Burke, Williams & Sorensen, LLP is pleased to announce that the following firm attorneys have been elevated to equity partner: Karl H. Berger, Johanna N. Canlas, and Algeria R. Ford. Burke’s total equity partner count is thirty now.

Burke Managing Partner John J. Welsh noted, “Burke’s equity partner team welcomes these three highly accomplished members of the firm as co-owners. This equity partner expansion is testimony to the continued stability and successful growth of our firm.”

Karl Berger’s thirty years of practicing law are exclusively devoted to representing public agencies. He is City Attorney for the City of Bellflower; City Attorney for the City of Monterey Park; General Counsel for the Carpinteria Sanitary District, and Counsel for the Conejo Parks and Recreation District. Additionally, Karl is the Assistant City Attorney for Simi Valley, Assistant City Attorney for the City of Santa Clarita, and Senior Assistant City Attorney for the City of Simi Valley.

Johanna Canlas provides superior advisory skills and subject matter expertise to public entities and non-profits. Johanna serves as City Attorney for the coastal cities of Coronado and Solana Beach. Johanna is the General Counsel to SBCS Corporation, a community-based nonprofit organization providing a comprehensive range of services for children, youth, and families in San Diego County. Johanna served as General Counsel to Solana Energy Alliance, the first Community Choice Energy Program in the San Diego region prior to its merger with Clean Energy Alliance (CEA). Since 2022, Johanna is the General Counsel to CEA.

Al Ford is a member of Burke’s Public Law, Employment Law & Litigation, and Education Law practice groups. He serves as City Attorney for the City of Simi Valley, Assistant City Attorney for the City of Cathedral City, and Assistant City Attorney for the City of Rialto. Al also serves as General Counsel for the Banning Library District and General Counsel for City of Simi Valley/Waterworks District No. 8.

Burke, Williams & Sorensen, LLP is a California limited liability law partnership with 174 member attorneys. Our mission is to provide clients with creative, results oriented, and cost effective legal services within the complex environment in which they function. We view ourselves as problem solvers and legal strategists, not simply compliance monitors and reciters of the law. Burke has ten practice groups: Public Law; Labor and Employment Law; Litigation; Eminent Domain and Inverse Condemnation; Construction Law; Environmental, Land Use, Insurance Coverage and Litigation; Natural Resources; Real Estate and Business Law; Education Law, and Intellectual Property. Each practice focuses on the professional development of member attorneys and on providing advisory services tailored to the needs of both public and private clients. With regional offices in Los Angeles, Inland Empire, Marin County, Oakland, Orange County, Palm Desert, San Diego, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, and Ventura County, as well with the added support of advanced communications technology, Burke can easily be where our California situated clients need us to be. For more information, please visit www.bwslaw.com and https://www.linkedin.com/company/burke-williams-&-sorensen/about/?viewAsMember=true

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