3,400+
Completed legal matters
Employment Litigation & Dispute Resolution for California Employers
Strategic Employment Litigation & Dispute Resolution.
When employment disputes arise, you need a powerful legal team dedicated to protecting your interests through negotiation, mediation, arbitration, or trial. We resolve disputes efficiently while aggressively defending your company’s rights.
Employers only — never employees
1,520+
Businesses helped
20+
Lawyers & attorneys
96%
Client satisfaction
Licensed in California · Se Habla Español · Always confidential · Conveniently located · Google reviews — 4.8
§ 01 — Claims we defend
Common claims we defend for California employers.
Our attorneys are adept at dissecting the nuances of each type of claim to build the strongest possible defense for your business.
01
Court Litigation
State & federal courts
Full-scope defense of employment lawsuits — pleadings, discovery, dispositive motions, and trial where the case warrants it.
Discuss it ↗
02
Arbitration
Code Civ. Proc. § 1281
Enforcing arbitration agreements and defending claims in the private, confidential forum they call for.
Discuss it ↗
03
Mediation & Settlement
Negotiated resolution
Positioning cases so mediation happens from strength — and negotiating settlements that reflect the record, not the demand.
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04
Administrative Hearings
Lab. Code § 98 · CRD · EEOC
Representing employers before the Labor Commissioner and civil rights agencies where most claims begin.
Discuss it ↗
05
Dispositive Motions
Summary judgment practice
Attacking claims early — demurrers, motions to strike, and summary judgment built on the documented record.
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06
Appeals
Appellate strategy
Protecting favorable outcomes and challenging adverse ones where the record supports it.
Discuss it ↗§ 02 — What is at stake
Why this demands an immediate, strategic response
Not every employment dispute can — or should — be settled. Employers who appear weak invite larger demands; employers who fight strategically usually resolve on better terms.
Knowing when to negotiate and when to litigate is the judgment that determines outcomes. We litigate to win, and we settle from strength.
Employment litigation typically runs 18 to 36 months from complaint to trial, with discovery as the most expensive phase. Strategy set in the first 60 days — forum, motions, preservation — shapes everything after.
Forum decides tempo
Court, arbitration, or agency
The same dispute plays out very differently by forum — enforcement of an arbitration agreement alone can change the economics of a case.
Discovery is the cost center
Control it early
Document preservation and a disciplined discovery plan are where litigation budgets are won or lost.
Settle vs. fight
A numbers decision
We model verdict risk, fee exposure, and business disruption so resolution decisions are made on evidence — not fear.
§ 03 — How we defend it
Our strategy on these matters
01→
Case Assessment
We evaluate the claims, the record, and realistic exposure in the first weeks — and set the forum and motion strategy accordingly.
02→
Aggressive Motion Practice
Where the record supports it we attack early, narrowing claims or ending cases before the expensive phases.
03→
Prepared for Trial
Cases settle best when the other side believes you will try it. We prepare every case as if it will be tried.
04
Resolution & Protection
Settlement terms, releases, and post-resolution fixes that end the dispute and prevent its sequel.
§ 04 — Questions
Common questions on this matter
Q.01How long does employment litigation take?+
Typically 18 to 36 months from complaint to trial in California courts — faster in arbitration, and much faster when early dispositive motions succeed.
Q.02Should we settle or fight?+
It is a case-by-case numbers decision: strength of the documented record, certification and fee exposure, business disruption, and the message a resolution sends. We model it honestly and recommend accordingly.
Q.03Do arbitration agreements still work in California?+
Properly drafted ones remain enforceable and valuable, though California law in this area shifts frequently — agreements should be reviewed against current standards rather than assumed valid.
Related practice areas
John FagerholmEmployer defense attorney · Licensed in California since 2001