News, Media & Publications

On December 8, 2022, Justice Tracie L. Brown, from the First District Court of Appeal, visited the Bartko offices to swear in Taylor Yamahata as a member of the California Bar. Justice Brown is a graduate of Harvard College and UC Berkeley School of Law.

Bartko is pleased to announce that five lawyers have been included in the 2023 edition of The Best Lawyers in America®. Since it was first published in 1983, Best Lawyers has become universally regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence.

Bartko is pleased to announce that the firm has been recognized for the 13th consecutive year in the U.S. News – Best Lawyers® “Best Law Firms” rankings—nationally in 1 practice area and regionally in 8 practice areas.

The Daily Journal has selected Ben Riley as one of the Top 100 California Lawyers for 2022.

On September 29, 2022, An Ruda participated in the event titled "Women Leadership In The Workplace" which highlighted on learning how to build speaking confidence as a minority in the workplace.

Zazzle made hundreds of millions in profits and avoided paying hundreds of millions in licensing fees by stealing the software for one of its most popular fonts from famed designers. SAN FRANCISCO, August 24, 2022 — One of the world’s leading graphic designers filed suit today against internet design and printing giant, Zazzle, Inc., for cheating her business out of its intellectual property, which allowed Zazzle to earn hundreds of millions of dollars in ill-gotten profits.

On June 1, 2022, the Honorable Evelio Grillo of the Alameda Superior Court, in VHS Liquidating Trust, et al. v. Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, et al., Case Number RG21106600, issued two comprehensive orders that emphatically rejected the Defendants’ attempts to dismiss the Plaintiffs’ claims and limit their potential damages. First, the Court rejected Defendants’ efforts to dismiss 10 of Plaintiffs’ 13 claims and gave Plaintiffs leave to amend the 13th claim. Thus, Plaintiffs’ entire case shall remain entirely intact following the ruling. Second, the Court rebuffed Defendants’ attempt to limit the damages period, preserving Plaintiffs’ ability to pursue subscriber and provider damages dating back to 2008 and 2009, respectively. The Court agreed with Plaintiffs that as members of a federal class action, their claims are equitably tolled back to the filing of the class action complaints, regardless of the label of the claim.

Bartko attorneys Ben Riley, Sony Barari, Rob Bunzel, and Gabriella Wilkins were named 2022 California Attorneys of the Year, following their complete trial victory in the Robert A. Naify Trust case. The petitioner in that case claimed that her step-father, Robert Naify, promised to leave her his golf course in Spain, and to treat her the same as his biological daughters in his final trust. After a three-week trial where the petitioner sought at least $250 million, Judge Richard Ulmer rejected the oral promise claim.

Thirteen Bartko LLP attorneys have been selected as Northern and Southern California Super Lawyers and Rising Stars for 2022, in the practice areas of Antitrust Litigation, Business Litigation, Labor & Employment, Franchise/Dealership, Intellectual Property Litigation, Real Estate, and Transactional Real Estate. Some of our attorneys have been named Super Lawyers for at least 15 consecutive years. The Super Lawyers list recognizes no more than 5 percent of attorneys in each state. The Rising Stars list recognizes no more than 2.5 percent of attorneys in each state.

As previously reported in June 2021, the San Francisco Superior Court, Judge Richard B. Ulmer Jr. presiding, issued its Statement of Decision in the In Re Matter of Robert A. Naify Living Trust following a three-week trial in February and March. The Statement of Decision rejects the oral inheritance promise claims of Petitioner Christina Cortese, and finds completely for Bartko’s client, the Co-Trustees of the Robert Naify Trust.