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    Attorneys

    Harvey C. Berger

    • Title: Partner
    • Location: 401 B Street, Suite 2000
      San Diego, CA 92101
    • Phone: (619) 234-1222
    • Fax: (619) 236-9677
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    Harvey Berger co-founded the firm in 1996. For over 30 years Harvey has represented individuals, insurance companies, small businesses and billion dollar corporations in all aspects of civil litigation. Many of his clients have stayed with him for over a decade. His specialty is employment law, both representing employees, and defending employers, in lawsuits, class actions, mediations, arbitrations and California Labor Commissioner hearings. He also provides personnel advice and counsel to avoid litigation.

    Harvey was voted by The San Diego Daily Transcript as one of the Top (10) Employment Attorneys in San Diego County, by other employment lawyers, in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2012, 2014 & 2015. The Transcript conducted a peer voting process to determine the best lawyers in San Diego County in key categories.

    Harvey has been selected as one of San Diego’s “Super Lawyers” each year from 2007-2018. Harvey’s selection as a “Super Lawyer” was highlighted in a special supplement to the Southern California edition of The New York Times and the San Diego Union Tribune as well as the annual issue of Southern California “Super Lawyers” for San Diego. The award followed a survey of more than 10,000 San Diego lawyers followed by an extensive panel review. Only 5% of San Diego attorneys have been selected for Super Lawyers. Super Lawyers has also given Harvey special recognition for the very unique distinction of receiving the award for 10 consecutive years. In addition, Super Lawyers listed him as a Top 50 attorney in San Diego for years 2014 and 2016. In 2015, he was listed as a Top 10 attorney.

    Harvey was also selected as one of the Best Lawyers in America each year from 2008-2018 through Best Lawyers, the oldest and most respected peer-review publication in the legal profession. In addition, he was selected as one of San Diego’s Best Lawyers each year from 2008-2018.

    In 2016, Harvey was selected by the San Diego Business Journal as Best of the Bar. He was also given the title of 10 Best 2016 for Client Satisfaction, Labor & Employment Law Division by the American Institute of Legal Counsel.

    Harvey has achieved the highest possible (“AV”) rating from Martindale-Hubbell, the authoritative resource for information on the world-wide legal profession. This AV rating indicates very high to preeminent legal ability and the highest professional standards of conduct, ethics, reliability and diligence as established by confidential opinions from both judges and members of the bar.

    Harvey has lectured to statewide attorney organizations, the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM),  as well as to businesses throughout the Southern California area on wage & hour issues, sexual harassment, employment law and management issues. He is a Chapter Author of Wage and Hour Laws: A State-by-State Survey, as well as the 2008 Cumulative Supplement and co-author of book on USERRA.

    He is an American Arbitration Association (AAA) Arbitrator and Mediator on AAA’s Employment Panel.  He is also an arbitrator and Judge Pro Tempore for the San Diego Superior Court, an arbitrator for the San Diego County Bar Association Fee Dispute Committee, and privately arbitrates and mediates cases upon request. He recently taught an advanced seminar on mediation for the ADR Section of the American Bar Association and attended an advanced seminar for mediators titled “Mediating the Litigated Case” at the Straus Institute at Pepperdine University.  He was also a Senior Instructor of American Law Arbitration and Mediation Center for the International Legal Studies (CILS) Salzberg, Austria – (taught in Latvia, Hungary, Poland and Austria).

    As a result of a practice representing both employees and employers, Harvey is able to anticipate opposing counsel’s strategies and far more effectively represent his clients. He is also able to easily interact with opposing counsel, while known as an aggressive and outstanding advocate for his clients.

    Harvey Berger obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from the State University of New York at Stony Brook in 1974 and a Masters in Management from M.I.T. Sloan School of Management in 1976. After working for several years as a personnel manager and labor relations consultant, Harvey graduated from the University of San Diego School of Law in 1981.

    Harvey is active in various bar associations and legal organizations, including the State Bar of California, American Bar Association, San Diego County Bar Association, California Employment Lawyers Association, National Employment Lawyers Association, Association of Trial Lawyers of America, Society for Human Resource Management, San Diego Defense Lawyers Association, Consumer Attorneys of San Diego and Lawyers Club of San Diego. He has been co-chair of the San Diego County Bar Association Labor & Employment Committee for 2012 and 2013. He was on the Wage and Hour Committee of CELA and was chair of its Bench-Bar Committee. He has been on the Board of Directors of the Lawyer Referral & Information Service (LRIS) from 2009-2013, and was its chair from 2012-2013. He is a volunteer for the San Diego County Bar Association Servicemember’s Civil Relief Act committee, for which he appears pro bono on behalf of active duty military service members who are sued in court.

    Harvey is Secretary of the Board of Directors, and Chair of the HR Committee,  of The Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank (2014 – present).

    In 2015, he was elected to the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers.

    In his spare time, Harvey is an avid Crossfit athlete.

    Timothy G. Williams

    • Title: Partner
    • Location: 401 B Street, Suite 2000
      San Diego, CA 92101
    • Phone: (619) 234-1222
    • Fax: (619) 236-9677
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    Timothy G. Williams began working in the labor/employment field in 1994. As an attorney in California since 1999, Tim has worked on hundreds of matters representing a broad spectrum of clients including: pursuing claims on behalf of individuals, as well as classes of hundreds and thousands of workers/consumers; and advising and defending small businesses and large corporations in a wide range of employment disputes. Tim is regularly retained as lead counsel in high-stakes and class action litigation involving seven-, eight-, and nine-figure disputes. Tim has worked extensively advising California employers of all sizes on employment law compliance issues and provides counseling and advice. Tim also regularly works with executives on employment and separation agreements.

    Tim is recognized by clients and peers for his successes and experience. Each year, Tim authors and edits employment law practice guides for attorneys. Tim also regularly speaks at seminars to train other employment lawyers on advanced practice skills.

    Tim is a member of the California Lawyers Association’s Labor and Employment Executive Committee (Sept. 2022-Present). Tim also serves on the San Diego County Bar Association’s Board of Directors (December 2022-Present).

    Tim’s practice focuses on federal and California employment laws, including wage-and-hour, discrimination, harassment, and separation/termination matters. He has considerable knowledge with minimum wage, overtime, expense reimbursement, and mis-classification issues, having litigated scores of such cases over 20 years. In particular, Tim has extensive experience litigating dozens of complex/class actions in federal and state courts throughout California on behalf of employees/consumers and employers/businesses in trial and appellate courts. Over his career, Tim has litigated hundreds of cases in various federal and state courts at trial and on appeal, in arbitration and mediation, and state administrative proceedings including with the California Labor Commissioner.

    For nearly two decades Tim has advised scores of employers on all facets of federal and California employment law “best practices.” This has included drafting, reviewing, and revising handbooks, policies, procedures; advising employers on investigations and audits; and providing extensive wage-and-hour compliance advice, including regarding all types of exemptions. Tim has also provided counseling, advice, and training to managers and executives on a variety of mandatory and preventative employment law issues.

    Tim is a graduate of the University of Southern California, and of South Texas College of Law. In 1996, Tim became licensed to practice law in Texas. In 1997, he passed the California bar. Tim became a partner in the firm in 2003. Tim has also completed a program for advanced mediation training with Pepperdine University.

    Tim has achieved the highest possible (“AV”) rating from Martindale-Hubbell, the authoritative resource for information on the world wide legal profession. This AV rating indicates very high to preeminent legal ability and very high professional standards of conduct, ethics, reliability and diligence as established by confidential opinions from both judges and members of the bar. He has also been selected each year since 2009 as an employment SuperLawyer, a distinguished award given to only a small percentage of attorneys in certain specialties around the country. Tim has also been selected as one of the Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Employment Lawyers in repeated years.

    Tim devotes time as a volunteer to local, state and national law school functions and bar organizations, including at the University of San Diego employment law clinic. Tim is active in various bar associations, including the American Bar Association and State Bar of California and their sections on Labor & Employment, as well as the San Diego County Bar Association and its Labor & Employment Law Section as a past Co-Chair. Tim volunteers with Lawyers Club of San Diego, an attorney organization dedicated to advancing the status of women in the law and society. Tim is also an alumni of the Louis M. Welch Chapter of the American Inns of Court, a nationwide association of judges and lawyers committed to the preservation of ethics and civility in the practice of law.

    Tim spent over a decade volunteering with youth sports activities in his community. Tim is also a two-time marathon finisher and has completed nine half-marathon races, including running to raise money for a charitable organization.

    Published decisions:

    • Prince, et. al. v. CLS Limo, et al. (2004) 118 Cal.App.4th 1320 (Plaintiffs’ Counsel).
    • Brinker Restaurant Corp. v. Superior Court (2012) 53 Cal.4th 1004 (Amici Curiae).
    • In 2016, Tim was appointed by the California Employment Lawyers Association to write an amicus brief in the matter of Quiles/Turman v. Koji’s Japan, Inc., which was accepted and filed in June 2016, and cited in the Court’s opinion on November 7, 2017; Tim was then selected to write CELA’s request for publication letter, resulting in publication of the case at 17 Cal.App.4th 969.
    • Pataky v. Brigantine, Inc. (S.D. Cal., Jan. 14, 2019, No. 317CV352GPCAGS) 2019 WL 183583 (Plaintiffs’ Class Counsel)
    • Moorer v. StemGenex Medical Group, Inc. (S.D. Cal., June 25, 2019, No. 16-CV-2816-AJB-NLS) 2019 WL 2602536 (Plaintiffs’ Lead Counsel At Class Certification Oral Argument)

    Shelby M. Harris

    • Title: Associate
    • Location: 401 B Street, Suite 2000
      San Diego, CA 92101
    • Phone: (619) 234-1222
    • Fax: (619) 236-9677
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      • Law School: Washington University School of Law
      • Undergrad School: Irvine, University of California
      Shelby M. Harris focuses her practice on employment law, representing both employee and employer clients in a wide variety of disputes. Shelby is directly involved with clients in all phases of litigation, including discovery and law-and-motion work, as well as developing and implementing litigation strategies. Shelby also advises businesses on best practices, and updating policies and procedures.

      Shelby obtained her Juris Doctor, cum laude, from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law where she served as a Senior Editor for the Washington University Law Review. Shelby engaged in extensive work experience while in law school, including internships with: the San Diego County Public Defender’s Office; Washington University’s Interdisciplinary Environmental Clinic; and Legal Services of Eastern Missouri, which provides free legal representation to survivors of domestic violence. Before law school, Shelby graduated cum laude from the University of California, Irvine, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Studies.

      Prior to joining Berger & Williams, Shelby was an associate at another California-based law firm where she gained valuable litigation and counseling experience. Shelby has also lived abroad in Spain on two separate occasions and is fluent in Spanish.

      Matthew R. Baker

      • Title: Associate
      • Location: 401 B Street, Suite 2000
        San Diego, CA 92101
      • Phone: (619) 234-1222
      • Fax: (619) 236-9677
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        Matthew R. Baker’s practice focuses on employment law, representing employee and employer clients on a variety of issues, including wage-and-hour, discrimination, harassment, retaliation, and wrongful termination. Matt has experience in handling all phases of litigation, including initial client interviews, discovery and law-and-motion work, and mediation and arbitration. By representing employees and employers, Matt recognizes that each party faces distinct challenges and objectives, allowing him to craft tailored strategies that address the specific needs of each client. Matt also stays up to date on employment issues at both the federal and state level to ensure employers are advised on the best practices, and updated policies and procedures.

        Matt obtained his Juris Doctor, from California Western School of Law, graduating with honors. Before law school, Matt graduated from California State University, Northridge, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science.

        Before joining Berger & Williams, LLP, Matt practiced general civil litigation, focusing primarily on insurance defense. During this time, Matt gained valuable litigation experience handling complex litigation cases arising primarily from motor vehicle accidents and premises liability.
        In his spare time, Matt spends his time outdoors with his wife, Katie, and his two dogs, Brewer and Lily

        Contact

        Berger & Williams, LLP
        401 B Street, Suite 2000
        San Diego, CA 92101

        (619) 234-1222




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