Bergen & Parkinson LLC

08/10/2022

Responsibilities include:
• Day to day management of the Firm’s financial systems.
• Communication of financial information to Firm Owners and Firm Administrator.
• Monitoring daily online status and monthly reconciliation of all bank accounts.
• Maintaining the general ledger and monitoring the Firm’s Accounts Receivable
• Trust Accounting, Deposits, and financial processing related to retainers, electronic bank transactions and real estate and other closings.
• Oversight of the Firm’s Accounts Payable process including monitoring check requests and credit card processing.
• Timely and accurate billing of all legal services.
• Production of Firm financial reports.
• Understanding of Payroll System and ability to process Firm payrolls.
• Working with outside accountants to provide information related to year-end to support the timely and accurate filing of tax returns.
• Support of Firm Administrator including back-up as needed which may include:
o Human resources and benefits administration
o IT troubleshooting
o Facilities issues
o Marketing projects

Requirements include:
• Some formal accounting education or training, college degree preferred.
• Five years managing accounting operations preferably in a professional services organization.
• Proven ability to keep internal/external information confidential.
• Need to be extremely comfortable with electronic systems and have an aptitude to troubleshoot minor software and hardware “glitches”.
• Previous experience with HR and Organizational Policies as well as Benefits Administration is a plus.
• A part-time and/or partially remote schedule is negotiable.

01/16/2022

Congratulations to our own Sarah Neault who has joined the Partnership!! Well deserved!

Congratulations Sarah.... well deserved!!...

03/08/2021

Bergen & Parkinson, LLC, with offices located in Kennebunk, S**o and York seeks an experienced associate attorney to join our team. We invite expressions of interest from both experienced and newer attorneys to practice in the areas of real estate, business, probate, estate planning, and/or administrative law.

02/24/2021

Bergen & Parkinson, LLC is looking for experienced Legal Assistants, both in our S**o and Kennebunk offices. Please apply via the Indeed.com link, or send your resume and cover letter to our Firm Administrator, Jack Hathaway, [Email hidden].

02/24/2021

Bergen & Parkinson, LLC is looking for experienced Legal Assistants, both in our S**o and Kennebunk offices. Please apply via the Indeed.com link, or send your resume and cover letter to Jack Hathaway, [email protected].

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02/04/2021

Bergen & Parkinson seeks an experienced Paralegal specializing in Estate Planning and Probate.

Now Hiring – Paralegal! Bergen & Parkinson, LLC, with offices located in Kennebunk and S**o, seeks an experienced paralegal to join its Probate and Trust Administration team.  Our paralegals provide support to our attorneys and regularly interact with clients in person and by phone and video.  ....

10/01/2020

Bergen & Parkinson, LLC is pleased to announce that attorney William J. Gallitto, III, a member of the firm’s Litigation Department, was recently selected as a Super Lawyers Rising Star in the 'Civil Litigation: Plaintiff' category for 2019-2020. Only 2.5% of attorneys receive the Rising Stars designation. Candidates must be either 40 years old or younger, or in practice for 10 years or less. This is William’s second straight year being designated as a Rising Star.

As a member of the civil litigation practice group at Bergen Parkinson, William represents individuals, partnerships, corporations, and other business entities in a wide variety of civil litigation disputes. His practice primarily focuses on personal injury, employment, and estate/probate cases. William also has two niche specialty practice areas involving toxic torts (asbestos, mesothelioma and medical devices) and transportation/towing litigation cases.

www.bergenparkinson.com

York County’s Largest Full-Service Law Firm Estate Planning & Probate The Estate Planning & Probate attorneys at Bergen & Parkinson, LLC provide sound and creative advice to individuals and families in structuring estate plans to meet their needs. Wills / Trusts Estate and Gift Tax Planning Probat...

06/10/2020

Durward Parkinson discusses Mediating and Arbitrating in turbulent times: Holistic Takeaways about the Road Ahead.

Mediating and Arbitrating in Turbulent Times: Holistic Takeaways about the Road Ahead By Durward W. Parkinson Lots is being written about the new reality of mediation practice—particularly the advantages (and mainly disadvantages) of the use of Zoom and other videoconferencing platforms. We are ea...

03/30/2020

Congress and the President come to agreement on Corona Virus aid, read Partner Michael Macleod-Ball's synopsis.

Congress and the President Come to Agreement By Michael W. Macleod-Ball March 29, 2020 On Friday, March 27, 2020, Congress enacted and the President signed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act”) providing $2 trillion in support to employers, workers, contractors...

03/27/2020

WHAT HAPPENS IF MY EMPLOYEE CALLS OUT SICK?
By Britton Ryan Garon

If you are an employer open for business during this pandemic crisis, much of your focus is on keeping your employees safe and healthy, while maintaining your business and providing essential services to your clients. If one of your employees calls out sick, what should you do? Who should be notified?

Several state and federal agencies provide guidance and set regulation during this crisis. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) are the definitive sources for information on the pandemic, its spread, and recommended public response. The CDC has created a risk assessment for the general public and recommendations on precautions to take based on an individual’s risk level.

If a person has had close contact (defined as within 6 feet for 30 or more minutes) with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19, the CDC recommends that person be quarantined for 14 days and have his or her health monitored. Family and others who have had contact with this potentially exposed person, may still leave their home as long as the potentially exposed individual remains asymptomatic and does not show signs of illness. Without such direct contact with a positive person, the Maine CDC does not require quarantine but does recommend monitoring the person’s health for symptoms of illness. For anyone who has tested positive, is experiencing symptoms compatible with COVID-19, or is awaiting test results, the CDC recommends self-isolation until 7 days has passed since the symptoms first appeared and at least 3 days have passed without experiencing fever or respiratory problems.

When an employee calls out sick, it is important to get details about their status.

Are they personally experiencing symptoms that would necessitate self-isolation, pursuant to the CDC guidelines?

Have they had direct contact with someone confirmed positive and self-quarantining for the 14-day period or, has the employee actually tested positive?

If an employee informs you he or she has tested positive or is presumed to be infected with COVID-19, you should obtain a list of people with whom he or she has had contact in the previous 14 days. You should promptly notify all colleagues or clients who have had contact with the employee regarding their potential exposure to the virus. Because of various health care privacy laws, you must not disclose the name of the sick employee or any more specific detail than is necessary to inform others adequately and accurately of the concern. You should send home any employee who was in direct contact with ill employee to self-quarantine for 14 days, with instructions to monitor their health for any symptoms. Areas of the office which the ill employee has used should be closed off until you can perform a deep cleaning and disinfection of the area. Given the seriousness and impact of this pandemic, agencies recommend that everyone err on the side of caution and treat all suspected or possible cases of contamination as confirmed COVID-19 cases for purposes of notification and isolation. This makes good sense from the scientific and medical community and, consequently, it makes good legal sense as well.

Although employers have a duty to notify employees of their potential exposure if someone within the company reports a positive COVID-19 diagnosis, the employer has no such duty to report to state or government officials. CDC reporting happens at the health care provider level. An employer’s main obligations are determined by the United States Department of Labor (DOL) and its Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). DOL advises employers to focus their efforts on providing a safe work environment for their employees during this pandemic. For many businesses, OSHA regulations that dictate this principle will be new territory for companies not typically concerned about workplace safety hazards. OSHA has developed Guidance on Preparing Workplaces for COVID-19 to assist employers as they navigate this current climate.

The information provided on this website does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice; instead, all information, content, and materials available on this site are for general informational purposes only. Information on this website may not constitute the most up-to-date legal or other information. This website contains links to other third-party websites. Such links are only for the convenience of the reader, user or browser; Bergen & Parkinson, LLC does not recommend or endorse the contents of the third-party sites.

The information provided on this website does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice; instead, all information, content, and materials available on this site are for general informational purposes only. Information on this website may not constitute the most up-to-date legal or other information. This website contains links to other third-party websites. Such links are only for the convenience of the reader, user or browser; Bergen & Parkinson, LLC does not recommend or endorse the contents of the third-party sites.

03/26/2020

LITIGATING IN A NEW ERA
By William J. Gallitto

On March 18, 2020, to help curb the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19), the Maine Supreme Judicial Court took the extraordinary step of immediately cancelling until May 1, 2020, both scheduling and hearing the following types of cases:

Evictions and landlord/tenant disputes
Disclosures
Foreclosures
Small claims
Medical malpractice proceedings including medical review panel hearings
Family matters, except for video mediations by agreement.
Adoptions
Juvenile matters (unless the juvenile is being detained)
Criminal matters (unless a defendant is in-custody)
Civil jury trials
All other nonjury civil matters including civil violations
All actions to recover personal property
All traffic tickets
Grand Jury proceedings
Currently, the only civil cases currently being heard are:

Protection from abuse requests and hearings
Protection from harassment requests and hearings
Child protection petitions and hearings
Mental health requests and hearings
Emergency guardianships
Hearings granted on motion
Unless a case falls within one of the six listed categories, there must be “urgent and compelling reasons” for the court to hold the trial or hearing before May 1, 2020.

Further complicating this mandate is the recently announced reduction in courthouse hours and the number of individuals allowed inside courthouses. For example, during the week of March 23, most courts throughout Maine are scheduled to be open for a half day only. Some courts, including York County Superior Court, are closed to the public entirely that week. Moreover, in reducing the number of individuals in courthouses, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court has stated that these changes “will affect the scheduling and hearing of cases”. The trial court website encourages all individuals who have any business with the court to call to ensure that they are open, as the impact of this disease is constantly changing. Litigants in the handful of cases being heard should expect delays in their case being heard and a truncated court schedule.

While these and other mandated changes are necessary to curb the spread of the virus, they have also had a significant impact on pending cases, which are still subject to existing Scheduling Orders and require timely attention to deadlines, discovery and motion practice. Now, more than ever, written discovery, video conference depositions, and virtual mediations and arbitrations have heightened importance and prominence in the litigation process. Virtual or telephonic mediations are becoming almost routine. The mechanics and legal issues associated with video depositions are not stopping discovery in cases which are near a discovery deadline. For example, if a court reporter and a witness are in the same location, swearing in the witness is not an issue, but if that is not possible, must a notary must be brought in to swear the witness in? Even eliminating the long-standing requirement of physically signing legal documents filed in state court has been discussed among litigators, most of whom are working from home, to bring the state in line with federal courts, which have allowed electronic signatures for decades. The restrictions stemming from COVID-19 have forced a sometimes-antiquated profession to adapt to modern times and circumstances. Litigators are working to find the “new normal” with no sure end to these restrictions in sight. Clients in litigation cases should expect delays in scheduling hearings and trials, but be prepared to confront the new challenges and complexities social distancing has had on the legal profession.

The information provided on this website does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice; instead, all information, content, and materials available on this site are for general informational purposes only. Information on this website may not constitute the most up-to-date legal or other information. This website contains links to other third-party websites. Such links are only for the convenience of the reader, user or browser; Bergen & Parkinson, LLC does not recommend or endorse the contents of the third-party sites.

Readers of this website should contact their attorney to obtain advice with respect to any particular legal matter. No reader, user, or browser of this site should act or refrain from acting on the basis of information on this site without first seeking legal advice from counsel in the relevant jurisdiction. Only your individual attorney can provide assurances that the information contained herein – and your interpretation of it – is applicable or appropriate to your particular situation. Use of, and access to, this website or any of the links or resources contained within the site do not create an attorney-client relationship between the reader, user, or browser and website authors, contributors, contributing law firms, or committee members and their respective employers.

03/26/2020

COVID-19 SICK-LEAVE POLICIES FOR EMPLOYERS
By Erin E. Sherman

The federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”) goes into effect on April 2, 2020 and includes three separate provisions expanding family and sick leave requirements related to COVID-19. We describe the new laws here briefly, but please contact your attorney if you have any questions about implementing or navigating these policies in your business.

A key element of the new mandated employment benefits is that they apply even to the smallest employers who are not currently subject to the requirements of the Family Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”). The DOL has the authority to adopt exemptions for small businesses of less than 50 employees if the leave requirements would jeopardize the viability of the business, but has not adopted such exemptions as of the date this was written.

Please note: All employers with less than 500 employees must post a conspicuous notice related to these new family and sick leave provisions of the FFCRA. The Department of Labor has provided a notice athttps://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/posters/FFCRA_Poster_WH1422_Non-Federal.pdf

Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act

The Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act (“EFMLEA”) expands the FMLA to provide job-protected leave to employees who miss work due to a “qualifying need related to a public health emergency” (in other words, COVID-19).

Applies to: All employers with fewer than 500 employees (regardless of geographic location of employees) and all employees who have worked at least 30 days for the employer.

Requirement: With certain exceptions, employees may take up to 12 weeks of protected leave if unable to work (or telework) due to a need for leave to care for the employee’s minor child if the child’s school or place of care has been closed, or the child-care provider is unavailable. This is a fairly narrow category of employees.

Wages: The first 10 days of leave are unpaid, though the employer may apply paid time off (accrued sick days, medical, and vacation days) during that period. The employer is responsible for paying the employee over the next 10 weeks at two-thirds pay for the average number of hours the employee would otherwise work, with a cap of $200 per day and $10,000 total.
Job Protection: Like FMLA, an employer must give an employee his or her position back following the protected leave and cannot discriminate or retaliate against the employee for using the leave.

Small business exception: Employers with fewer than 25 employees are not required to restore the job of an employee who takes leave under the new law if: (i) the employee’s position no longer exists due to economic conditions and (ii) the employer makes reasonable efforts to restore the employee to an equivalent role.

Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act

The Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act (“EPSLA”) requires private employers with fewer than 500 employees to provide temporary paid sick leave to employees who are unable to work due to certain reasons related to COVID-19.

Applies to: All employers with fewer than 500 employees and all employees (regardless of how long they have been employed).
Employers must provide paid leave for the following reasons:
a federal, state or local quarantine or isolation order restricts the employee;
a health care provider has advised the employee to self-quarantine;
the employee is experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 and seeking a medical diagnosis; the employee is caring for someone who has been advised or ordered to quarantine; the employee is caring for a son or daughter whose school or place of care has closed, or whose child-care provider is unavailable, because of COVID-19 precautions; or the employee is experiencing any other substantially similar condition specified by the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
Wages: Employers must pay sick time equal to the number of hours that the employee works, on average, over a two-week period. Employers cannot apply an employee’s accrued paid time off (medical, sick or vacation time) before paying sick leave under the EPSLA.

If sick time is needed because of any of the first three reasons set forth above, then the employee’s paid sick time is capped at $511 per day and $5,110 total.
If sick time is needed for any other reasons set forth in EPSLA, the employee’s paid sick time is capped at $200 per day and $2,000 total.

Leave under both EFMLEA and EPSLA: EPSLA can be applied in combination with EFMLEA by employees who qualify for leave under both so as to cover the first 10 days of unpaid leave under the EFMLEA.

Tax Credits for Employers

The FFCRA provides a refundable payroll tax credit covering 100% of family leave paid to employees, up to of $200 a day and a total of $10,000 per employee, and 100% of sick leave wages paid to employees, up to a maximum wage of $511 per day and a total of $7,156 per employee. The credits may be claimed quarterly but are not available to employers who receive credit under Internal Revenue Code Section 45S for paid family and medical leave.

As of the date this was written, the State of Maine was considering but had not yet adopted new state requirements modifying required employment benefits.

The information provided on this website does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice; instead, all information, content, and materials available on this site are for general informational purposes only. Information on this website may not constitute the most up-to-date legal or other information. This website contains links to other third-party websites. Such links are only for the convenience of the reader, user or browser; Bergen & Parkinson, LLC does not recommend or endorse the contents of the third-party sites.

Readers of this website should contact their attorney to obtain advice with respect to any particular legal matter. No reader, user, or browser of this site should act or refrain from acting on the basis of information on this site without first seeking legal advice from counsel in the relevant jurisdiction. Only your individual attorney can provide assurances that the information contained herein – and your interpretation of it – is applicable or appropriate to your particular situation. Use of, and access to, this website or any of the links or resources contained within the site do not create an attorney-client relationship between the reader, user, or browser and website authors, contributors, contributing law firms, or committee members and their respective employers.