Palo Alto, San Francisco and San Jose, Calif., November 5, 2018 – Hopkins & Carley, a preeminent Silicon Valley law firm with offices in Palo Alto, San Francisco, and San Jose, is pleased to announce that five attorneys have been elected shareholders, effective January 1, 2019.
The talented group of lawyers practice across the core strengths of the firm’s litigation and corporate departments. “We congratulate these new shareholders on their promotions, which have been 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 Jeff Essner, Managing Shareholder of Hopkins & Carley.
The new shareholders are:
Jennifer Coleman (San Jose, IP Litigation). Coleman joined the firm as an associate in 2007. She is a trial lawyer who represents clients in complex litigation cases, including patent, copyright, trademark and trade secret litigation. She has significant experience with federal and state court eDiscovery issues and serves as an adjunct professor at Golden Gate University School of Law teaching eDiscovery. Coleman is also an active member in The Sedona Conference Electronic Document Retention and Production, and Trade Secrets working groups. She received her J.D. from Creighton University School of Law.
Sepi Ghiasvand (Palo Alto, Corporate). Ghiasvand joined Hopkins & Carley in 2015 as Of Counsel. She has more than a decade of experience serving as general corporate counsel to domestic and international, emerging and middle market privately-held companies in a wide range of industries. She has a hybrid corporate and tax practice, representing clients before all taxing agencies, including the U.S. Tax Court, in audits and appeals dealing with domestic and international tax matters. Ghiasvand received her J.D. and LL.M. in taxation from Golden Gate University School of Law.
Matt James (San Jose, Real Estate Litigation). James began as an associate with Hopkins & Carley in 2006. He has extensive experience in all phases of construction and real estate matters, including contract negotiation, alternative dispute resolution, and litigation. James’ clients include commercial and residential property owners, prime contractors, subcontractors, material suppliers, architects, engineers, and bonding companies. A licensed real estate broker since 2006, Matt uses his domain experience in a variety of real estate related disputes, including tenant improvement projects and breaches of real estate purchase agreements. He received his J.D. from Santa Clara University School of Law.
Brendan Lund (Palo Alto, Corporate). Lund, who joined Hopkins & Carley in 2016 as Of Counsel, has a hybrid corporate and tax practice. He collaborates with and advises early stage and middle-market businesses that are expanding their global footprint, serving as a strategic business advisor while providing a tax perspective on business strategies. Lund has also developed specialized international tax expertise representing individuals and foreign entities with offshore bank accounts to ensure their financial assets are compliant with federal and state tax laws. Prior to joining Hopkins & Carley, he served as a Director in the Corporate, Tax and Business Department at Carr McClellan. Lund received his J.D. from Gonzaga University School of Law and his LL.M. in taxation from the University of Washington.
Perry Woodward (San Jose, Real Estate Litigation). Woodward, who joined the firm as Of Counsel in 2016, represents clients in real estate, business and technology litigation. Prior to joining Hopkins & Carley, Woodward was a partner for 14 years at Terra Law LLP. During his decade in public office (2007-2016), he served as the Mayor of Gilroy and as Board Chair for both the Valley Transportation Authority and Caltrain. Woodward regularly handles disputes arising out of commercial and industrial leases, earnest money deposits, purchase and sales agreements, easements, partnership and corporate matters, fiduciary duty, misrepresentation, options, rights of first refusal, partition, and nuisance. He received his J.D. from Santa Clara University School of Law.
About Hopkins & Carley
Hopkins & Carley is a premier Silicon Valley law firm with offices in Palo Alto, San Francisco, 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.