2005 Employment Law Update

Brent M. Giddens, Partner, Sonnenschein, Nath & Rosenthal, LLP
Mr. Giddens’ experience includes representation of management in all aspects of the employer/employee relationship, including counseling, policy and procedure review, employment related litigation, collective bargaining agreement negotiations, equal employment, and related matters concerning employers, unions, and employees.

His experience has been in both the manufacturing and the service industries, including insurance, banking, hardware, communications, food and agriculture, temporary employment agencies, health and beauty, law firms, media, energy, printing, and car dealerships.

Mr. Giddens handles labor cases at all levels of both state and federal courts as well as before the National Labor Relations Board, the Department of Labor, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and related state administrative agencies. Mr. Giddens is admitted to the State Bar of California and the United States Court of appeals in the Fifth and Eighth Circuits. He is also a member of the American Bar Association, Committee on Development of the Law Under the National Labor Relations Act.

Mr. Giddens is nationally recognized for his expertise in temporary employment issues. His publications include “When temporary employees bring discrimination of labor suits against their employment agencies, the client-employers may be subject to joint liability.” National Law Journal, January 13, 1997.

Katharina M. Mueller, Consultant, Mueller & Associates Consulting, LLC
Katharina M. Mueller has 15 years of legal and operational experience in both publicly and privately held companies as a business and turnaround consultant, chief legal counsel and secretary to Boards of Directors. She has a unique talent for taking the pain out of Sarbanes-Oxley and delivering sound solutions to reduce G&A costs and streamline business processes to dramatically improve clients' bottom line results.

From 2000 to 2004, Ms. Mueller served as Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of FileNet Corporation (NASDAQ: FILE), an international Enterprise Content Management software provider to Fortune 100 companies. She was responsible for all worldwide legal activities, including mergers and acquisitions, and for driving corporate compliance.

Lloyd Loomis, Partner, Sonnenschein, Nath & Rosenthal, LLP
Mr. Lloyd Loomis is a Partner in the law firm of Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal LLP in Los Angeles, California. Prior to joining Sonnenschein, he was Senior Corporate Counsel, Employee Relations at the Atlantic Richfield Company in Los Angeles, with responsibility for employment law matters, and later of counsel with the law firm of Steptoe & Johnston LLP.

His practice includes a wide variety of employment law issues involving both employment litigation and counseling. Mr. Loomis’ litigation experience includes class action discrimination and wage hour matters as well as wrongful termination, age, race, sex and national origin discrimination. He is also experienced in providing advice with respect to reductions in force, and developing policies and practices to ensure compliance with the ADA, FMLA, FLSA, DOT drug and alcohol testing requirements, affirmative action obligations and other state and federal employment requirements. Also, Mr. Loomis provides advice and representation with respect to collective bargaining matters, arbitrations, NLRB proceedings and union organizing efforts.

Mr. Loomis received his BA from Columbia University and his JD from the University Of Missouri (UMKC). In 1992, he was appointed to the California Workers’ Compensation Fraud Assessment Commission (reappointed in 1995 and 1998). In 1994, he was appointed to the NLRB Advisory Panel (Management) and in 1996, he was appointed by the Chair of the EEOC to serve on the committee responsible for developing proposed regulations for the Older Workers Benefits Protection Act. He is a member of the California, Missouri and Illinois Bars, and a member of the Employers Group Legal Committee.

P. Anthony Burnham, Esq. Senior Vice President & Employment Counsel, Employers Group
Prior to joining Employers Group, Mr. Burnham was President and Employment Counsel for the Orange County Human Resources consulting in Human Capital Co-op (HCC), which he co-founded in 2002. For over thirty-seven years, he has represented management, both as an attorney and senior corporate HR executive with such firms as Carnations/Nestle, Abbott Resource Group (Abigail Abbott Staffing) and the national employment law firm of Fisher & Phillips LLP. Mr. Burnham is also the author of Employed for Life! An Insider’s Secrets for Guaranteed Employment in our Permanently Changed Workplace.

Employers Group Helpline Consultants
Employers Group Consulting Helpline continues to be the most valued service to Employers Group membership. Handling over 50,000 calls per year, the Consulting Helpline advises along the entire breadth of HR issues from employment law to health and safety. With a combined experience of 100+ years, our consultants are not only compliance experts, but also draw on long and rich HR careers to give members practical solutions to their HR related issues.

Maria A. Audero, Associate, Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP
Ms. Audero is an associate of the Employment Law Department and a member of the firm’s Latin America Practice Group. She has a diversified employment practice, representing employers in all aspects of employment and labor law. Ms. Audero’s practice emphasizes state and federal employment litigation, collective bargaining, discrimination, harassment, and retaliation claims, wage and hour issues, administrative proceedings before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Department of Fair Employment and Housing, and general advice and counseling for clients in employment and labor areas. Ms. Audero is also well-versed in California unfair competition law as it relates to employees and covenants not to compete. Ms. Audero also regularly lectures to employment groups regarding employment policies and practices.

Ms. Audero received her B.A. degree from U.C.L.A. and her J.D. degree, magna cum laude, from Southwestern University School of Law, where she was Associate Editor of the Southwestern Law Review.

Elizabeth Falcone, Associate, Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP
Ms. Falcone represents private and public employers in all aspects of employment law, including wrongful termination, discrimination and harassment litigation. She has experience defending single and multi-plaintiff cases, as well as class action cases.

Ms. Falcone’s employment law experience includes representing employers at trial, in administrative proceedings, and in private arbitration. She has appeared before state and federal courts, the United States Department of Labor, the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing and the California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement. Ms. Falcone has particular expertise in the area of harassment law. She also provides day-to-day advice to clients on issues including wage and hour matters, leaves of absence, and accommodation of disabilities. Ms. Falcone has experience in traditional labor law, representing public and private employers in grievance arbitrations. Ms. Falcone has spoken and taught on issues including basic employment law, the law of harassment, and workplace investigations.

Elizabeth Falcone received her B.A., cum laude, in English with Departmental Honors from Northwestern University in 1998. She was an award-winning collegiate debater and competitive speaker, and has volunteered as a coach for high school students competing in these activities. Ms. Falcone received her J.D. from New York University School of Law in 2001. Ms. Falcone was a McKay Scholar, an editor of the Moot Court Board, and was named to the Order of Barristers upon graduation.

Holly R. Lake, Associate, Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP
Ms. Lake is a member of the Employment Law Department and represents employers in all aspects of employment law, including discrimination, sexual harassment, wrongful discharge, and wage/hour compliance matters. Ms. Lake currently spends a considerable amount of time advising clients on dealing with the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs. This includes assisting contractors in preparing, implementing, and maintaining affirmative action plans, and advising contractors experiencing compliance evaluation.

Ms. Lake has successfully defended clients at trial, in administrative proceedings, and at the appellate level regarding disability discrimination, wage/hour matters, and compliance with the California Education Code. During her time at Paul, Hastings, Ms. Lake has helped obtain a complete defense verdict in a disability discrimination jury trial and successfully argued in the California Court of Appeal.

In 2004 and 2005, Ms. Lake was selected as a Rising Star by Law & Politics’ Super Lawyers Magazine and Los Angeles Magazine. Ms. Lake is a frequent speaker on a variety of employment matters for human resource organizations and other employer/management groups.

Ms. Lake is a member of the Beverly Hills Bar Association where she serves as a member of the Barristers Board of Governors. She is also a member of the Labor and Employment sections of the American Bar Association and the Los Angeles County Bar Association. Ms. Lake is also actively involved with The Links, Incorporated, an international public service organization.

Prior to going to law school, Ms. Lake studied Spanish language and culture in Almuñecar and Madrid, Spain.
Ms. Lake received her A.B. in Spanish and Portuguese from the University of California at Berkeley in 1993 and her M.P.H. from San Jose State University in 1996. In 1999, Ms. Lake received her J.D., magna cum laude, from New York Law School where she served as Articles Editor for the New York Law School Law Review. While a law student, Ms. Lake was a judicial extern to the Honorable Harold Baer, United States District Court, Southern District of New York. Ms. Lake is admitted to the California Bar and is also admitted to practice before the Central, Eastern, and Northern Federal District Courts in California, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court. Ms. Lake is fluent in Spanish and has a working knowledge of Portuguese.

Leah Lively, Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP
Leah Lively is a senior employment litigation associate. She has extensive experience defending employers against claims of harassment, discrimination, and wage and hour violations. Ms. Lively is an experienced trial attorney, having tried more than 40 jury trials. Ms. Lively is admitted to practice in Oregon and California.

Ms. Lively has spoken at several employment law training seminars on topics such as the ADA, harassment and discrimination in the workplace, wage and hour updates and alternative dispute resolution. Ms. Lively’s professional publications include, The Enforceability of Limitation-of-Liability Clauses in Commercial Contracts, Oregon Association of Defense Counsel, Fall 2000 and Orr v. Bank of America: Making Sure Your Evidence is Admitted at Summary Judgment, Oregon Association of Defense Counsel, Fall 2002.

Leslie Hollis, Vice President, Consulting Services, Employers Group
Prior to joining Employers Group, Leslie was Chief Operating Officer for the Orange County Human Resources consulting firm Human Capital Co-op (HCC). During her time with HCC, she was instrumental in the development of what has become an industry model and delivery methodology for successfully serving the HR needs of independent companies.

Leslie holds multiple state licenses in life and disability insurance, securities, is a Certified Safety Specialist and earned a Masters Certification in Environmental Health and Safety.

Richard J. Simmons, Partner, Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP
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. Mr. Simmons received his B.A., summa cum laude, in 1973 from the University of Massachusetts, where he was a Commonwealth Scholar and graduated in the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society. He received his J.D. in 1976 from Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California in Berkeley where he was the Editor-in-Chief of the Industrial Relations Law Journal.

Mr. Simmons has lectured nationally on wage and hour, employment discrimination, wrongful termination, and other labor relations matters. He is a member of the National Advisory Board to the Berkeley Journal of Employment and Labor Law, published by the Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California in Berkeley. He was also appointed by the California Industrial Welfare Commission as a member of the 1987, 1984 and 1982 Minimum Wage Boards for the State of California.

Mr. Simmons is a member of the California State Bar, the Western Pension and Benefits Conference, the California Society for Health Care Attorneys, the American Society for Health Care Attorneys, and the labor law and tax sections of the American and Los Angeles Bar Associations. He has also been a lecturer at graduate labor law courses presented by the University of California at Los Angeles and the University of Southern California, and has appeared as an authority on labor law on the CBS Evening News.

Derek Havel, Associate, Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP
Mr. Havel handles all facets of the litigation process in labor and employment disputes. Mr. Havel has jury trial experience; has taken and defended depositions; written and argued motions for summary judgment; and provided advice on human resources and personnel issues. He has been involved in labor and employment disputes under both state and federal law, including discrimination on the basis of race, sex, age, religion, disability, national origin, marital status and other classifications. He has specific experience under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, Title VII, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and other labor and employment laws.

Mr. Havel has significant experience in defending wage and hour class actions, including claims for overtime pay, meal and rest violations, and vacation pay. In particular, Mr. Havel has represented insurance companies, retailers, hospitals and grocery store chains in defense of wage and hour class actions.

Mr. Havel also has experience in traditional labor law. He has drafted briefs for the National Labor Relations Board, and defended employers against unfair labor practice charges.

Mr. Havel is licensed in California. He is admitted to practice law in all California state courts, the United States District Court for the Central District of California, and the Ninth Court.