LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT ATTORNEYS
TRACEY KENNEDY: Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP – Partner
Tracey Kennedy is the go-to Los Angeles trial attorney in the Labor and Employment practice group who is routinely retained to try cases. She is in high demand to try virtually any type of employment or business related case and has an impressive win record. She is responsible for all aspects of employment litigation matters on behalf of employers and management including jury and bench trials and arbitrations. An experienced trial attorney, she has tried to verdict in state and federal court employment matters such as age, race, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, and disability discrimination and harassment, as well as retaliation, and wrongful termination.
Kennedy also provides preventive counseling to clients concerning personnel and employment matters. Tracey has lectured around the country on personnel practices, employment discrimination, retaliation, harassment, and wrongful termination. She also has experience in labor issues such as union organizing, labor negotiations, and labor arbitrations.
DANA A. KRAVETZ: Michelman & Robinson, LLP – Firm Managing Partner
When Dana Kravetz took over as managing partner of M&R in 2010, he had the arduous task of filling the shoes of firm co-founder, Sanford Michelman, who to that point was the only managing partner the firm had ever known. Michelman transitioned the role to Kravetz with the knowledge that a firm as creative and innovative as M&R required a periodic influx of new ideas, new energy, and a new management style to maintain and grow its industry edge.
Kravetz is widely respected within M&R. Clerical employees and senior partners alike flourish under a leader who places a premium on open communication, effective delegation and the empowerment of his workforce. Indeed, such empowerment is exemplified by two firm wide initiatives implemented under his leadership; namely, (1) the Women Attorneys of M&R (WAMR), a committee having as its primary objective the advancement of the firm’s female lawyers, and (2) the Diversity, Multiculturalism & Inclusion (DMI) Committee, created to promote diversity and inclusion in the workplace.
MATTHEW MCNICHOLAS: McNicholas & McNicholas, LLP – Partner
Representing police officers and fire fighters in retaliation, harassment, disability discrimination, and whistleblower lawsuits for nearly 20 years, Matt McNicholas has secured more than $60 million in total results for his clients. As panel counsel to Los Angeles Police Protective League and the United Firefighters of Los Angeles City, he currently has more than 40 separate cases pending against the LAPD and the LAFD on behalf of their employees.
Just this February, McNicholas received a published decision from the Court of Appeals that affirmed liability and a majority of damages in the largest employment verdict to date against the LAPD. McNicholas obtained a $12.3 million verdict in the Los Angeles Superior Court on behalf of five recruitment officers who were injured during the LAPD Academy training and were fired despite the fact that there were 410 funded and open positions. The trial court awarded $1.6 million in statutory fees and costs, bringing the total judgment to $14 million.
GEORGE A. STOHNER: Faegre Baker Daniels LLP – Senior Counsel
George Stohner is Senior Counsel at Faegre Baker Daniels and a nationally recognized employment litigator with more than 35 years of experience. His practice focuses on class, collective, and systemic employment litigation, labor and employment counseling, and labor negotiations. Stohner has led trial and litigation teams in successfully defending against numerous employment discrimination and wage and hour cases, particularly those involving class and collective action claims.
Stohner represents employers managing both unionized and non-unionized workforces in a range of settings. Several of his representative matters have materially contributed to the development of California law. For example, earlier this year in Gessner et al. v. Pacific Bell, Stohner led the defense in a significant California State court jury trial involving allegations that the company failed to provide plaintiffs with proper meal breaks. The multi-plaintiff case went to a three-week jury trial and through Stohner’s efforts Pacific Bell obtained a complete jury victory.
