Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Page 3
Sheppard Mullin Adds Labor and Employment Partners
By a MetNews Staff Writer
Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP said yesterday that it has added former Seyfarth Shaw attorneys Thomas R. Kaufman, Michael L. Gallion and Gregg A. Fisch as partners to its Labor and Employment practice group in its Los Angeles/Century City office.
Kaufman, former co-chair of Seyfarth’s national wage/hour class action practice group, said he looked forward to joining Sheppard Mullin, adding that he was “impressed with the firm’s marquee labor and employment practice, including the group’s continued growth in recent years and firm management’s support in growing it further.”
Gallion said that he was “very excited to continue to practice with” Kaufman and Fisch, commenting that they were “thrilled to be part of a firm with such a distinguished labor and employment group and one with such a strong California platform.”
Sheppard Mullin’s chair, Guy N. Halgren, said the firm was excited to welcome the three.
“They are tremendously talented and collectively bring a wide range of labor and employment law experience, including a specialization in wage-and-hour law—an area the firm is already known for,” he commented.
The move follows Sidley Austin’s announcement last week that three former Sheppard Mullin partners—Douglas R. Hart, Jennifer B. Zargarof and Geoffrey D. DeBoskey—had left Sheppard Mullin’s labor and employment practice to join Sidley’s Los Angeles office as partners in its labor and employment practice.
Kaufman is a wage/hour specialist and has handled more than 80 class actions for a wide variety of industries, including banks and mortgage lenders, hospitals, large newspapers, information technology companies, restaurants and other retailers. He also has experience litigating employment discrimination cases, and has won several jury trials.
Kaufman graduated from college at the University of Illinois and law school at UCLA. He was admitted to the State Bar in 1995.
Gallion is an employment litigator and counselor with experience handling complex employment litigation, including California wage and hour class actions and nationwide discrimination class actions. He also advises clients on employment law, including work force reclassifications, mergers and acquisitions, reductions in force, and high-profile investigations.
A graduate of the College of Charleston in South Carolina and the University of Tennessee College of Law, Gallion joined the State Bar in 1997.
Fisch has experience in employment litigation, and has successfully defended management before federal and state courts and administrative agencies in defense of complaints for class action and single-plaintiff matters involving wage-and-hour violations; wrongful termination; age, race, gender and national origin discrimination; sexual harassment; retaliation; and other statutory, contract and tort-related claims, as well as in relation to union campaigns and elections.
Fisch attended college and law school at New York University and was admitted to the State Bar in 2001.
Sheppard Mullin has 200 attorneys based in its Los Angeles offices and its Labor and Employment practice group includes 75 attorneys firm-wide.
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