office, Ms. Lockwood enjoys hiking, swing dancing and cross-training.
Job Titles:
- Partner
- Certified Specialist
William George has been a certified specialist in estate planning, probate, and trust law since 1994. Mr. George, a native of southern California, receives his B.S. in business Administration, with a Finance Emphasis from the University of Southern California. He earned his law degree at Pepperdine University, where he served as a member of the Law Review. Mr. George also has a Master of Law (L.L.M.) in Taxation from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law, where he finished third in his master's class.
Mr. George has consulted with the largest financial institution to assist them in being more aware of their client's estate planning needs and how to best address them in a consultative fashion. An accomplished practitioner in estate planning and tax law, Mr. George has been named a Southern California Super Lawyer.