Steven Dawson

Hurdles in our lane or in our path need to be attacked head-on. Both on and off the track, from his collegiate days on the Stanford Track Team, clerking at the California Supreme Court, representing corporations and public agencies as a law firm partner, and defending upper management with the (AAA) Automobile Club of Southern California and representing clients in employment, business litigation, probate litigation, personal injury and real property disputes, Mr. Dawson has helped individuals and companies prosecute, defend, and manage employment and complex business litigation disputes for more than 35 years. He is persuasive, detailed, tenacious, and committed to fighting for the client in private arbitration and/or in state or federal court. Mr. Dawson has diverse and extensive large and small firm litigation and in-house experience across various industries, including financial services, retail, wholesale, insurance, construction, healthcare, higher education, and entertainment. Skilled at advising and working closely with senior management on business strategies, operations, risk management, policy development, and general corporate matters, Mr. Dawson has extensive employment law advice, business litigation, and trial experience. He also has broad transactional experience and can draft corporate contracts. Specialties: California and federal employment litigation/counseling, including individual and class/representative actions regarding Title VII and California state (FEHA) claims of discrimination, retaliation and harassment, wrongful termination, wage-and-hour matters under federal law (FLSA), and the California Labor Code including PAGA, and proceedings before the California Labor Commissioner and the Worker's Compensation Appeals Board. Significant expertise with separation and arbitration agreements, misclassification issues, time-keeping and compensation practices, leaves of absences under the FMLA, CFRA, and the ADA, internal investigations, outside agency charges, and responding to subpoenas.