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 ABOUT US

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The Berry | Wilkinson | Law Group represents individual public employees at all levels of local government, and in all classifications from rank and file to executive management. The firm also assists public agency labor organizations in negotiating, administering, and enforcing collective bargaining agreements.  When navigating the difficult situations that arise whenever a public employee’s job, financial security, freedom, or reputation is on the line, the firm’s clientele routinely rely upon BWLG’s vast experience, as well as their flexible, collaborative, and innovative problem-solving methods.

 

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Alison Berry Wilkinson, Principal Attorney

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Education:

University of California, Hastings College of the Law (J.D., 1988)

University of California at Santa Cruz, Merrill College (B.A. 1984)

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Admissions:

Supreme Court of California

United States Supreme Court

United States District Courts for the Northern, Eastern, and Central Districts of California

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Teaching Certifications:

Adjunct Professor, Las Positas College, Administration of Justice Bureau (since 2012)

Adjunct Professor, San Jose State University, Administration of Justice Bureau (1992-2012)

California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (since 1992)

Force Science Institute (since 2009)

Alameda County Sheriff’s Office Regional Training Center (since 2012)

Peace Officers Research Association of California, Inc. (since 1992)

Other Teaching Experience:

American Bar Association, “Public Employees, Private Speech“

CalPELRA, “What New Skelly Officers and HR Managers Need to Know About the Skelly Process;” “The Skelly Process – Beyond the Basics“

CalPELRA, “How Far is too Far? When Does Public Employee Speech Cross the Line?”

League of California Cities MLI Conference, “Crisis in the Public Workplace“

REMIF, “Public Employee Discipline Procedures“

State Bar of California, Public Sector Conference: “The Rights of Firefighters“

Lecturer to various labor organizations on additional topics, including:

Police Discipline, Misconduct Investigations, and Critical Incident Handling

Key Concepts in Evaluating Video: Human Factors and Camera Technology

Personnel Record Confidentiality

Managing the “Brady [v. Maryland] Bunch“

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Background:

Over the course of her career, Alison has successfully litigated a multitude of cutting-edge cases in administrative, state and federal forums. She is joined on her team by Labor Relations Representative Mark O’Connell (a retired Alameda Police Sergeant and Association leader) , Investigator Jesse Zuniga, (a retired officer from the Tracy and Hayward Police Departments), and a wide variety of subject matter experts in key fields.  The daughter of an elementary school teacher, Alison was born and raised in Palo Alto, California.  When she is not defending and prosecuting the rights of local public agency employees statewide, Alison resides in San Rafael, California, with her husband and two children, where she enjoys hiking, biking, kayaking, and sailing. 

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Notable Cases:

California Supreme Court

International Association of Professional & Technical Engineers, Local 21, et al. v. Superior Court (2007) 42 Cal. 4th 278

California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training v. Superior Court (2007) 39 Cal. 4th 623

Claremont Police Officers’ Association v. City of Claremont (2006) 39 Cal. 4th 623

People v. Stanistreet (2002) 29 Cal. 4th 793

County of Riverside v. Superior Court (Madrigal) (2002) 27 Cal. 4th 793

California School Employees Association v. Governing Board (1994) 8 Cal. 4th 333

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals

Lemus v. County of Merced (2017) 711 Fed. App. 859

Johnson v. Bay Area Rapid Transit District (2013) 724 F. 3d 1159

Chaker v. Crogan (2005) 428 F. 3d 1215

Foster v. Gomez (2003) 75 Fed. App. 616

Brooks v. City of San Mateo (2000) 229 F. 3d 917

Barner v. City of Novato (1994) 18 F. 3d 1256

California Appellate Districts

People v. Perry (2019) __ Cal. App. __ 2019 WL 2519876

Daugherty v. City of San Francisco (2018) 24 Cal. App. 5th 928

Berkeley Police Association v. City of Berkeley (2008) 167 Cal. App. 4th 385

Connor v. City and County of San Francisco, 2014 WL 527231

Cohen v. City and County of San Francisco, 2007 WL 1941761

People ex rel Deputy Sheriffs’ Ass’n v. County of Santa Clara (1996) 49 Cal. App. 4th 1471

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