GORDON M. BERGER

PRACTICE FOCUS

• Corporate Law - provides small and mid-sized business clients with practical and preventative legal counsel to help them form or acquire new businesses, manage their business for success, and avoid litigation. When litigation is required, he brings 15 years of courtroom experience to his client’s side. 
  • Starting a new business
  • Mergers and acquisitions
  • Business planning
  • Corporate governance and corporate compliance

• Employment Law - Alternative staffing organizations or administrative services organizations (ASOs), professional employer organizations (PEOs) and HR Outsourcing companies face unusual risks as employers and maintain unique relationships with their clients and their employees. Because of their uniqueness, ASOs, PEOs and HR Outsourcing companies benefit greatly from legal counsel that helps them avoid the potential of costly litigation, yet few law firms in the country provide such services. Berger & Childs, P.A., is one of them. 

o   Contract drafting and review

o   HR legal counsel

o   Regulatory and Licensing

o   Litigation Services

BAR & COURT ADMISSIONS

·       Georgia, 1991

·       Georgia Court of Appeals

·       Georgia Supreme Court

·       U.S. District Court Northern District of Georgia

·       U.S. District Court Middle District of Georgia

·       U.S. District Court Eastern District of Michigan

PROFESSIONAL LEADERSHIP

      Organizations

·       Atlanta Bar Association

o   Member

·       Cobb County Bar Association

o   Member

·      American Bar Association

o   Member

·       Federal Bar Association, 1991 – 1999

o   Member, Atlanta Chapter

·       State Bar of Georgia

o   Member

·      National Association of Professional Employer Organizations (NAPEO)

o   Associate Member

o   Member, Legal Advisory Council

      Articles and Publications

·       Frequent Contributor, PEO Insider

·       Former Columnist, ProEmp Journal

·       Contributing Editor, ProEmp Journal, 2001

·       PEO Insider, Regulatory Changes Necessitate Handbook Changes (June/July 2009)

·       NAPEO Legal Review Volume 6, Number 4 The ADEA: Age, Layoffs, Waivers, and the PEO, (December 2008)

·       PEO Insider, Helping Clients Avoid Compliance Potholes (October 2008)

·       PEO Insider, Harassment Hazards Managing the Risks (June/July 2008)    

·       PEO Insider, Leave and Alternate Work Arrangements (February 2008)

·       PEO Insider, New Electronic Discovery Rules Affect PEO Policies (June/July 2007)

·       PEO Insider, Protecting HR Data (March 2007)

·       PEO Insider, Sexual Harassment Reporting Procedure, Indemnification Provision Protect PEO from Client Actions (Dec 2006/Jan 2007)

·       NAPEO Legal Review, Volume 4, Issue 7 Sarbanes-Oxley and Workplace Ethics Training (September 2006)

·       PEO Insider, Information Destruction (November 2005)

·       PEO Insider, The Ins and Outs of MEWA Audits (June/July 2005)

·       PEO Insider, I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification, Records, & Responsibilities (February 2005)

·       PEO Insider, Mission: Client HR Compliance, Checking Social Security Numbers: Still Required, Fines (September 2004)

·       Perfecting PEO Performance, Operational Requirement 7, Maintaining Workers' Compensation Coverage (August 2004)

·       NAPEO Legal Review Volume 2, Number 3 The ADEA: Employees, Social Security Numbers, and PEOs (April 2004)

·       Outsourcing Employment Services: Welcome to the PEO Arrangement, PEOs and Background Checks (February 2004)

·       PEO Insider, BE PREPARED!  With a Solid Client Service Agreement Are PEOs Practicing Law? (November 2003

·       Workplace Compliance Made Simple, 479 Things You Need to Know, Military Leave: Knowing Laws Can Save a PEO from Headaches Later (May 2003)

Speaking Engagements

·       Seminar Speaker at National Association of Professional Employer Organizations Legal & Legislative Conference, "Authorized Worker Compliance: I-9s, E-Verify, Visas, No Match" (May 2009)

·       Seminar Speaker at National Association of Professional Employer Organizations Annual Conference, "Cases from the Courtroom: Immigration and Beyond" (September, 2008)

·       Seminar Speaker at National Association of Professional Employer Organizations Legal & Legislative Conference "Lawfully Managing Employee Leave in 2007" (October 2007)

·       Seminar Speaker at National Association of Professional Employer Organizations Legal & Legislative Conference "Sarbanes-Oxley Isn't Just for Public Companies — Corporate Training and Ethical Requirements for Attorneys, PEOs, and Clients" (May 2007)

·       Seminar Speaker at National Association of Professional Employer Organizations Legal & Legislative Conference, "Ask an Expert Panel" (May 2006)

·       Seminar Speaker at National Association of Professional Employer Organizations Annual Conference, "Privacy Issues in Your PEO" (September 2006)

·       Seminar Speaker at National Association of Professional Employer Organizations Annual Conference, "Wage & Hour Audits" (September 2005)

·       Seminar Speaker for Sterling Education Services; Hiring And Firing (September 2003)

·       Seminar Speaker, at National Association of Professional Employer Organizations Legal & Legislative Conference, "The Dilemma of Faulty Social Security Numbers - What's an Employer to Do?" (May 2003)

·       Seminar Speaker, "Human Resource Fundamentals", June 18, 2002, Atlanta, Georgia, Lorman Education Services (June 2002)

·       Seminar Speaker for Sterling Education “Recent Developments in Employment Law” (November 2002)

·       Seminar Speaker at National Association of Professional Employer Organizations Legal & Legislative Conference, "Panel Discussion: Advising PEOs on Regulatory Compliance Program" (May 2002)

·       Seminar Speaker, "Strategies For Effective Employee Recordkeeping", December 14, 2001, Atlanta, Georgia, Lorman Education Services (December 2001)

·       Seminar Speaker, "Employee Handbooks", Atlanta, Georgia, Lorman Education Services (August 2001)

·       Seminar Speaker, "Effective Human Resource Management", Atlanta, Georgia, Lorman Education Services (September 2001)

·       Seminar Speaker, "Employment Law Update", Athens, Georgia,    Lorman Education Services (May 2001)

·       Seminar Speaker, "Personnel Law", Atlanta, Georgia, Lorman Education Services (March 2001)

·       Seminar Speaker, Employee Privacy Georgia Association of Professional Employer Organizations (April 2000)

·       Seminar Speaker, Sexual Harassment Seminar Cobb County Chamber of Commerce (January 2000)

·       Seminar Speaker, The PEO Regulation & Compliance Institute, "FMLA In The PEO Industry: Whose Job Is It Anyway?” (January 1999)

·       Seminar Speaker, PEO Primer, "Recent Developments in Employment Law that Your PEO Should Know About," (June 1998)

·       Speaker, “Some of the Lesser Known Facts Concerning Employer/Employee Rights”, Marketing Insurance Claims Association (February 1998)

·       Seminar Speaker, “Risk Management Through the Use of Employee Handbooks.” (September 1997)

·       Speaker, “Americans With Disabilities Act”, Fibromylagia Support Group, Piedmont Hospital (March 1997)

·       Speaker, “Small Business Job Protection Act of 1996”, American Society of Women Accountants l (February 1997)

HONORS & RECOGNITIONS

·       AV rating by Martindale-Hubbell