Best Lawyers in California, United States for Litigation - Labor and Employment
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Cities
Arcelia N. Magaña is a Partner in the San Diego, California, office of Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP. An experienced litigator, she provides insight into best practices to develop a stable, high-functioning workforce to avoid the disruption and expense of litigation. Arcelia has defended dozens of wage and hour class and representative actions over the last seven years, including actions brought under the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA). Arcelia also handles discrim...
Laura E. Devane is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Litigation - Labor and Employment. Laura E., who practices law in Fresno, California, has been recognized since 2021. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Laura E. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Bret Martin is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Labor and Employment Law - Management and Litigation - Labor and Employment. Bret, 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 Bret is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Sam Sadeghi represents employers in complex employment litigation and strategically advises employers in navigating California’s employment laws. Sam’s litigation and trial experience includes handling wage and hour class actions, representative actions under California’s Private Attorneys General Act, single-plaintiff lawsuits, private arbitration, government agency actions, and pre-litigation disputes. Sam focuses his practice on issues related to wage and hour laws, discr...
Alice Kwak has experience representing clients in a broad range of employment litigation matters and counsels employers on various labor law issues. My focus My practice focuses on advising and defending employers in all aspects of employment and labor litigation, including single-plaintiff and class and collective actions involving claims of wage and hour violations, harassment, discrimination, wrongful discharge, and retaliation, in federal and state courts and before administrative agencie...
Blaine O’Malley is an Associate of the Firm. Her practice focuses on all stages of business litigation. Prior to joining the firm, Blaine was a certified law clerk at the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office in both the Central Trials and Victim Impact divisions, where she successfully represented the people of California in preliminary hearings and pre-trial motions. During her time at the District Attorney’s Office, Blaine O'Malley actively volunteered with Projec...
Nathaniel Hsieh is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Labor and Employment Law - Management and Litigation - Labor and Employment. Nathaniel, who practices law in Santa Monica, California, has been recognized since 2026. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Nathaniel is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Bethel Habte is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Civil Rights Law, Labor and Employment Law - Employee and Litigation - Labor and Employment. Bethel, who practices law in San Francisco, California, has been recognized since 2026. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Bethel is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Ali M. Hmoud is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Labor and Employment Law - Management and Litigation - Labor and Employment. Ali M., 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 Ali M. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Fawn F. Bekam is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Labor and Employment Law - Employee, Litigation - Labor and Employment and Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions - Plaintiffs. Fawn F., who practices law in Studio City, California, has been recognized since 2021. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Fawn F. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Jamie L. Hagerott represents and advises employers in all areas of employment law in both state and federal courts, private arbitration, and before the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and Civil Rights Department (CRD). She has handled a wide array of employment cases including discrimination, wrongful termination, accommodation, sexual harassment, wage and hour, whistleblower, and class action and PAGA matters. Jamie has also advised her clients on the ever-changing Califo...
John D. Drdek is an associate in the Firm’s San Diego office and a member of both the Litigation and Labor & Employment Groups. His practice focuses on representing employers in complex litigation, including wage-and-hour class and representative actions, Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) claims, and multi-million dollar employment disputes. John has successfully defended clients ranging from startups to Fortune 500 companies across a range of industries. John is experienced in a...
Michael Minguet is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Labor and Employment Law - Management and Litigation - Labor and Employment. Michael, who practices law in Los Angeles, California, has been recognized since 2025. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Michael is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Walker Macon is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Insurance Law, Labor and Employment Law - Management and Litigation - Labor and Employment. Walker, who practices law in Lake Forest, California, has been recognized since 2024. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Walker is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Herber Ramirez is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Litigation - Labor and Employment. Herber, who practices law in Woodland Hills, California, has been recognized since 2026. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Herber is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Gregory Blueford is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Labor and Employment Law - Management and Litigation - Labor and Employment. Gregory, who practices law in Sacramento, California, has been recognized since 2023. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Gregory is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
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.