Hopkins & Carley Inks Deal to Relocate Palo Alto Office in Strategic Move That Places the Silicon Valley-Based Firm in Redwood Shores; Welcomes New Joiners and Shareholders

Palo Alto and San Jose, Calif., July 11, 2022 – Hopkins & Carley, a preeminent Silicon Valley law firm, is pleased to announce the firm will relocate its Palo Alto office to Redwood City on August 1, 2022. The firm will occupy 15,000 square feet in a state-of-the art office building featuring a modern conference center, outdoor amenities and ample client parking.

“This move enables us to reinforce our commitment to investment and growth on the Peninsula as we look to increase our capabilities and expand our services regionally,” said Ernest Malaspina, the firm’s managing shareholder. “We will be working alongside many of our clients and look forward to joining them in a beautiful building situated in one of the most accessible locations in the region.”

The Redwood City office will be located at 555 Twin Dolphin Drive, Suite 200, Redwood City, CA 94065. Telephone and fax numbers will remain unchanged.

In addition to the move, Hopkins & Carley is delighted to announce the addition of three prominent attorneys, Alma Soongi Beck, Gene Cherng and Paul Jensen, as of counsel.

Beck, who joins the firm’s Family Wealth & Tax Planning Group in Palo Alto, is certified by the State Board of Legal Specialization as a specialist in estate planning, trust and probate law. She focuses on trusts, charitable planning, gift and estate tax planning, and post-death administration, including trust administration and probate. Beck also offers consultations on the legal and tax implications of domestic partnerships, marriage and property co-ownership, including for same sex and unmarried couples. Prior to joining Hopkins & Carley, she was a partner with Lakin Spears. Beck received her undergraduate degree from Yale University, her law degree from Georgetown University Law Center and her LL.M. in taxation from Golden Gate University School of Law.

“Alma has a strong background in estate planning, having worked with a wide range of families and individuals to ensure that they have effective plans in place for transitioning their assets. She has significant experience advising on cutting-edge estate planning topics and understands the value of maintaining long-term trust-based client relationships. She is an invaluable addition to the team,” said Jim Hager, chair of the firm’s Family Wealth & Tax Planning Group.

Cherng is an experienced trial lawyer and has successfully litigated in the district courts and before the United States Patent and Trademark Office in various technologies such as network-attached storage, flash memory, computer peripherals, intelligent power distribution units, modular power supplies, display mounts and web locator services. He has also represented clients in trade secret, copyright and trademark cases. Prior to law school, he worked for two years as a bioanalyst at Chiron Corporation.

“Gene brings a sharp analytical and technical perspective as well as formidable advocacy skills to our trial-ready team, which handles intricate IP matters in a multitude of industries,” said John Picone, co-chair of the firm’s Intellectual Property Litigation Practice.

Jensen joins the Hopkins & Carley Manufactured Housing Group in San Jose. For more than 35 years, Jensen has represented community owners and operators in all aspects of manufactured housing communities law. He is deeply involved in the industry, including through his many annual speaking engagements for the Western Manufactured Housing Communities Association and committee service. Jensen received his J.D. from the Santa Clara University School of Law and his undergraduate degree from San Jose State University.

“The addition of Paul, who has a reputation for excellence in the space, solidifies Hopkins & Carley as the leader in Manufactured Housing law in Northern California,” said Malaspina.

Hopkins & Carley also welcomes Kenny Gutierrez, Annie Nguyen and Eber Teceros as associates. Nguyen joins the Litigation Department in the San Jose office. Gutierrez joins the Intellectual Property group, and Teceros the Corporate Department, in the Palo Alto office.

Prior to joining Hopkins & Carley, Gutierrez was a Bridge Fellow with the Electronic Frontier Foundation in San Francisco. During law school, he served as a legal intern with Cisco Systems and was a summer associate at Ropes & Gray. He received his J.D. from University of California, Hastings College of the Law, where he was editor-in-chief of the Science and Technology Law Journal, and a B.A. in English Literature from University of California, Berkeley. 

As part of the litigation team, Nguyen’s practice will primarily focus on employment litigation. After law school, Nguyen first worked for the Board of Veteran Affairs in Washington, D.C., and then was selected for the U.S. Department of Justice Attorney General’s Honors Program, where she served as a judicial law clerk at the Atlanta Immigration Court. She received her J.D. from Notre Dame Law School and her B.A. in political science from Emory University.

Teceros represents companies in a wide range of corporate transactional and financing matters. He received his J.D. from Santa Clara University School of Law and his B.A. in International Relations from San Francisco State University.

In addition to the new joiners, Martin Behn and Kevin Hill have been elected shareholders, which took effect January 1, 2022, strengthening the firm’s prominent trust & estate and real estate departments.

Behn, who is a member of the Family Wealth & Tax Planning Group in Palo Alto, joined the firm as an associate in 2015. He represents high-net-worth clients in matters concerning estate planning, trust administration, probate matters, and trust litigation. Behn advises clients regarding sophisticated family wealth transfer and tax planning techniques, including Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts (GRATs), Charitable Remainder Trusts (CRTs), sales to intentionally defective grantor trusts, gift trusts with intentionally defective grantor trust provisions, Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts (ILITs), and Generation-Skipping transfer Trusts (GST/Heritage Trusts). He received his J.D. from Santa Clara University School of Law and his undergraduate degree from the University of California, Berkeley.

Hill, a member of the Real Estate Group in San Jose, joined Hopkins & Carley in 2014 as an associate. He represents tenants and landlords throughout California with office, retail and other commercial leases. Hill also represents buyers and sellers in acquisitions and dispositions and developers and investors in joint ventures. He received his J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School and his undergraduate degree from the Brigham Young University.

“We congratulate Martin and Kevin on their promotions, earned through a dedication to quality, integrity and client and community service. They truly embody our culture of teamwork and innovation, and we look forward to their continued success,” said Malaspina.

About Hopkins & Carley

Hopkins & Carley is a premier Silicon Valley law firm with offices in Redwood Shores and San Jose. Meeting the legal needs of entrepreneurs, high-net-worth individuals, business owners, and midsize and public companies in a variety of industries, Hopkins & Carley advises clients in business litigation, intellectual property, real estate, employment, estate planning, and corporate, tax and business transactions.


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