Labor Employment Law Blog

Charles F. Barker - Partner - Los Angeles

Mr. Barker has extensive experience in state, federal and administrative trials involving claims of wrongful termination, discrimination, harassment, unfair labor practices, overtime compensation, and other labor-related issues. 

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David B. Chidlaw - Partner - San Diego

Mr. Chidlaw has broad experience counseling and defending employers on a wide variety of employment issues, including immigration. He has defended employers in wrongful termination and employment discrimination litigation, including sexual harassment, race, age, national origin, gender, and disability discrimination.

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John D. Collins - Partner - Del Mar Heights

Mr. Collins combines extensive jury trial experience with an established position as one of the area's leading labor-management advocates/negotiators. He has been general labor counsel to a number of employer associations, including Associated Builders and Contractors of San Diego and Restaurant-Hotel Employers Council of San Diego (a multi-employer bargaining group).

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Jeffrey A. Dinkin - Partner - Santa Barbara

Mr. Dinkin's experience spans both private and public sector labor relations, including more than twenty years of negotiating collective bargaining agreements.  He has represented employers from start-up companies developing personnel policies and employee handbooks, to established companies expanding into California.

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Richard M. Freeman - Partner - Del Mar Heights

Mr. Freeman specializes in general business litigation and labor and employment matters exclusively on behalf of management. His litigation experience includes numerous state and federal court jury trials, injunctions, arbitrations, class actions, and administrative trials.

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Jason R. Gasper - Partner - Los Angeles

Mr. Gasper represents employers in various labor relations matters involving state and federal wage and hour laws, wrongful discharge, employment discrimination, employee discipline and termination, employee benefits, and affirmative action. He has significant experience representing employers in wage and hour class actions.

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Guy N. Halgren - Partner - San Diego

Mr. Halgren represents employers in wage/hour disputes, class action lawsuits, discrimination and sexual harassment claims, policies and handbooks, collective bargaining, wrongful discharge claims and other labor litigation. Mr. Halgren is chairman of Sheppard Mullin's Executive Committee.

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Samantha D. Hardy - Partner - San Diego

Ms. Hardy practices labor and employment law, with an emphasis on California and national wage and hour issues.  She has a significant amount of experience representing employers in wage and hour class actions, as well as representing employers before administrative agencies, advising management on wage and hour matters, and conducting wage and hour audits to identify potential issues.  She also handles a variety of other types of labor and employment matters, including immigration matters. 

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Douglas R. Hart - Partner - Los Angeles

Mr. Hart represents employers in all aspects of employment law and labor relations including wrongful discharge, employment discrimination, National Labor Relations Act, and wage and hour issues. He has represented employers in major union organizing campaigns, and has significant experience with the healthcare and construction industries.

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Derek Havel - Partner - Los Angeles

Mr. Havel handles all facets of the litigation process in labor and employment disputes.  Mr. Havel has jury trial experience; has taken and defended hundreds of depositions; written and argued motions for summary judgment; and provided advice on human resources and personnel issues. 

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Kelly L. Hensley - Partner - Los Angeles

Ms. Hensley is co-chair of the Labor and Employment Practice Group. She regularly counsels employers in all aspects of California and federal employment law, including hiring and discipline procedures, unfair competition matters, worker classification issues, leaves of absence, wage and hour law, and employee severance and termination strategies.

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Tracey A. Kennedy - Partner - Los Angeles

Ms. Kennedy is an experienced trial attorney in state and federal court, and has tried to verdict business and employment matters including age, race, sex and disability discrimination, sexual and racial harassment, retaliation, and wrongful termination. She also provides preventive counseling to clients concerning personnel and employment matters.

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Sheldon K. Kline - Partner - Washington, D.C.

Mr. Kline represents clients in labor negotiations, in bankruptcy, federal and state court litigation, and before administrative agencies, particularly the National Labor Relations Board and the National Mediation Board. He has considerable experience in all facets of transportation, including the representation international and domestic airlines, trucking companies, maritime, and ports. 

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Greg S. Labate - Partner - Orange County

Mr. Labate is co-chair of the Labor and Employment Practice Group. He has extensive experience in defending employers against claims of discrimination, sexual harassment, retaliation, wrongful termination, breach of contract, defamation, invasion of privacy, workplace violence, wage and hour issues, other related matters.

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Deborah L. Martin - Partner - San Francisco

Ms. Martin counsels employers on the full spectrum of employment issues, from hiring to severance arrangements with special expertise in disability and leave of absence issues.  She also assists employers in protecting proprietary information through developing appropriate policies and practices and enforcing those protections. She represents employers in litigation before State and Federal courts and administrative agencies in a broad range of matters including claims for wages, harassment, discrimination and wrongful termination. 

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Ryan D. McCortney - Partner - Orange County

Mr. McCortney represents employers in state and federal trial court and appellate proceedings as well as administrative proceedings before the National Labor Relations Board, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Department of Fair Employment and Housing, the U.S. Department of Labor, the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, and OSHA.

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Otis McGee, Jr. - Partner - San Francisco

Mr. McGee's employment-related experience includes the primary responsibility for single plaintiff and class-action employment litigation including claims for discrimination, sexual harassment, wrongful discharge, disability discrimination and wage and hour matters.

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Jennifer G. Redmond - Partner - San Francisco

Jennifer Redmond helps employers avoid lawsuits by counseling them on compliance with federal and state employment laws. When lawsuits cannot be avoided, Ms. Redmond is experienced in defending employers against claims of trade secret theft, defamation, disability discrimination, failure to accommodate, wrongful termination, discrimination, harassment, retaliation, breach of contract, fraud, wage and hour violations, and all other types of employment-related claims. 

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Jonathan G. Rose - Partner - Washington, D.C.

Jonathan Rose’s practice is focused on the representation of plan sponsors and fiduciaries involved in ERISA and related litigation.  In addition, Mr. Rose advises plan sponsors and fiduciaries of qualified and non-qualified pension and welfare benefit plans on compliance with the wide range of fiduciary duties required in the administration and investment of plan assets, including the prudent selection and oversight of investment and other service providers, disclosure obligations, and prohibited transaction issues. 

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Richard J. Simmons - Partner - Los Angeles

Mr. Simmons represents employers in various labor relations matters involving state and federal wage and hour laws, wrongful discharge, employment discrimination, employee discipline and termination, employee benefits, affirmative action, union representation proceedings, and contract arbitrations.

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Dianne Baquet Smith - Partner - Los Angeles

Ms. Smith has extensive experience representing management in litigation of wrongful discharge, discrimination, and other types of employment cases through jury trial. She has trained and advised clients on personnel, loss prevention, operating safety and other subjects facilitating preventative action and legal compliance.

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Jonathan Stoler - Partner - New York

Mr. Stoler's practice encompasses a wide range of labor and employment matters, including the defense of single plaintiff and class action discrimination, wrongful discharge and wage/hour claims, in addition to employment contract, non-competition, whistleblower, sexual harassment and related claims.  He regularly represents clients in labor and employment litigations in federal and state courts, in arbitrations before the American Arbitration Association and the Financial Industry Regulation Authority, and in proceedings before various administrative agencies, including the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the U.S. Department of Labor and state agencies throughout the United States.  Mr. Stoler also represents clients in collective bargaining negotiations, labor arbitrations and all stages of the labor election process, including election campaigns and hearings before the National Labor Relations Board.

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Bill Whelan - Partner - San Diego

Mr. Whelan's experience ranges from advice and counseling through litigation. He has defended many wrongful termination, discrimination, class actions, employee compensation, and other employment cases for a wide range of companies, including manufacturers, retailers, non-profit employers, religious institutions, a school of law, golf equipment companies, and financial institutions.

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Jennifer Bates Zargarof - Partner - Los Angeles

Ms. Zargarof counsels employers on personnel policies and procedures, employee discipline matters, and wage and hour issues.  She also defends employers and supervisors in civil and administrative disputes arising from the employment relationship, including disputes under state and federal wage and hour and discrimination laws. 

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Jonathan P. Barker - Associate - Los Angeles

Ross Boughton - Associate - Los Angeles

Geoffrey D. DeBoskey - Associate - Los Angeles

Ruben D. Escalante - Associate - Orange County

Evgenia Fkiaras - Associate - San Francisco

Morgan Forsey - Associate - San Francisco

Jason M. Guyser- Associate - Orange County

Aaron Heisler - Associate - Santa Barbara

Sheryl K. Horwitz - Associate - Los Angeles

Ronda D. Jamgotchian - Associate - Los Angeles

Karin Hunter Johnson - Associate - Washington, DC

Jason W. Kearnaghan - Associate - Los Angeles

Jennifer La Macchia - Associate - Washington, D.C.

Melissa K. Lee - Associate - Los Angeles

Thomas Lee - Associate - Los Angeles

Scott B. Lieberman - Associate - Orange County

Albert Lu - Contract Attorney - San Diego

Ritu Mahajan - Associate - Los Angeles

Matthew S. McConnell - Associate - Del Mar Heights

Daniel J. McQueen - Associate - Los Angeles

Kirsten Miller - Associate - Los Angeles

Rachel Miller - Associate - San Diego

Marlene M. Nicolas - Associate - Los Angeles

Kevin M. Rivera - Associate - Los Angeles

Carole M. Ross - Contract Attorney - Del Mar Heights

Beth Scheel - Contract Attorney - Los Angeles

Emily Seymour - Associate - Washington, D.C.

Hayley Singer - Associate - San Diego

Matthew Sonne - Associate - Orange County

Lauren Thibodeaux - Associate - Los Angeles

Adam Tullman - Associate - San Francisco

Tara Wilcox - Special Counsel - San Diego

Julie Wong - Associate - Los Angeles