Debate by Expert Trial Attorneys on the Wal-Mart Gender Discrimination Lawsuit

Co-sponsored with California Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse
See our Flyer!

When: Tuesday, June 28, 11:30am (Registration); 12:00am (Lunch)

 

Where: 1st Floor Conference Room, at the law offices of Knobbe, Martens, Olson and Bear, 2040 Main St., Irvine, 92614 (949) 760-0404

Parking: Please park in the parking structure near the 2040 Building and bring ticket to lunch for validation.  Click here for directions.

Cost: $35 for gourmet box lunch and 1 hour MCLE credit. The Federalist Society is a California Sate Bar approved provider of MCLE. 

RSVP and Pay: To RSVP and pay by credit card, click the Buy Now button on the right. To pay by cash or check at the door, please send an RSVP to: jhaney@swlaw.com and make checks payable to "The Federalist Society."

On June 20, 2011, the United States Supreme Court decided the Case of Wal-Mart v. Dukes where the issue on appeal is the certification of 1.6 million current and former female Wal-Mart employees as a class under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(b)(2).  Attorneys on behalf of the proposed class have argued that the systemic discrimination has impacted all women employed at Wal-Mart and that this the high cost of litigation, in light of what are expected to be relatively small individual recoveries, requires that litigation proceed in this manner.  Wal-Mart has responded that the proposed class, which is larger than the combined active duty of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard, is comprised of women at all levels of employment within the company and in a variety of different work environments and therefore lacks the element of commonality needed to certify a class.

Please view our flyer and join us on June 28 when our distinguished panel will debate the merits of this case and the future of class action litigation.

Panelists 

Anthony J. Oncidi heads the Labor & Employment Law Group in the Los Angeles office of Proskauer Rose.  Tony represents employers and management in all aspects of labor relations and employment law. A substantial portion of Tony’s practice involves the defense of employers in large class actions, employment discrimination, harassment and wrongful termination litigation in state and federal court as well as arbitration proceedings, including FINRA matters. Tony is the author of the treatise titled Employment Discrimination Depositions (Juris Pub’g 2009), co-author of Proskauer on Privacy (PLI 2009), and, since 1990, has been a regular columnist for the official publication of the Labor and Employment Law Section of the State Bar of California and the Los Angeles Daily Journal. Tony also is a regular commentator on employment-related issues for radio, television, and print media. He is an appointed Hearing Examiner for the Los Angeles Police Commission Board of Rights and has served as an Adjunct Professor of Law and a guest lecturer at USC Law School and a guest lecturer at UCLA Law School.

John Shu is an attorney and expert on political issues, the Supreme Court, and confirmations. Mr. Shu served both President George H.W. Bush and President George W. Bush. He also served Judge Paul Roney, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, who was also on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review, and Judge Stanley Sporkin, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, who formerly served as Director of Enforcement at the Securities & Exchange Commission and General Counsel at the Central Intelligence Agency. Mr. Shu has lectured and published articles on a wide variety of issues such as constitutional law, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, securities and corporate law, regulatory affairs, antitrust, appellate advocacy, intellectual property, and international affairs.

Andrew H. Friedman, partner with the law firm of Helmer & Friedman LLP, primarily represents employees in all aspects of employment law. He is author of the definitive reference volume: Litigating Employment Discrimination Cases (James Publishing, 2005-09). Mr. Friedman received his J.D. degree from Cornell Law School and his B.A. degree in history and psychology, cum laude, from Vanderbilt University. Mr. Friedman has received the highest possible Martindale-Hubblerating ("AV"), indicating that he is ranked at the highest level of professional excellence. Law & Politics Magazine and the publishers of Los Angeles Magazine selected Mr. Friedman as a 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010 Southern California "Super Lawyer" in the category of Labor and Employment Law. He is a prolific author and editor of many employment-related publications including and he has also written many law review articles. He is a popular speaker and moderator on employment law issues.

Thomas V. Girardi is widely regarded by his peers as one of the nation's top trial lawyers and with nearly fifty years of experience representing victims, Mr. Girardi has obtained numerous multi-million dollar verdicts and settlements, handling claims involving wrongful death, commercial litigation, products liability, bad faith insurance, and toxic torts. In 2003, he received the most prestigious honor of being inducted into the Trial Lawyer Hall of Fame by the California State Bar. Mr. Girardi is a Member of the Board of Directors and former President of the prestigious International Academy of Trial Lawyers, an invitation-only worldwide organization, limited to 500 trial lawyers. Mr. Girardi is also the first trial lawyer to be appointed to the California Judicial Council, the policymaking body of the state courts. Mr. Girardi is a frequent speaker, writer, and commentator on employment law issues and appears weekly "Champions of Justice" radio show on KRLA 870 AM in Southern California. 

William J. Brown, Jr. (Moderator) is a civil litigator who has extensive experience representing clients in intellectual property litigation, products liability defense, business disputes, and complex commercial litigation in arbitration and state and federal courts.  His range of experience includes cases involving public works, communications equipment, aerospace operations, wholesale energy contracts, and medical devices. Bill's patent litigation experience includes diverse technologies, such as digital signal processing, LCD and plasma display panels, semiconductors, Internet servers, database management systems, pharmaceuticals, nutritional supplements, automotive parts, and flashlights. Bill has represented action sports companies in disputes over intellectual property rights related to skateboard and footwear products.  In addition, Bill has handled complex international trade secret disputes in state and federal courts.  Prior to founding Brown, Wegner & Berliner, Bill practiced for more than a decade in the Intellectual Property Group at the international law firm Jones Day, and also operated his own practice.

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