Employment and labor cases in Oakland typically resolve in 6 to 24 months, depending on complexity and court scheduling.
Oakland Court Backlog
The local court backlog for employment and labor matters ranges from 50 to 250 cases, reflecting ongoing demand and resource constraints.
Employment & Labor Oakland Filing Volume
Estimated new filings average 15 to 40 cases per month, based on public court data and directory trends.
Employment & Labor Case Outcomes
Resolution rates are highest before litigation (35%), with decreasing rates post-filing (25%) and at trial (10%), reflecting national and regional patterns.
7677 Oakport Street Suite 1150 , Oakland , California 94621
Practice Areas: Civil Rights, Consumer Protection, Discrimination, Employment & Labor , Sexual Harassment, Employment & Labor
Education and Background. I was fortunate. Despite never finishing high school or college, I was able – albeit with a lot of hard work – to gain admission to, and to excel at, one of the finest law schools in the country: U.C. Berkeley’s Boalt Hall School of Law. While I was at Boalt, I was privileged to be an editor for the California Law Review and a Member of the Moot Court Board, advising on brief writing and appellate advocacy for other students. After I left law school, in my early years of practice, I taught legal writing and appellate advocacy at University of California, Hastings College of the Law. Also, over the years, I have been presenter at continuing legal education events.. Legal Experience. I have been an attorney for 30 years. I have devoted my practice exclusively to representing employees, consumers, and investors in the state and federal trial courts and courts of appeal. I relish going to court for my clients and I have tried many jury cases in the state and federal courts.. Examples? In 2010, I was the lead attorney, along with the other attorneys in the firm, in Williams v. Union Pacific Railroadwhere, after four years of preparation, the firm obtained a jury verdict of $1,670,000 for an African-American female employee. In Rivero v. Surdyka, I was lead trial and appellate counsel in a civil rights case that lasted 15 years, including a full trial and three appeals to the Ninth Circuit, finally concluding in a judgment for plaintiffs of over $2,300,000. These cases illustrate the firm’s motto: commitment – results. You have to commit to a case, sometimes over a very long time, to get the result the client deserves.. We don’t always win in the trial court. When that happens, commitment means taking the case to the next level and appealing it. In the Rivero case, above, that’s what happened: the court dismissed the case – we had lost – but we appealed and achieved a victory for our clients which we kept through two more appeals. Since then, the firm has had many appellate victories that vindicate the rights of employees and consumers.. Over the years I have been counsel for plaintiffs in numerous individual cases and class actions. It may sound corny, or hard to believe, but after all this time, and after all the great experiences I have had, my favorite part of being a lawyer is when I get to give my client a check.
555 12th St., Suite 1725 , Oakland , California 94607
Practice Areas: Employment & Labor
Mr. Cole is known for taking on the big cases and getting big results. An experienced litigator and trial attorney, he brings three decades of experience to every case he prosecutes, not to mention his leadership of the firm’s highly experienced and talented team. As a well-known and respected leader in the fields of consumer, employment and environmental class action litigation, has achieved record results in both settlements and judgments in such cases, has penned numerous scholarly publications, and is the author of the book, Fallout (chronicling the 1994 toxic substance release by Unocal and the ensuing legal battle). He has been called upon repeatedly to serve as a guest speaker at seminars on issues surrounding class action procedure, negotiation theory and various substantive issues. Mr. Cole founded the predecessor firm to Cole & Van Note in 1992 and has devoted himself, his team, and the firm’s resources to championing consumer (fraud and privacy), employment and environmental disputes ever since
66 Franklin Street, Suite 300 , Oakland , California 94607
Practice Areas: Employment & Labor
I have been representing employees in their workplace disputes for more than thirty years. Although I have represented hundreds of workers, I still find it immensely satisfying to help individuals understand their rights in the workplace and to seek justice for those who have been treated illegally by their employers. Whether I am litigating a case on behalf of a janitor who has been sexually assaulted at work, negotiating a settlement for an employee who has been subjected to discrimination, or assisting an executive in negotiating a new employment agreement, I bring a wealth of experience, a practical approach and a sense of deep compassion for my clients to all of my work.
1300 Clay Street, Suite 600 , Oakland , California 94612
Practice Areas: Employment & Labor
Spencer C. Young is an employment, civil rights and personal injury litigation attorney. The majority of his practice is dedicated to representing employees in employment disputes and individuals in select personal injury cases. He also counsels employers and businesses in employment, contract breach and commercial litigation matters.. Personal Background & Undergraduate Education. Spencer was born in Berkeley, California and raised in nearby Piedmont. He graduated with honors from Piedmont High School in June, 1994. He attended Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana from 1994 to 1998. He worked for a small law firm in New Orleans in 1996. He also attended Cambridge University in Cambridge, England, and London School of Economics (LSE) in London, England in the spring of 1997. He worked for Edward, Fail, Bradshaw & Waterson in London while studying at LSE. Spencer graduated from Tulane with honors and a Bachelor of Arts from Newton College, including a double major in political science and philosophy, in May, 1998.. Early Work Experience and Professional Education. From July, 1998 to December, 1999, Spencer was a paralegal in the labor and employment department of Morgan, Lewis and Bockius, LLP in New York City. In 2000, he was a paralegal in the compliance department of ING Bank and a bartender at the Thirsty Scholar on 2nd Avenue in Manhattan.. Spencer moved back to the East Bay in December, 2000. He was a paralegal in the environmental section at Sedgwick, Detert, Moran & Arnold, LLP (currently Sedgwick, LLP) in San Francisco from January, 2001 to August, 2001.. Spencer attended Golden Gate University School of Law from fall 2001 to spring 2004. He studied business at GGU’s Ageno School of Business from fall 2002 to spring 2004. While studying at GGU, Spencer worked for Aids Legal Referral Panel, GGU’s Environmental Law and Justice Clinic, Federal Magistrate Judge Maria Elena-James, and her husband, Commissioner Newton J. Lam.. Spencer graduated with a Juris Doctor and a Masters of Business Administration in May, 2004. He was the first person at GGU to graduate with a joint J.D./M.B.A. in only three years. He graduated with honors in both programs, and was awarded “Outstanding Student” by Judge James and GGU Honors Lawyering Program faculty and staff in 2004.. Associations and Licensed Attorney Work Experience. Spencer passed the California State Bar Exam in 2005. He immediately joined the San Francisco Trial Lawyers’ Association, the National Lawyers’ Guild, California Employment Lawyers’ Association, National Employment Lawyers’ Association, and was admitted to practice in Northern District Federal Court.. During Spencer’s employment with the Law Office of Mary Dryovage in 2005, Spencer represented federal employees in front of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Merit Systems Protection Board, and co-chaired a discrimination trial in front of Chief Justice Patel in Northern District Federal Court. In January, 2006, Spencer opened his private practice in Oakland, California, where he remains to this day.. Over the past decade, Spencer has represented hundreds of clients in California State Courts, Northern District Federal Court, the California Department of Labor Standards Enforcement, the California Fair Employment and Housing Commission, the California Public Employees Relations Board, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and the Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board. He is currently an active member of the California State Bar Association, California State Bar Labor & Employment Section, Alameda-Contra Costa Trial Lawyers’ Association, and California Employment Lawyers’ Association. He also attends local Trial Lawyers’ College events and is on the leadership of Success Link, an Oakland chapter of Business Networking International.. Spencer has ten years of experience litigating wrongful termination, discrimination, retaliation, whistleblower claims, wage and hour disputes, premises liability, vehicle accidents, contract breach, and other labor, employment and commercial cases. His legal experience and law practice management skills date back to 1996. In 2011, Spencer was a speaker at the California Employment Lawyers’ Association panel for work and life balance.. In his spare time, Spencer enjoys traveling, cooking, fishing, camping, hunting and practicing martial arts. He completed a six year yoga, mediation and martial arts program with his teacher in Berkeley, California and Phu Reua, Thailand in November, 2010. Spencer applies the fundamental principles of warriorship – loyalty and selfless service – to his clients and their causes throughout California. He is widely considered a “polite bulldog” that achieves “spectacular” results. He has a long list of thrilled clients who have posted their reviews on Yelp and Avvo.
Stephen Sommers has been practicing in the area of labor and employment law for over ten years. He focuses on representing employees who have been wronged in some way by their employers. He has represented hundreds of clients, from top executives to employees who clean the floors. Mr. Sommers also has successfully litigated several employment focused class action lawsuits. Most recently, Mr. Sommers and his associates settled a class action law suit for employees of a single IHOP franchise for $650,000.. Stephen Sommers currently represents employees in cases involving sexual harassment, disability discrimination, failure to properly pay employees, wrongful termination, family medical leave rights, pregnancy rights, retaliation, employment contracts and severance, and age discrimination.. Stephen Sommers also works with SEIU Local 1021 by being lead negotiator on the union's behalf for collective bargaining agreements with area municipalities.. Stephen Sommers has been twice selected by Super Lawyers as a Rising Star. Not coincidentally, each of Stephen Sommers' associates eligible has also been selected by Super Lawyers as Rising Stars. Every year of eligibility, Mr. Sommers has been selected as a Super Lawyer, which is a process that reviews a mix of case success and other factors.. Stephen Sommers has been actively engaged with the AIDS Legal Referal Panel for ten years. He has been selected for the Hero Award each of the ten years and was Attorney of the Year in 2008.. Before attending law school, Stephen Sommers worked as a union organizer for seven years, mainly in the rural southeastern United States. Stephen Sommers also was the Southwest Pennsylvania Director of Citizen Action, where he led campaigns to strengthen Pennsyvania's environmental laws.. Stephen Sommers was a Peace Corps volunteer in Chad, Africa. He was a water santiation volunteer in the village of Mao, which sits atop a sand dune in the Sahara desert.
Lemmon Employment Law & Conflict Resolution is a different kind of law firm. UCLA Law and Duke graduate Tracy C. Lemmon blends over 15 years of civil ligation and 20 years of employment litigation and mediation experience to craft the best resolutions possible for her employee and small business employer Clients. Ms. Lemmon handles cases involving workplace harassment, discrimination, wrongful termination, severance and unfair employment practices. Ms. Lemmon champions the CA Fair Pay Act, and fights for equal pay for working women. Her style is fierce advocacy fused with integrity and compassion. She provides strategic counsel based on a thorough, candid evaluation of the legal and non-legal issues intertwined in her Clients’ conflict, as well as the values placed thereon, for efficient and meaningful conflict resolution. Call or write today for a free phone consultation.
TONG LAW is a full service law firm providing litigation and transactional legal services to individuals and businesses.. No matter too large, no issue too small; at TONG LAW, our approach to problem solving is to harmonize exceptional client representation with practical legal solutions. We handle a multitude of civil matters, and represent both English and Mandarin Chinese speaking clients.. Our primary areas of focus are employment law, entrepreneurial and startup business law, immigration law, and trademark and copyright law.. Consistent with our commitment to running a green business, we are proud to operate as a technology-driven, paperless office. Our web hosting is 100% wind powered, we utilize webcam video conferencing, and we recycle and use environmentally friendly products.Conveniently located in the historic Tribune Tower in beautiful Downtown Oakland, California, TONG LAW is easily accessible by various modes of eco-friendly transportation such as BART, bus, or bike.
Disclaimer: This content is based on aggregated public information and estimated market trends. It is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.
