Withers Bergman LLP

Corporate

Partner

Ann's practice focuses on the intersection between employment and innovation. She works with some of the most exciting companies and individuals exploring the workplaces of today and tomorrow, advising both companies and executives in all aspects of employment law, including issues around early-stage company hiring and procedures, founder and executive agreements, navigating founder disputes and other complex employment matters. She advises companies in tech and across industries on the broad range of human resources issues facing employers, including hiring and recruiting, worker classification, employee separations, personnel policies, executive compensation agreements, incentives and benefits paid in cryptocurrencies, wage and hour matters and compliance with state and federal EEO requirements. She regularly conducts, directs and advises on workplace investigations involving whistleblower allegations, discrimination and harassment and also advises employers on employee mobility issues, creating respectful and inclusive workplaces and issues such as trade secret matters and restrictive covenants.

Ann advises founders and senior executives during negotiations of employment agreements, severance packages and other issues that arise during employment such as investigations, wage and hour issues, commission disputes, equal pay act violations, harassment or discrimination and other wrongful employment actions up to and including wrongful termination.

Ann has worked extensively with technology, video game, retail and other entities ranging from private start-ups to publicly traded companies. She advises and represents employers in classification audits before the California Employment Development Department and the California Department of Labor Standards and Enforcement. She also provides training on managing within the law and discrimination/harassment and assists with the employment-related aspects of M&A transactions.

Ann's experience includes litigation on both sides of employment issues, whether it’s defending companies in trials in state and federal courts, before administrative agencies and in union and non-union arbitrations or working with individuals who were subjected to commission reductions, harassment, discrimination or wrongful termination. She also has extensive experience drafting and responding to administrative complaints, preparing all forms of employment documents from executive contracts and commission plans to employee handbooks and performance reviews and advising employers on all aspects of the employment relationship.

University of California, Berkeley School of Law, J.D.

California State University, Chico, B.A.