About

Provided by Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP

With more than 110 attorneys located across eight offices in California, Sheppard Mullin’s Employment practice group has expertise in all matters affecting the workplace, including wage and hour, class and representative actions, discrimination, harassment, retaliation, labor union management relations, non-compete and trade secrets, employment agreements and compliance. We are a go-to resource for employers with operations in California and across the country, and have expertise assisting employers in the healthcare, retail, transportation, financial services, fashion, hospitality, and food and beverage industries.


Chambers-ranked practitioner, Richard Simmons, literally “wrote the book” on wage and hour law for employers. Many of our California attorneys are experts in this area with extensive knowledge of state and federal wage and hour laws and how they affect the daily operations of employers in the state. We are at the cutting edge of wage and hour class and PAGA representative actions and have defended employers in thousands of these actions over the years. We also proactively assist employers with their internal audits so as to avoid enforcement actions. When such enforcement actions do occur, our attorneys regularly represent clients before the California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement and the federal Department of Labor. We are a leader in providing harassment and discrimination training, defense and preventative advice to companies and their employees.


Chambers Review

Provided by Chambers
Labor & Employment: The Elite - California
4
Band 4
What the team is known for

Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP advises on a variety of labor and employment matters, including course-of-business issues as well as high-stakes litigation. The practice regularly undertakes work in wage and hour disputes, single-plaintiff discrimination cases and harassment claims. The firm represents clients from a wide range of industries, including the transportation, hospitality and healthcare sectors.

Work Highlights

Provided by Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP
  • Sheppard Mullin successfully defended Marcus and Tracey Chu and their business entities, which were sued by an ex-business partner for wage and loan repayments.

Strengths

Provided by Chambers

Notable Practitioners

Provided by Chambers
Tracey A Kennedy
2
Tracey A Kennedy
2
Band 2

Tracey Kennedy's impressive employment litigation and trial practice includes harassment and discrimination claims and retaliation suits.

"She is an outstanding and fearless trial lawyer."

"She is super polished and sophisticated. She is a great advocate in court and has a great team."

"She is an exceptional trial attorney. She is often able to pull the rabbit out of the hat on employment trials. She is highly trusted for her skills."

Richard Simmons
3
Richard Simmons
3
Band 3

Richard Simmons is well regarded for his experience in big-ticket class actions involving wage and hour issues.

"He is a wage and hour expert who is really, really good at what he does."

"Richard is extremely knowledgeable in wage and hour issues. We can rely on him for the most current legal analysis."

"He is knowledgeable and creates arguments on specific and unique litigation matters. He is an encyclopedia."

Thomas R. Kaufman
5
Thomas R. Kaufman
5
Band 5

Thomas Kaufman is a fine choice of litigator for state and federal wage and hour actions arising in a range of industries.

"Tom is a voice of reason and calmness."

"He is a very good wage and hour lawyer."

"He is friendly, professional and effective on matters. He is able to provide helpful insight."

Ranked Lawyers at
Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP

Provided by Chambers
Filter by
Band

California

Labor & Employment

Tracey A Kennedy
2
Tracey A Kennedy
2
Band 2
Richard Simmons
3
Richard Simmons
3
Band 3
Zachary Hutton
3
Zachary Hutton
3
Band 3
Thomas R. Kaufman
5
Thomas R. Kaufman
5
Band 5

Members

Provided by Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP

Adam Rosenthal

Babak Yousefzadeh

Daniel McQueen

David Chidlaw

Derek Havel

Greg Berk

Greg Labate

Gregg Fisch

Jason Kearnaghan

Jason Weiss

Justine Phillips

Kelly Hensley

Head of Department

Matthew McConnell

Matthew Sonne

Morgan Forsey

Nancy Pritikin

Paul Cowie

Richard Kopenhefer

Robert Mussig

Ryan McCortney

Samantha Hardy

Travis Anderson

Clients

Provided by Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP

AT&T

Anaheim Arena Management

BJ’s Restaurants

Chipotle

Cox Communications

Dignity Health

DrilTek

Firetrol

Granite Rock

Hyundai

Orange Coast Memorial Medical Center

Pacific Bell

Six Flags Magic Mountain

Stericycle

Swift Transportation

Taco Bell

Zodiac Aerospace

Industries

Provided by Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP

Banks

Consumer Product Manufacturing

Financial Services

Food and Beverage

Healthcare

Hospitality

Media and Entertainment

Professional Services

Retail

Transportation

Utilities