Legal Services & Lawyers

I limit my practice to real estate and business matters. I focus on keeping taking care of things before a problem arises so that you are less likely to end up litigating in a court room.

A primary area of focus is setting up new businesses. If you are seeking advice on whether to set up a corporation, LLC, limited partnership or something else, I can help you weigh the advantages of each to see which may be right for you. Preparation of buy/sell agreements, contracts, employment agreements and asset and stock sales, are crucial to your business transactions. If you'd like an attorney who will get back to you quickly with the information you need, you will feel comfortable working with me.

For real estate matters, my background in residential appraisals, condominium redevelopments and property management serve both legal and practical aspects of your handling your real estate deal.

For the small business owner who has recurring legal needs, but does not want or need a full-time attorney, consider our Virtual General Counsel Program as an affordable option that will fit into your budget.

I am happy to answer any questions you may have - please feel free to contact me at (408) 369-0800 ext. 202 or by email to efranz@prattattorneys.com.

Trial lawyer representing those harmed due to the wrongful conduct of others. Catastrophic personal injury, wrongful death, products liability, aviation, and business torts.

The $14.9 million jury verdict we obtained for our client injured in a plane crash was one of the largest personal injury verdicts obtained in the state of California in 2008. The $20 million settlement we obtained for a client burned in a utility explosion was one of the largest personal injury settlements in the state for 2006.

Other representative results:

$2.6 million settlement for a policy holder whose insurance company wrongfully refused to pay $225,000 in medical bills;

$10 million court judgment against a large developer for the breach of a promise to deposit $400,000 into purchase escrow;

$9.8 million jury verdict against a snow resort for a woman injured in a snowboarding accident;

$2.9 million jury verdict against an overhaul facility for a pilot injured in helicopter crash;

$2.2 million court judgment against a state for a bicyclist who fell after hitting an obstruction in the road;

$1.55 million settlement for woman injured in a plane crash at Lake Tahoe;

$50 million court judgment against a candy manufacturer for the wrongful death of child;

$9.75 million settlement for a family injured in a Hawaiian tour helicopter crash on the island of Kauai.

Contact the Law Offices of Deborah Barron for a Free Initial Consultation. A full service Law firm providing prompt professional service to businesses and individuals at the lowest cost to the client.

For plaintiff personal injury cases, sexual harassment and nursing home abuse, there is no fee until we recover. Formerly with the San Francisco Law Offices of Melvin Belli, the "King of Torts."

Served with a summons and complaint? We may be able to obtain insurance coverage for you or file a cross-complaint for indemnity or contribution.

From business start-ups, mergers and acquisitions to complex litigation, our goal is to reduce the client's stress and to resolve disputes as quickly and economically as possible. We have provided quality service in a variety of legal areas throughout Northern and Central California from Eureka to Santa Barbara. Whether you face a jury trial, arbitration or administrative proceeding, our team of highly-skilled attorneys will be beside you every step of the way. We also provide full service Winery and Vineyard Law, Hospitality Industry, Intellectual Property and Entertainment Law.

San Francisco Office opens Feb. 1, 2009

Tim Hoffman is a pioneering California attorney with a storied, 45-year legal career, during which he has helped recover more than $1 billion for his worthy clients. Mr. Hoffman has successfully tried dozens of matters to verdict, specializing in complex civil cases, and has litigated over 200 arbitrations. He has practiced in Oakland, CA, since 1971, and was most recently selected for inclusion in 2009 Northern California Super Lawyers.

Since the mid-1990's, Mr. Hoffman has been a leader among plaintiffs' employment lawyers, scoring huge victories for classes of thousands of employees at Pacific Bell (who recovered $36 million), Macy's, Starbucks, and many other Fortune 500 companies. In overtime class actions, Mr. Hoffman has represented misclassified assistant managers, stockbrokers, truck drivers, and reservation clerks, among many other categories of employees. Among employees forced to work off-the-clock, Mr. Hoffman has represented classes of handymen, janitors, bike and driver messengers, and others. Mr. Hoffman has represented victims of sexual harassment and numerous other forms of discrimination.

Mr. Hoffman has also specialized in consumer protection cases, including, for example, class actions against credit card companies, and a current case against termite-protection providers Orkin and Terminex, who misrepresent the nature of their services and provide false guarantees to customers.

Other current cases on which Mr. Hoffman is working include: Mevorah v. Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, regarding misclassified loan officers denied overtime; Chu v. Wells Fargo, regarding misclassified stockbrokers denied overtime; and Contreras v. Bank of America, regarding misclassified personal bankers denied overtime.

Mr. Hoffman's best known cases, the Continental Can class actions, alone recovered nearly half a billion dollars from the company after a four-month trial. The company had been discriminating against employees based upon their pension benefits, a practice prohibited under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). In that case, the company was shutting down plants based upon how many employees in each location would soon vest their full pensions, laying off wholesale any employees whose benefits were about to vest.

Among Mr. Hoffman's favorite career moments were: having lunch with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in Alabama when Mr. Hoffman was a member of the Law Students Civil Rights Research Council; defending famed 60's radical Abbie Hoffman in a free speech case; preceding current President Barack Obama as a Chicago community organizer and attorney in Chicago Legal Aid; introducing Cesar Chavez at a banquet for the National Hispanic University, where Mr. Hoffman served as General Counsel and a founding member of the Board of Trustees; successfully settling his own whistleblower retaliation case, after he (as a then-Presidential appointee) reported a federal government manager's improprieties; serving as President of his American Federation of Government Employees Union Local, and a member of the San Francisco Labor Council, and representing the Communication Workers of America Local for the last 38 years; volunteering on the Board of Visitors to College of Arts & Sciences at Howard University; and, playing craps with Thurgood Marshall in Puerto Rico.

Mr. Hoffman is a native of Chicago, IL, an alumnus of the University of Illinois (in Champagne, IL), a former President of Oakland's Beth Jacob Congregation, and former Board member of the Anti-Defamation League.

He has been practicing law with Arthur Lazear for more than 30 years, is married, and has four children.

Since 1995, Joe has specialized in ERISA counseling and litigation. He has represented ERISA-regulated benefit plans and their trustees, dozens of participants and beneficiaries, and ERISA plan sponsors and beneficiaries, as well as serving as a named plan fiduciary. From 2003 to 2005 he represented the United States Secretary of Labor in ERISA litigation and investigations.

Joe also practices in the areas of employment, executive compensation, unfair competition, and consumer litigation under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.