Baker Manock & Jensen : Attorneys at Law

Baker Manock & Jensen : Attorneys at Law

NEWS

Kendall L. Manock (1930 - 2010)
March 19, 2010

Baker Manock & Jensen Attorneys Obtain Defense Verdict
March 19, 2010

Baker Manock & Jensen attorneys William White and Christopher Bell obtained a defense verdict on behalf of our clients, a neurosurgeon and the Regents of the University of California, following a one-month jury trial in the Fresno County Superior Court. Plaintiffs, a former patient and her husband, rejected a $1 million pre-trial settlement offer and asked the jury to return an award in excess of $6 million. The jury returned a verdict in favor of our clients, the neurosurgeon and the Regents, on all claims. Plaintiffs received nothing.

Plaintiffs spent three weeks attempting to persuade the jury that the surgery had been performed at the wrong spinal level and had caused paralysis in the patient’s left leg leaving her disabled and unable to work or care for herself. Plaintiff attended trial every day in a wheelchair. Through a “Day-in-the Life” video and an in-court demonstration, Plaintiff claimed that she was largely confined to a wheelchair, and could ambulate only short distances with great difficulty and with the aid of a walker. Mr. White and Mr. Bell called expert witnesses who established that the surgery was performed competently. Moreover, several physicians testified that most of plaintiff’s problems were unrelated to the surgery, and were, at least in large part, psychological rather than physical in nature. Finally, the jury was shown surveillance videos of plaintiff walking both with and without her walker.

The jury rejected all of the plaintiffs’ claims, including medical negligence, lack of informed consent and fraud.

William White is the chair of Baker Manock & Jensen’s Professional Liability Group. He is AV rated by Martindale Hubbell and is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates and the California Medical-Legal Committee.

Christopher Bell is a litigator at Baker Manock & Jensen. He also practices in the areas of business litigation and bankruptcy.

Christopher L. Campbell to Talk on Valley Water History

Baker Manock & Jensen shareholder Christopher L. Campbell will serve as a panel member for the Fresno Historical Society’s Upcoming Panel Discussion “Essential H2O: History’s Perspective on the Future of Valley Water.” The discussion will be held Tuesday, March 16, in the Bonner Auditorium of the Fresno Art Museum, located at 2233 North First Street at Clinton. The panel discussion begins at 7:00 p.m. For more details, click on the following link: http://www.valleyhistory.org/events03.html .

2010 Central Valley MCLE Day

A one-day workshop to be held Friday, January 22, 2010.
Piccadilly Inn University - 4961 North Cedar Avenue, Fresno, CA 93726

Baker Manock & Jensen welcomes Kelly T. Brennan as its newest associate.

BMJ Attorneys John G. Michael and Sherrie M. Flynn Obtain Web Sites for NFL Star Bernard Berrian.

BMJ attorneys John Michael and Sherrie Flynn have successfully obtained the domain names of bernardberrian.com and bberrian.com for former Fresno State standout and current Minnesota Viking receiver, Bernard Berrian. These domain names had been hijacked by a cyber pirate and were being held for sale. Mr. Michael and Ms. Flynn filed a lawsuit and motion for a preliminary injunction in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California that forced a settlement whereby Mr. Berrian received the transfer of his domain names at no cost to him. The lawsuit and successful result spurred a local news story. The lawsuit and successful result spurred a local news story that can be viewed by clicking on the following link: http://abclocal.go.com/kfsn/video?id=7132057 .

O. James Woodward III Honored as Outstanding Philanthropist of the Year

O. James Woodward III, of counsel with Baker Manock & Jensen, was honored on November 17, 2009, as the Outstanding Philanthropist of the year by the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), California Valley Chapter. AFP represents more than 30,000 members in 200 chapters throughout the world, working to advance philanthropy through advocacy, research, education and certification programs. The San Joaquin Valley Chapter includes members from Kern, Tulare, Kings, Fresno, Madera, Mariposa, and Merced counties. The organizations represented raise funds for a variety of non-profit organizations that support charitable causes and community betterment.

O. James Woodward III was the founding member and chairman of Fresno State's first Leadership Board, which was established at the Madden Library in 2002. Under Jim's guiding hand, this innovative organization for garnering philanthropic support from community members has been so successful that it has served as a model for similar groups formed since by virtually every college within the University.

Other organizations Mr. Woodward has been involved with include: CSU Fresno, Foundation; Fresno Regional Foundation; Central Sierra Historical Society and Museum; Saint Agnes Medical Center Foundation; Eaton Trail, San Joaquin River Parkway; Old Administration Building Renovation Project at Fresno City College; Fresno Metropolitan Museum; Fresno Art Museum; Shinzen Friendship Garden; Fresno Rotary Club and Storyland of Fresno. Mr. Woodward has also been a major donor to many other community projects and involved in numerous community activities. He currently serves on California State University, Fresno Foundation; Saint Agnes Medical Center Foundation, and as Leadership Board Chairman, Henry Madden Library, CSU, Fresno, among other boards.

4TH FLOOR CLOSED
Report at your regular work time to the 3rd floor.

Baker Manock & Jensen Attorneys Receive Unanimous Defense Verdict

Baker Manock & Jensen attorneys William White and Sherrie Flynn obtained a unanimous verdict on behalf of our OB/GYN client after a six day jury trial in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California. The jury rejected all 10 of the claims, including civil rights claims, brought by the plaintiff, a former inmate at one of the Chowchilla women’s prisons. The plaintiff was represented by Bingham McCutchen, a large national law firm with offices in San Francisco and Los Angeles.

William White is the chair of Baker Manock & Jensen’s Professional Liability Group. He is AV rated by Martindale Hubbell and is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates.

Sherrie Flynn is a litigator at Baker Manock & Jensen and one of our next generation of trial attorneys. She is also a registered patent attorney.

Congratulations to Jeffrey Jaech and William White for being named SUPER LAWYERS.

Jaech, a Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Law, is the managing shareholder of Baker Manock & Jensen. White, also a shareholder, is the chair of the firm's professional liability litigation group and a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates. They join Baker Manock & Jensen attorneys Kendall Manock, Douglas Jensen, Joseph Marchini, Craig Houghton, Carl Refuerzo, Christopher Campbell, Albert Berryman and Bruce Bickel, who were listed in Super Lawyers in prior years.

Baker Manock & Jensen recently represented Foster Dairy Farms in its acquisition of a substantial portion of the assets of Humboldt Creamery, LLC.

Baker Manock & Jensen recently represented Foster Dairy Farms in its acquisition of a substantial portion of the assets of Humboldt Creamery, LLC (“Humboldt”). The assets include a creamery processor in Fernbridge, California, a frozen distribution center in Stockton, and Humboldt’s inventory and accounts receivable. The purchase price was $19,250,000, which will be subject to adjustment to the extent the final inventory and accounts receivable are determined to be greater or less than $10,000,000.

Humboldt filed a Chapter 11 case in the United States Bankruptcy Court in Santa Rosa on April 21, 2009. The sale agreement was approved by Bankruptcy Judge Alan Jaroslovsky at a hearing on August 13, 2009, and the transaction closed on August 27, 2009.

Founded in 1929, Humboldt specialized in pasture based and organic dairy farming. Its product line included fluid milk products, ice cream and milk powder, which it shipped nationally and internationally. It handled deliveries from dozens of producers in California’s northernmost counties.

Foster Dairy Farms is family owned with its headquarters in Modesto. It has operated in California since 1939 and is the state’s largest independent dairy processor. Its products include fluid milk, cottage cheese, sour cream, ice cream, butter and powdered milk. It markets its products under several names, including the Crystal brand dairy products.

Jim Shekoyan has been named as a board member of the Greater Reedley Chamber of Commerce.

Jim Shekoyan, an attorney with Baker Manock & Jensen, has been named as a board member of the new Greater Reedley Chamber of Commerce by the City of Reedley City Manager. This mission of the Chamber is to promote economic growth in the City of Reedley and surrounding area. The board is composed of 15 business and community leaders from the Reedley area. Mr. Shekoyan's membership on the Chamber board is part of Baker Manock & Jensen's efforts to be more involved in the Reedley business community since opening an office in Reedley in June 2008.

Baker Manock & Jensen Receives Meritas Recertification

Baker Manock & Jensen is a member of Meritas, a closely integrated group of full-service law firms that provide business clients with worldwide access to comprehensive legal services. Membership in Meritas is by invitation only, with only one firm admitted for each selected geographic marketplace. Members are ranked among the top firms in most cities. As part of its drive to ensure continued high caliber legal services among its nearly 200 member firms worldwide, Meritas also stipulates a periodic recertification process as a requirement for membership. Baker Manock & Jensen was recently awarded recertification. See the linked file for more details.

Baker Manock & Jensen represented Olam International in Recent Acquisition

Baker Manock & Jensen represented Olam International, Limited and its subsidiary Olam Tomato Processors, Inc. in the recent acquisition of two California tomato processing facilities for $39 million

Baker Manock extends lease through 2022.

We recently extended our office space lease at Fig Garden Financial Center through November 2022. In connection with the extension, our space will be remodeled and refurbished, adding additional offices and conference rooms to accommodate future growth. We began occupying this space in 1986, and have enjoyed an excellent relationship with our first-class landlords, Richard Gunner and George Andros, in Fresno's best office complex. "We have an outstanding group of talented attorneys, paralegals, and staff. Knowing we will be in this great location for at least another 13 years, we can focus on serving our clients and retaining and attracting top talent to do so," commented managing partner Jeff Jaech.

Gregory W. Olson Joins Baker Manock & Jensen as its Newest Associate

Mr. Olson is a graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law. His practice areas include professional liability defense and business litigation.

Baker Manock & Jensen Welcomes Mark Poochigian as a Shareholder

Mark Poochigian recently became a shareholder at Baker Manock & Jensen. Mr. Poochigian graduated from the University of Southern California Law School in 2003. His area of practice is estate planning and trusts and estates.

Fresno Regional Foundation

Shareholder Jeff Jaech recently completed his second and final term as president of the Fresno Regional Foundation, a $40-million community foundation serving the people of the central San Joaquin Valley. He remains on the FRF board of directors.

John G. Michael wins arbitration

John G. Michael, a shareholder at Baker Manock & Jensen, recently won an arbitration award of $750,000 after an eight-day arbitration concerning a real estate finder's fee agreement. In obtaining this award for our clients, Mr. Michael was able to overcome defenses of illegality, unfair business practices and violations of the real estate laws.

Finding Solutions in the War Over Water -- Attorney Chris Campbell in the Middle of Legal Battlefield

Christopher Campbell, considered a local expert on water law, agricultural finance, planning and land use, was recently interviewed by The Business Journal.

Seminar on Immigration Law Best Practices and Pitfalls for Employers

Robert D. Wilkinson, a shareholder with Baker Manock & Jensen, will co-present a seminar on Tuesday, March 17, 2009, at 11:30 a.m.

California Academy of Attorneys for Health Care Professionals

George L. Strasser has been accepted into the California Academy of Attorneys for Health Care Professionals, an organization of 75 California attorneys who represent physicians and other health professionals before their respective licensing boards.

Baker Manock & Jensen represents international company in significant transaction.

Olam International Limited acquires De Francesco dehydration facility.

Baker Manock & Jensen Welcomes New Attorneys

The law firm of Baker Manock & Jensen welcomes Kevin V. Koligian, Amanda M. Neal, and Elisabeth F. Tietjen as new associates.

Profile: Jeff Jaech, Managing Partner, Baker Manock & Jensen, PC
August 17, 2007

What led you to become the managing partner of Baker Manock & Jensen, PC? Like most lawyers, I enjoy working to solve client problems, rather than deal with our own business challenges. In a relatively small firm, all owners must assume some management responsibilities, and I gradually assumed more. Four years ago, I was elected by my partners to be managing partner. It is a part-time job; I still practice law, too.