Best Lawyers in California, United States for Litigation - Labor and Employment
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Cities
Theodora Lee is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Litigation - Labor and Employment. Theodora, who practices law in San Francisco, California, has been recognized since 2021. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Theodora is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
John Polson is a partner in the Irvine office and a member of the firm's Management Committee. He represents employers and staffing industry clients in all aspects of labor and employment law, including transactional matters, litigation, compliance advice and audits, executive and management training, and other employment related legal matters. John handles administrative and civil employment litigation matters, including arbitrations, in California and elsewhere. John has particular expertis...
Cheryl Schreck is a partner in the firm’s Los Angeles office. She regularly defends employers in complex employment litigation including class and collective wage and hour and discrimination actions, as well as single and multi-plaintiff actions involving employment discrimination, harassment and retaliation, wrongful termination and wage and hour claims. Cheryl represents employers from case inception through trial or arbitration. She has represented clients in multiple jury and bench ...
Elvira Cortez is a member of the firm’s Business Litigation and Employment Law groups. Elvira draws on her extensive civil litigation experience to craft defense strategies to obtain favorable outcomes and solutions for her clients. She has represented businesses from a wide range of industry sectors in both state and federal court. She focuses her practice on defending against claims of discrimination, harassment, wrongful termination and advising clients on other employment-related ma...
Nicholas D. Brauns is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Commercial Litigation and Litigation - Labor and Employment. Nicholas D., who practices law in San Diego, California, has been recognized since 2026. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Nicholas D. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Christopher J. Kondon is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Employment Law - Management and Litigation - Labor and Employment. Christopher J., who practices law in Los Angeles, California, has been recognized since 2023. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Christopher J. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Michele L. Maryott is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Employment Law - Management and Litigation - Labor and Employment. Michele L., who practices law in Irvine, California, has been recognized since 2025. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Michele L. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
John K. Rubiner is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Commercial Litigation and Litigation - Labor and Employment. John K., who practices law in Los Angeles, California, has been recognized since 2023. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which John K. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Thomas G. Mackey is a principal in the Los Angeles, California, office of Jackson Lewis P.C. He joined the firm in 2002. Tom exclusively represents employers in all types of employment litigation, including discrimination, harassment, retaliation, disabilities and reasonable accommodation, wrongful termination, wage and hour disputes, and matters involving competition and restrictive covenants. Tom specifically focuses his practice on trials and arbitrations. He has substantial jury trial exp...
Erica Rocush devotes her legal practice to management-side employment law advice and counseling. Her clients range from small businesses to partnerships and institutions to large international companies operating across a multitude of industries, including construction, professional services, manufacturing, education, retail, hospitality, and healthcare, among others. She is dedicated to developing ongoing collaborative relationships with clients nationwide in order to serve as a valuable res...
Tim Murphy is a partner in the firm's San Francisco office. He has been a jury trial lawyer for more than 40 years, trying cases involving a wide variety of subjects. Since 1985, his practice has focused upon jury trial cases concerning sexual harassment, race discrimination, whistleblower allegations, retaliation, wrongful discharge, trade secret protection, and disability discrimination. His clients have included banks, public utilities, universities, manufacturers, public entities, law fir...
Our Methodology
Recognition by Best Lawyers is based entirely on peer review. Our methodology is designed to capture, as accurately as possible, the consensus opinion of leading lawyers about the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same geographical area and legal practice area.
The Process
Best Lawyers employs a sophisticated, conscientious, rational, and transparent survey process designed to elicit meaningful and substantive evaluations of the quality of legal services. Our belief has always been that the quality of a peer review survey is directly related to the quality of the voters.