Attorneys

Click on Attorney's name or photo for personal statements.

M.J. Bogatin is a founding member of Bogatin, Corman & Gold, and has practiced law in the Bay Area for over 20 years. While he has broad civil law experience including both litigation and transactional matters, M.J. Bogatin is recognized as an arts and entertainment attorney, emphasizing Art, Entertainment and Intellectual Property law matters while maintaining his Personal Injury and Business practice. He is also trained as a mediator, and serves on the Arts Arbitration and Mediation panel of California Lawyers for the Arts.

M. J. Bogatin was admitted to the California Bar in 1981. He is a graduate of Duke University (B.A. 1975, cum laude); University of Essex, U. K. (M.A. in Comparative Literature, 1977); and University of Denver (J.D. 1980). From 1981 through 1988, he was associated with the business and civil litigation firm, Willdorf and Stevens, in San Francisco, and thereafter began his own firm with the Arts and Entertainment emphasis. His practice encompasses all the arts: literary, performing, visual and multi-media. He has served on the boards of directors of several Bay Area theatres, was the long-time Board Chair of Life on the Water, and is currently on the boards of California Lawyers for the Arts and the Center for Ecosystem Survival. He speaks often at CLA workshops on copyright, trademark and contract issues for artists and authors, at local law and art academies, and nationally for CLE on his litigation specialty: Artists' Moral Rights. He is married and has two wonderful children.

Business clients include: Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Black Panther Productions, Brava Theater Center, Bybee Studios, Children's Book Press, Cultural Odyssey, Fine Arts Cinema, Gallery 444, Guided Imagery, Harmony Sweepstakes, Julia Morgan Theater, the Moss Brothers, the Oakland Art Gallery, Proto Tracks, Rogish St. Threadz, the Roxie Cinema and Roxie Releasing, the San Francisco Mime Troupe, Video Game Slams, The Webbys, Zoomedia, and many, many authors, playwrights, producers, directors, designers, performers (including over 30 clowns and acrobats with Cirque du Soliel), musicians, visual artists, galleries and agents.

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William Corman was admitted to the California Bar in 1979. He is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison (B.A., 1973, cum laude) and received his law degree from Hastings College of the Law, University of California, San Francisco (J.D., 1978). Before helping found Bogatin, Corman & Gold, Mr. Corman worked in several different law firm settings and was in-house counsel for two of the largest public employee labor unions in the United States. From 1984-1987, he was staff counsel with National Treasury Employees Union. From 1989-1994, he was staff counsel with California School Employees Association. In 1992, Mr. Corman was named CSEA's employee of the year.

In addition to his litigation practice, Mr. Corman is also active in teaching, lecturing and writing. He has taught undergraduate law courses at San Francisco State University and Chabot College in Hayward, California. He presents lectures in employment and labor law to other attorneys through the State Bar of California and other professional organizations. He served as Legal Advisor and Editorial Consultant for the California Assembly of Local Arts Agencies Personnel Handbook for California Nonprofits. He also has sat as an arbitrator for the Alameda County Superior Court, hearing and rendering decisions in over 30 complex civil cases.

Mr. Corman's current practice primarily focuses on the representation of individuals in all aspects of employment disputes, including wrongful termination, discrimination, harassment and severance issues. He has successfully represented clients with claims against corporations and institutions such as: IBM, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Chevron, Kaiser, Hewlett-Packard, the University of California and numerous local, state and federal governmental agencies. He also provides representation to labor organizations such as the West Contra Costa County School Supervisors Association and the Associated Employees Union. In addition, Mr. Corman counsels non-profit organizations and small businesses on employment issues and personnel matters.

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Click on Attorney's name or photo for personal statements.

Andrew M. Gold has represented a broad array of clients in intellectual property, arts and entertainment and commercial litigation matters for over 15 years. He has advised individuals and companies large and small with respect to copyright, trademark, right of publicity, licensing and many other issues. He also has extensive commercial litigation experience in the state and federal courts of California and New York.

Mr. Gold received a B.Ph. in interdisciplinary studies from Thomas Jefferson College in 1976, an M.F.A. in theater directing from the California Institute of the Arts in 1979, and a J.D., cum laude, from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in 1986, where he served as the Articles Editor of the Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal. From 1986 until 1990, Mr. Gold was a litigation associate with the international law firm of Coudert Brothers, first in the firm's New York office, and then in its San Francisco office. From 1990 through 1995, Mr. Gold was with the firm of Stein & Lubin. Mr. Gold joined with his current partners in 1995.

Mr. Gold's clients include Universal Sports Network, the California College of Arts and Crafts, the Huey P. Newton Foundation, Inc., Studio D Recording, Zenmark Branding Services, Beam Reach Networks, CitiMortgage, Future Festivals, Empty Space Productions and Elsevier Science. Before becoming a lawyer, Mr. Gold acted, directed and produced for the theater, taught acting and directing and was a literary agent in New York City.