Best Lawyers in California, United States for Litigation - Labor and Employment
Select a city from the list below to find the best legal talent for your needs.
Cities
A detail-oriented and strategic thinker, Lucy Bertino represents and advises employers on complex labor and employment matters. With prior in-house experience, Lucy advises clients on compliance with applicable collective bargaining agreements, federal and state employment laws, and wage and hour laws. Lucy also advises employers on internal investigations and compliance with company policies to ensure consistent practice. She works with clients to provide advice arising from day-to-day human...
Sarah Boxer is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Labor and Employment Law - Management and Litigation - Labor and Employment. Sarah, 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 Sarah is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Sherry N. Shayan is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Litigation - Labor and Employment. Sherry N., who practices law in Los Angeles, California, has been recognized since 2026. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Sherry N. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Keelia K. Lee is an associate in the Sacramento, California, office of Jackson Lewis P.C. Her practice focuses on defending employers in workplace law, including wage and hour, class and representative actions, harassment, discrimination and retaliation actions. Keelia is a member of the office’s class action defense team. She also provides preventive advice and counseling. Keelia is no stranger to strategic and fast-paced work. She accelerated her education from college entrance to att...
John D. Drdek is a Partner in the Firm’s San Diego office and a member of both the Litigation and Labor & Employment Groups. His practice focuses on representing companies and employers in complex litigation, including wage-and-hour class and representative actions, Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) claims, and multi-million dollar employment and contract disputes. John has successfully defended clients ranging from startups to Fortune 500 companies across a range of industries. ...
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...
Melissa Rake is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Labor and Employment Law - Management and Litigation - Labor and Employment. Melissa, who practices law in San Francisco, California, has been recognized since 2025. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Melissa 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.