News, Publications & Events

On December 10, 2018, Rhonda will be speaking at the Women in Consumer Finance Conference on a panel entitled “Just Freaking Own it Already!”  in Baltimore, Maryland. Read More

On November 7, 2018, Rhonda will be speaking at the Women, Diversity & Change Summit on a panel entitled “Succeeding in Male-Dominant Environments.” Read More

The California Legislature enacted the Homeowner Bill of Rights (“HBOR”) in 2012 to provide protection for homeowners facing non-judicial foreclosure and to modify certain aspects of the foreclosure process. Many (but not all) HBOR statutes were scheduled to sunset on January 1, 2018. Of the statutes that were scheduled to sunset, many (but not all) were replaced by parallel statutes… Read More

On April 30, 2018, the California Supreme Court clarified the landscape for California employment law. The Court announced a new three-pronged “ABC” test which must be used to determine whether a worker is an independent contractor or an employee. The impact of this new legal framework is immediately clear for the gig economy but its reverberations will be felt throughout… Read More

On August 29, 2018, Genevieve Walser-Jolly presented a live webinar with the Knowledge Group on emerging issues under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.  She looked at post-ACA Int’l developments on what constitutes an automatic telephone dialing system, contractual versus gratuitous consent, and recycled cell phone numbers. https://www.theknowledgegroup.org/webcasts/litigation-and-compliance-issues/ Read More

Severson & Werson Elevates Three OCBA Members Severson & Werson announced the elevation of six attorneys as its newest Members, three of whom are OCBA members David Berkley, Genevieve Walser-Jolly, and Matthew Garfinkle. Since joining Severson and Werson in 2012, Berkley has worked diligently in the Firm’s financial services group.  His breadth of experience is wide, including mortgage litigation, TCPA, FDCPA, and banking… Read More

View the SW Summer 2018 Newsletter Since its founding over 70 years ago, Severson & Werson has gained a reputation for providing specialized advice, legal services, and expertise to financial institution clients. The services we provide run the gamut from litigation to regulatory matters to client counseling, legislative affairs, and formulating and implementing nationwide strategies for consumer class action defense.… Read More

Under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), employers may invoke the so-called de minimus rule to avoid paying employees for up to 10 minutes of “off the clock” work per day.  Not so under California law, the California Supreme Court held in Troester v. Starbucks Corp., a decision issued on July 26, 2018. Troester holds that at least when an employer requires its… Read More

Severson & Werson is pleased to announce the elevation of six attorneys as its newest Members. This class brings a wealth of financial services, insurance, employment, litigation, and trial expertise. Duane Geck, the Firm’s Co-CEO, acknowledged the achievements of these new Members: “We recognize the promise of six outstanding attorneys from across our practice areas and offices. These attorneys represent… Read More

An Le was an infant when she and her family fled Saigon near the end of the Vietnam War. Despite major setbacks, she raised two kids as a single mom and became a successful attorney. Son TaeVeon will play football as a freshman at Stanford, and daughter Tiana, at age 15, is already a veteran actress on TV dramas. Continue… Read More

In Saunders v. Dyck O’Neal, Inc., No. 1:17-CV-335, 2018 WL 3453967 (W.D. Mich. July 16, 2018), defendant argued that its “direct drop” voicemails are not covered by the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”). The court disagreed and denied Dyck O’Neal’s motion for summary judgment. Id. at *1. Continue Reading: Direct Drop Voicemails Covered by the TCPA Read More

While businesses have been largely focused on the European Union’s implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) of late, California took its own first steps into the new frontier of consumer privacy and data protection as Governor Jerry Brown signed Assembly Bill 375, dubbed the “California Data Privacy Protection Act” on June 28, 2018.1 The Act is scheduled to… Read More

On May 31-June 1, Severson & Werson was one of 9 pre-eminent consumer financial services law firms from across the nation who sponsored the Semi-Annual Consumer Financial Services Conference of the Conference on Consumer Finance Law in Chicago, Illinois.   Scott Hyman, a member of the CCFL’s Governing Committee, moderated a panel on FinTech and Auto-Mobility.  A White Paper by… Read More

William A. Aspinwall, an Associate in Severson & Werson’s Financial Services Practice Group, will serve as a volunteer instructor for the National Institute for Trial Advocacy Training’s “Building Trial Skills: San Francisco Program” from June 25-27, 2018.  Mr. Aspinwall joined Severson & Werson’s San Francisco office in 2017, having previously served as General Counsel for a publicly-traded company and having… Read More

Over the last three weeks, David has spoken on "Design Build as a Second Language", in both Dallas, TX, and Phoenix, AZ. If you would like a copy of these talks, contact David (dae@severson.com) or his assistant, Emily (ear@severson.com). Read More

How should a worker’s “regular rate of pay” be computed when the worker receives a flat sum bonus in addition to an hourly wage? The answer is crucial since, under California law, an employer must pay a worker 1.5 times the worker’s “regular rate of pay” for “overtime”—that is, work in excess of 8 hours in a day, 40 hours… Read More

In 1963, Congress enacted the Equal Pay Act (29 U.S.C. § 206(d)(1)), requiring equal pay for equal work regardless of sex. Under the Act, an employer may justify paying male and female employees different wages for substantially equal work only by showing that the disparity in pay is explained by a seniority or merit system, a system basing earnings on… Read More

A copy of Erik Kemp's and Scott Hyman's article "The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Regulates Pay-by-Phone “Convenience” Fees", CFSC Newsletter: ABA Business Law Section, (March 2018) can be found here:     https://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/business_law/newsletters/CL230000/full-issue-201803.authcheckdam.pdf Read More

On March 15, 2018, in Anaheim, California, a team of Severson lawyers offered their expertise in consumer reporting to members of the California Financial Services Association. The presentation, entitled “Best Practices and Avoiding Problems in Credit Reporting”, was presented by Andrew Elliott, Scott Hyman, Rebecca Saelao, Alisa Givental, Rochelle Smith, and An Le and included topics on current developments, best… Read More

Compliance has been a top concern for mortgage professionals for the past several years. From implementation and technological difficulties to being left in a state of uncertainty—how can the industry keep focus on the core mission of serving the housing market and making the American Dream more accessible? Continue Reading: A Balancing Act with Compliance Regulation Read More