News

– Midsize Mansfield Rule Has Now Grown to 140+ Participating Firms with Additional Cohorts – SAN FRANCISCO (May 5, 2022) — Diversity Lab announced today that 26 midsize law firms (listed below) have achieved the inaugural Midsize Mansfield Rule Certification. These certified firms have completed a rigorous 18-month collaboration with Diversity Lab — beginning in September 2020 — to track,… Read More

Severson is pleased to announce the addition of four new attorneys to its Orange County office. Kere Tickner and Michelle McCliman will be joining the firm as Members, along with Associates Stephen Kitagawa and Vanessa Dao, and legal secretary Elizabeth May.  We are excited to have such well-respected attorneys and their legal secretary join our team! Read More

Severson & Werson is proud to announce Orange County Managing Partner, Genevieve Walser-Jolly has been appointed to a 4-year term as the Vice-Chair of the American Bar Association’s Privacy and Data Security Subcommittee of the Consumer Financial Services Committee, after which time she will assume a 2-year position in the role as Chairperson of the Subcommittee.  Congratulations to Ms. Walser-Jolly… Read More

Under the March 2020 CARES Act, borrowers with federally-backed mortgage loans were able to request a 180-day forbearance on their loan payments if the borrower attested to a COVID-related hardship. That 180-day period could be extended for an additional 180-days upon the borrower’s request. In February 2021, the FHA, FHFA, USDA and VA announced that they were extending their forbearance… Read More

In a 9-0 opinion, the U.S. Supreme Court today sided with Facebook and with what defendants have been arguing for years: that equipment that lacks capacity to generate random or sequential numbers to be called, and merely dials set lists of numbers, is not regulated autodialer equipment under the TCPA. This case resolved a split among circuit courts, rejecting the… Read More

Severson & Werson attorneys Scott Hyman and Laszlo Ladi (along with Paul Soter from the Law Offices of Paul Soter) co-authored an article in the Conference on Consumer Finance Law Quarterly, one of the nation’s preeminent publications on consumer financial services legal developments, on California’s new debt collection licensing scheme and “mini-CFPB” legislation and their impact on those collecting consumer… Read More

Severson & Werson congratulates Joel Halverson as the new Chair of the Firm’s Construction Practice Group. Mr. Halverson is an experienced trial lawyer and transactional counselor committed to servicing the design, construction, real estate, and insurance communities. He is adept at resolving clients’ legal problems and guarding them against losses. With over 25 years of practice primarily focused on the… Read More

Severson & Werson member Jarlath Curran will be speaking on “Hot Litigation Topics” at the upcoming California MBA Legal Issues and Regulatory Compliance Conference on January 12-13th, 2020. Mr. Curran represents major financial institutions, including banks, mortgage lenders, consumer finance companies and auto finance companies, in all stages of litigation. Read More

At the behest of the editors of the Conference on Consumer Finance Law Quarterly Report, Stephen Britt of the Firm’s Orange County Office co-authored an article with Rebecca Fuller of St. Mary’s School of Law on the impact of the Quarterly Report on consumer financial services.  The Article, Quarterly Report Impact Analysis, analyses empirical data of judicial citations of articles published… Read More

On September 30, 2020, the Firm’s DPO, Scott Hyman, sat on a panel entitled “Data Breach and Malware Insights” on with Steve Kerler, Steve Mejia, BSEE MMIS and Jeff Tutton, MSc., QSA, CCFE.   The Panel was the first of PrivacyOC’s Fall Series. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/stevekerler_cpra-ccpa-privacyoc-activity-6717239710797959168-QJws   Read More

In an effort to minimize the spread of COVID-19 and better track known cases, Governor Newsom recently signed A.B. 685, which goes into effect on January 1, 2021 and will require employers to immediately notify employees of any potential COVID-19 exposure at the employer’s worksite. When must written notice be provided? Within one business day after the employer is notified… Read More

The Diversity Committee and Severson community mourn the passing of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.  Prior to joining the court in 1993, she achieved many landmark legal victories, including before the Supreme Court, that brick by brick built legal precedent for the proposition that the 14th Amendment’s guarantee of equal protection applies not only to racial discrimination but also… Read More

In recognition of our commitment to diversity and inclusion, Severson & Werson has achieved Mansfield 3.0 Certification.  To be certified, the Mansfield Rule requires that at least 30% of the candidates considered for leadership and governance roles, equity partner promotions, formal client pitch opportunities, and senior lateral positions, be traditionally underrepresented lawyers – women, lawyers of color, LGBTQ+ lawyers, and… Read More

Attorneys from Severson & Werson’s Data Privacy and Cybersecurity Group went all-in for this year’s Data Privacy Day 2020. In the Firm’s San Francisco office, Joseph Guzzetta (CIPP/US; CIPP/E) and Evelina Manukyan (CIPP/US; CIPP/E) passed their Certified Information Privacy Manager (CIPM) certification from the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP).   In the Firm’s Orange County office, Genevieve Walser-Jolly (CIPP/US),… Read More

Effective January 1, 2020, the California Consumer Privacy Act imposes liability on businesses for a data breach that results from the failure to maintain reasonable security procedures and practices.  The CCPA’s liability for such a data breach can be daunting, up to $750 per person.  Accordingly, since the CCPA’s enactment, compliance practitioners have advised their clients to shore up their… Read More

Yesterday we joined 90 other law firms in eight countries as we all give back to our respective communities through service projects. Thank you to Hogan Lovells for hosting the San Francisco event! And thank you UnitedWayDHC for helping coordinate the Orange County event at Paul Revere Elementary! Read More

Scott J. Hyman of the Firm's Orange County Office was interviewed by the Auto Finance Excellence and cited in an article entitled " Unpacking California's New Privacy Regulation:  Issues Lenders Need to Know" in the California Consumer Privacy Act and cybersecurity issues facing Automobile Finance Companies.  AutoFinanceExcellence is a project of the Auto Finance News. The legislation gives California consumers… Read More

Severson & Werson is a proud of supporter of Thomas Curran who is walking across America to raise money for the Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation. Thomas completes his journey this Saturday, September 21, 2019, in Newport Beach and we are humbled to be supporting him. For more information, please visit https://www.movingonwest.com/. Read More

Austin Kenney and Genevieve Walser-Jolly spoke at the Annual Meeting of the Association of Consumer Vehicle Lessors in Providence, RI on September 16, 2019. Their presentation, entitled “Consumer Privacy in the New Mobility Ecosystem,” addressed data privacy concerns posed by connected vehicles and best practices for privacy policies and notices to consumers in this space. Read More

Genevieve Walser-Jolly and Colin Murphy authored Chapter 10A on the California Consumer Privacy Act in California’s CEB practice guide “Privacy Compliance and Litigation in California” which currently is available on-line and in print. Read More