• Coblentz Patch Duffy & Bass LLP Names Four Attorneys to Partnership in 2021

    San Francisco, CA  January 1, 2021 – Coblentz Patch Duffy & Bass LLP is pleased to announce the election of Jeff Dodd, Skye Langs, Kenneth P. Nabity, and Ben Pulliam to the firm’s partnership. These promotions are effective January 1, 2021.

    “We are delighted to welcome these four outstanding lawyers to the partnership,” said Danna Kozerski, Co-Managing Partner of the firm. “These new partners deliver exceptional client service and build on the firm’s reputation for excellence.”

    The 2021 new partners are:

    Jeff Dodd, Real Estate.
    Jeff Dodd is a land use and environmental law attorney. He assists entrepreneurs, developers, small business owners, farmers, and non-profit entities seeking to own, develop, and add value to real property. Jeff helps his clients understand the regulatory and political issues associated with their projects so that they can achieve their goals in a timely and efficient manner, while helping his clients work with local communities to develop environmentally-responsible and sustainable projects. He has significant experience with the California Environmental Quality Act, state and local planning and zoning laws and regulations, the California Subdivision Map Act, the California ballot initiative process, water law, and other local, state, and federal laws affecting the development of real property. Jeff earned his J.D., cum laude, from the University of Pacific, McGeorge School of Law where he served on the McGeorge Law Review. While in law school, he served as an extern for Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye of the California Supreme Court. He received his B.A. in Political Science and History from the University of California, Santa Barbara.

    Skye Langs, Litigation.
    Skye Langs’ practice focuses on complex civil litigation in state and federal court, with an emphasis on land use and real estate.  She has successfully defended numerous major projects against challenges arising under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), as well as other state and local land use laws, and represented countless owners and tenants in disputes concerning their property rights. Skye earned her J.D., magna cum laude, from the University of California College of Law, San Francisco. During law school, she externed for the Honorable Jeffrey White in the Northern District of California and interned at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in San Francisco. She earned her B.A. in Philosophy, with honors, from Grinnell College in Iowa.

    Kenneth Nabity

    Kenneth P. Nabity, Litigation.
    Ken Nabity is a trial attorney who represents individuals, businesses, and public entity clients in a range of litigation matters, with an emphasis on individual and class action employment litigation. He has successfully tried numerous matters for plaintiffs and defendants in high-profile bench and jury trials in federal court and state court, and arbitration. While his practice focuses on litigation at the trial level, he also has significant pre-litigation mediation experience, and has worked on appellate matters before the California Courts of Appeal and Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal. Ken earned his J.D., cum laude, from the University of California College of Law, San Francisco, where he earned the Witkin Award for Academic Excellence in Appellate Advocacy and Comparative Law and was a member of the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition Team.  He earned his B.A. in Criminal Justice, cum laude, from San Francisco State University

    Ben Pulliam, Litigation.
    Ben Pulliam’s practice focuses on high-stakes commercial litigation in state and federal court, where he has represented companies of all sizes. Ben has represented clients in a variety of industries including telecommunications, technology, and consumer products. He also represents clients in white collar criminal investigations as a member of the firm’s White Collar Defense and Investigations group. Ben earned his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law, where he was on the editorial board for the Virginia Journal of International Law. While in law school, he spent a summer interning at the Centre for Applied Legal Studies in Johannesburg, South Africa. Ben received his B.A. in English from the University of California, Davis.

    About Coblentz Patch Duffy & Bass LLP
    Coblentz Patch Duffy & Bass LLP is a full service law firm based in San Francisco. A premier provider of innovative, results-oriented legal services, Coblentz specializes in real estate, litigation, corporate, intellectual property, employment, tax, and family wealth law. U.S. News & World Report recognizes Coblentz as one of the nation’s top law firms in the Best Law Firm list, with national and local rankings in 20 practice areas and seven prestigious “Tier 1” rankings in the highly competitive San Francisco Metropolitan law firm category. For more information: www.coblentzlaw.com.

  • Tis’ the Season – AG Proposes New Modifications (4th Set) to CCPA Regulations

    California Consumer Protection Act (“CCPA”) regulations have been in the spotlight for most of 2020. Even after the final regulations went into effect on August 14, 2020, the Attorney General’s office has proposed further modifications. It is only fitting that we ring in the holiday season on that same note. On December 10, the AG’s office released a fourth set of proposed modifications to the final regulations. Building on the third set of proposed modifications, these modifications focus on the sale of personal information.

    The modifications propose as follows:

    Offline Opt-Out Notice Requirements. Businesses that sell personal information of consumers collected offline must also provide the consumers with offline notice of their right to opt-out and provide instructions to submit such opt-out requests. Examples of giving notice include posting signage and giving notice over the phone.

    Businesses that sell personal information collected online are required to provide notice of right to opt-out and must implement the “Do Not Sell My Personal Information” link. This proposed modification attempts to even the playing field when it comes to sale of information collected offline. Unlike the precise required language for online collection, the modifications stop short of declaring language required on in-store signage and via phone calls.

    Return of the Opt-Out Button. The modifications reintroduce the previously eliminated Opt-Out Button. It is to be noted that this button does not eliminate the need to post an opt-out notice or link where otherwise required. The button must be approximately the same size as other buttons on the page and must link to the same page to which the consumer is directed when s/he clicks on the “Do Not Sell My Personal Information” link. The button looks like this:

     

     

     

    While the recent passage of the CPRA has taken much of the focus away from the CCPA in recent weeks, the CCPA remains in effect for now, and the AG’s regulations appear to be the gift that keeps on giving. The deadline to submit comments to these proposed modifications is 5:00 PM on December 28, 2020. We will continue monitoring for new developments. For further information, contact Data Privacy attorney Scott Hall (shall@coblentzlaw.com).

     

    Posted on: December 11, 2020 Tags: Categories: Publications

  • Rise&Shine 2020: Our Annual Event for the Advertising and Creative Services Industries Goes Virtual

    On December 10, 2020, Coblentz is hosting Rise&Shine, our 11th annual Rise&Shine bringing together the advertising, marketing services, design, and creative communities. This year’s virtual program features the Worldwide CCO of Grey Group to explain and celebrate the primary importance of the creative idea for effective advertising, and an investment advisory firm founder and experienced M&A veteran on the impact the pandemic will have on the economy in general and marketing services in particular.

    Click here to register.

    EVENT INFO: 

    Thursday, December 10, 2020
    9:00 AM – 10:00 AM PT
    Virtual program – Register here

    SPEAKERS: 

    Creativity is the Business Model
    John Patroulis
    Worldwide Chief Creative Officer, Grey Group
    John Patroulis has a unique perspective on American and worldwide advertising, and insight into what the future holds. Before joining Grey Group in 2017, John was the Chief Creative Officer and then Creative Chairman of BBH New York and a Co-Founder / Executive Creative Director of 215 / McCann in San Francisco. With 83 Grey Group offices around the world serving global clients such as Volvo, Gillette, and P&G, John has overseen the creation of groundbreaking work, such as P&G’s Poignant Pride film imagining a world for LGBTQ+ people “without hesitation.”

    Thirty thoughts on COVID-19
    Andrew Hall 
    Principal, Lumsden Partners
    Andrew Hall has been at the center of some of the most significant ad agency M&A transactions in recent decades, including WPP’s acquisition of Young & Rubicam and as an adviser to numerous agencies pursuing M&A opportunities. Andrew is the Founder and Principal of Lumsden Partners, an investment and advisory firm focused on the marketing services, media, and related technology industries. With his experience, Andrew has been one of the most popular, thought-provoking Rise&Shine guests over the years. With a unique perspective on this historic time, Andrew will offer his insight into the impacts on the marketing industry.

    ABOUT RISE&SHINE:

    Coblentz has enjoyed a close relationship with the advertising and creative services community for many years through our robust advertising practice, which advises clients on all aspects of working in the creative services space. Elevenyears ago, the firm first presented a morning event where industry leaders and visionaries could share their insights and experiences. Rise&Shine has been going strong ever since, and welcomes senior advertising executives and creatives from the U.S. and abroad at the annual event.

    Posted on: December 4, 2020 Tags: Categories: Events

  • Prop H Brings Swift Approvals & More Flexibility to Many of San Francisco’s Retail Corridors

    The Planning Department has a December 19 deadline to implement the small business streamlining provisions of Proposition H, which was approved by the voters last month. Proposition H expedites the approval process for principally permitted uses in Neighborhood Commercial (NC) and Neighborhood Commercial Transit (NCT) districts and relaxes zoning controls for a variety of businesses in most NC and NCT districts. Mayor Breed placed Proposition H on the ballot in response to the economic challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and, calling out San Francisco’s “broken” permitting system, issued an executive order on November 19 requiring City departments to implement Proposition H within 30 days.

    Under Proposition H, the City must complete its review of permit applications for principally permitted uses in NC and NCT districts within 30 days “to the maximum extent feasible,” and the City is currently re-tooling its interdepartmental review process to comply with this newly imposed time limit. As an additional streamlining measure, Proposition H exempts any change in use within these districts to a principally permitted use from the 30-day neighborhood notification requirement that might otherwise apply.

    Proposition H broadens the list of principally permitted uses in most NC and NCT districts, excluding the Mission Street, 24th Street, and SOMA NCT districts, allowing business owners to avoid the time and expense of the City’s conditional use (CU) authorization process. This expanded list includes temporary pop-up retail uses in bars and entertainment venues, co-working spaces within retail uses, certain office uses, and outdoor dining in parklets and the public right-of-way (dovetailing with San Francisco’s Shared Spaces program).

    Planning staff provided an informational presentation on Proposition H at the Planning Commission’s November 19 meeting. Some commenters expressed concern that Proposition H’s “one-size-fits-all” approach might adversely affect neighborhood-serving businesses, particularly in neighborhoods such as the Mission. Some Planning Commissioners raised concerns regarding equitable access to Proposition H’s benefits across the small business community, and requested that the Planning Department collect and analyze data to better understand the program’s impacts throughout the City and adjust outreach accordingly.

    For three years after Proposition H takes effect, the Board of Supervisors cannot further restrict principally permitted or conditionally permitted uses in NC or NCT districts. However, the Board may amend the ordinance to allow additional uses as principally permitted uses, or non-permitted uses as conditionally or principally permitted uses, and it may further streamline notice and permitting procedures. After this three-year period, the Board may amend the law without limitation.