Employment Litigation: Tales from the Trenches –

A brief overview of California employment law by Laura L. Horton, J.D.

Laura Horton will discuss the various potential claims including discrimination, harassment, retaliation, whistleblowers, and medical leave laws.  She will provide examples of real litigated cases and illustrate best practices to deal with common workplace problems for local Southern California manufacturers. 

If you are involved in HR, management or executive leadership, this subject is relevant and essential to your day-to-day operation.  Lead your firm with fairness, honor and compliance with California laws to develop a world class organizational culture.

Ms. Horton was admitted to practice law in 1992.  She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from Arizona State University in 1987 and her Juris Doctor degree from Pepperdine University School of Law in 1991. 

Ms. Horton is admitted to practice by the State Bar of California; United States Supreme Court; United States District Court, Central District; District of Hawaii; and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.  She is a member of the American Bar Association, the State Bar of California, Los Angeles County Bar Association, American Association of Justice, San Fernando Valley Bar Association, California Employment Lawyers Association, National Employment Lawyers Association, LEFTJAW, Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles, Consumer Attorneys of California and she is an Alumni of Trial Lawyers College.  Ms. Horton is also a member of the Board for the California Employment Lawyers Association. 

Ms. Horton’s practice is limited to representing employees in civil employment litigation, plaintiffs in civil rights cases, and cases involving serious personal injury. 

Until April 2001, Ms. Horton was a civil defense attorney who developed a national reputation for litigating sports and recreational liability.  She litigated cases across the United States, and internationally, handling cases in Guam, Puerto Rico, and Japan.  She was the senior editor for the publication, Survey of Sport and Leisure Waiver and Release Law in the United States, an Analysis of the Fifty States, and she published numerous articles on sports and recreational liability.  In addition to the sports and recreational liability cases, she also handled labor and employment law cases, including class actions.

In April 2001, Ms. Horton opened her own firm, practicing exclusively in civil rights, labor and employment law and serious personal injury. 

In July 2006 Ms. Horton participated in the prestigious TrialLawyersCollege, created by Gerry Spence.  The TrialLawyersCollege is a three week program held on Mr. Spence’s ranch in Wyoming.  She was one of 50 lawyers chosen, and she successfully completed the college in July 2006.  Ms. Horton has subsequently participated in TrialLawyersCollege graduate programs. 

Reported cases include Faust v. California Portland Cement Co., (Cal.App. 2 Dist. May 10, 2007) 150 Cal.App.4th 864, 58 Cal.Rptr.3d 729, 154 Lab.Cas. P 35,291, rehearing denied (May 30, 2007).  The Faust case resulted in an expansion of employee rights under the California Family Rights Act.  For the first time, the Faust case established that a strict liability cause of action existed in California for an employer’s interference with an employee’s California Family Rights Act rights. 

Ms. Horton has been a frequent presenter for numerous organizations.  Laura L. Horton and Horton Law Firm are AV® rated in Martindale-Hubbell.  Ms. Horton has trial experience in Superior State Courts and extensive litigation experience in many of the District Courts. 

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