Overview
Our goal is to guide public employers through the maze of state and federal labor and employment laws so that issues can be resolved quickly and efficiently. Our practice specializes in serving the California public sector and within this concentration our approach is tailored to the unique communities and organizational cultures we serve. We seek to help employers avoid litigation with positive personnel programs and by resolving disputes in a fair and prompt manner, when possible.
Our lawyers cover the full range of the employment relationship: from hiring employees through management of the workforce with rules, handbooks, policies and discipline processes; paying employees under local, state and federal laws; providing employee benefits; managing leaves of absence; preventing discrimination and harassment and concluding the employment relationship through voluntary or involuntary termination. Our practice includes experience with unions and labor relations, including unfair labor practice proceedings, grievance and arbitration proceedings and contract administration. We have also advised on retirement benefit issues.
Where litigation is unavoidable, our employment litigation practice includes representation of management in civil litigation and administrative hearing. Representative cases include wrongful termination, retaliation, discrimination, civil rights and other employment-related claims, petitions for writ of mandate and civil lawsuits, including in related areas such as the Brown Act and the Public Records Act. Our litigators practice in the state and federal courts at trial and on appeals, as well as before various state and federal administrative agencies, arbitrators and administrative law judges.
As part of our comprehensive approach to help employers avoid litigation and unnecessary disputes, we also conduct workshops to develop management skills. We offer seminars and provide reports to keep our clients abreast of recent developments and trends in the law. We also conduct investigations of employee misconduct, both in conjunction with representing our clients and as a stand-alone service to employers seeking outside investigation services.
