Three O’Melveny Partners Named to Daily Journal’s 2020 List of Top Labor & Employment Lawyers
July 16, 2020
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
LOS ANGELES—July 16, 2020—The Daily Journal has named partners Apalla Chopra, Bob Siegel, and Adam P. KohSweeney to its “Top Labor & Employment Lawyers 2020” list, which honors “California’s top lawyers advocating for workers and employers.”
Recognized for the tenth consecutive year, Apalla Chopra was honored for her work in the higher education space. In a recent case, Chopra successfully argued a motion to dismiss a potential class action against California State University seeking to invalidate all student suspensions and expulsions arising from sexual misconduct claims since 2015.
Chopra told the Daily Journal that, like most of the legal industry, she has had to adjust to new work environments following the outbreak of COVID-19. Now, she finds herself conducting investigation interviews over Zoom. “I prefer face-to-face interviews,” she said. “But it hasn’t stopped us. At some point you have just got to proceed.”
Named to the list for the third year in a row, Bob Siegel was recognized for his many accomplishments within the past year, including successfully arguing an Railway Labor Act case before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. In the matter, the court affirmed the dismissal of a potential class action involving a long-running seniority dispute.
Siegel, whose “client list reads like a busy arrivals and departures board,” is also advising his airline clients on COVID-19’s impact on the aviation industry. “This is a totally different world,” Siegel told the Daily Journal. “I was around after 9/11 and this is far more disruptive. The airlines we advise are facing a truly unprecedented drop in revenue, and as labor lawyers we’re advising on ways to deal with that.”
Adam P. KohSweeney was honored for securing a summary judgment win for American Airlines in a class action brought by ramp agents who brought claims for unpaid overtime over multiple years. “It was a good win—a lot of money was on the table here, because ramp agents are well-paid and there was potentially four years of overtime pay at stake,” KohSweeney said.
KohSweeney told the Daily Journal that the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the makeup of his litigation-focused practice. “We’re moving to reassess the feasibility of working from home. Some people can't wait to get back to the office, but a lot of organizations are rethinking the workplace. There's going to be a large subset that may not fully return.”
O’Melveny’s Labor and Employment team helps clients confront the full range of issues they encounter as employers—whether it’s non-compete and negative covenant litigation, wage and hour class actions, discrimination and wrongful discharge claims, or traditional labor and union issues. The team works by building effective, collaborative relationships with clients, grounded in an in-depth understanding of their business and industry, and the risks and opportunities they face on a daily basis.
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Contact:
Christopher Rieck
O’Melveny & Myers LLP
+1 212 326 2218
crieck@omm.com