CPW News

On February 27, 2007, the United States District Court for the Northern District of California entered a consent decree for equitable and monetary relief in the matter of EEOC and Abdellatif Hadji v. Albion River Inn, Inc. No. C06-05356 SI. David Nied and Raquel Lacayo-Valle represented Mr. Hadji, who intervened in a lawsuit brought initially by the EEOC. Mr. Hadji, who is of Moroccan origin, lost his job after removing a customer from the defendant's restaurant who had made bigoted comments to Mr. Hadji and another employee of North African origin. Mr. Hadji brought claims of discrimination and retaliation after his employer required that he either sign a letter of apology to the customers or resign.

CPW partner Merri A. Baldwin has been named to the Board of Directors of the Bar Association of San Francisco Foundation. The foundation funds the pro bono, community service and charitable programs offered by the Bar Association. Its mission is to change lives by leveraging the legal aid resources of our community, supporting diversity in the legal profession and providing educational support to bay area youth.

Renee Callantine is co-organizing the 2008 spring meeting for the Property Insurance Law Committee of the Tort, Trial & Insurance Practice Section of the American Bar Association. The event will be held on April 3-5, 2008 at the Four Seasons Aviara Resort in Carlsbad, California and the topic is how insurance policy acquisition can affect a claim. The seminar will feature a distinguished panel of insurance experts who will discuss such topics as agent and broker liability, evaluating insurance risks and other underwriting issues, and interpretation of insurance policies. It will also include a practical discussion about discovery issues that arise in these areas. For more information on the program, please contact Renee at rcallantine@chapop.com.

On February 28, 2007, an Alameda County jury awarded $1.1 million to CPW's client in an action for defamation and employment retaliation under the Fair Labor Standards Act. John G. Heller and Raquel Lacayo-Valle represented the plaintiff, a sales engineer who was blackballed for having sued his employer. The verdict included $500,000 in career loss damages, $100,000 in emotional distress, and $500,000 in punitive damages. (Alameda Superior Court No. 2002-045972, Hon. C. Castellanos)

William Chapman, Mark White, John Heller, Renee Callantine and Duncan MacDonald served as faculty members for a trial advocacy skills training program for lawyers in public service. The program was held at Stanford Law School and was sponsored by the American Bar Association Section of Litigation and the National Institute for Trial Advocacy.

CPW is pleased to announce that Merri A. Baldwin has become a member of the firm. Ms. Baldwin will continue litigating business and commercial disputes, legal malpractice actions, malicious prosecution claims and law firm partnership issues.

The American Bar Association Section of Litigation appointed William F. Campbell co-director of the Section's Publications Division. His responsibilities include the Section's books, periodicals and committee newsletters.

Susan M. Popik served as a faculty member at the 4th Annual Graduate Program of the Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel's Litigation Management College, held June 17 - 21 at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia.

William F. Campbell recently served as co-chair of the American Bar Association Annual Meeting for the ABA Section of Litigation.

Recent Publications

John G. Heller, William F. Campbell & Carol D. Quackenbos contributed to the treatise "California Liability Insurance Practice: Claims and Litigation," published by Continuing Education of the Bar (2007).

Merri A. Baldwin, Consulting Editor, "Fee Agreement Forms Manual" (2nd Ed.), Continuing Education of the Bar (2007).

Renee Callantine, author, "California Insurance Law and Practice," Homeowners Policies, Lexis-Nexis Matthew Bender (April 2006).

Susan M. Popik, Co-Author, "California Practice Guide: Insurance Litigation," Rutter Group (2006).

John G. Heller, William F. Campbell, Duncan S. MacDonald, & Carol D. Quackenbos, Contributors, "California Liability Insurance Practice: Claims and Litigation," Continuing Education of the Bar (2006).

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Lectures and Presentations

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