Important Updates on Employment Law

Lisa Barnett Sween is a partner in Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith’s San Francisco office, and serves as Vice Chair of the nationwide Employment Practice Group. Since 1997, Lisa has represented employers in all aspects of employment law and litigation, including state and federal employment harassment and discrimination litigation, wrongful discharge litigation, FMLA, CFRA, ADA, and wage and hour litigation.

In addition to her litigation expertise, Lisa regularly counsels employers on preventive employment policies and practices involving all areas of federal, state and local employment law, including recruiting and hiring, employee handbooks, leaves of absence, discipline and termination, workforce reductions, discrimination and harassment, reasonable accommodation and wage and hour. Lisa has also performed over 200 hours of harassment prevention training in various jurisdictions throughout the United States.

John Barber is Vice Chair of Lewis Brisbois’s Employment, Labor and Workers’ Compensation Department, and a resident of both the Los Angeles and Orange County Offices. His practice is dedicated exclusively to representing and counseling employers in employment-related matters, including litigation, appeals, risk management, policy preparation, and training. He routinely represents employers in State and Federal Courts, both in California and across the United States. Mr. Barber also has extensive experience appearing before the California DFEH, DLSE, and EDD, as well as the United States EEOC, and Department of Labor.

Mr. Barber’s practice has a particular emphasis, in addition to single-party discrimination, harassment, retaliation and wrongful termination actions, on wage-and-hour class action litigation. He has defended dozens of class actions, and has specifically defeated Motions for Class Certification.

Mr. Barber serves on the California State Bar’s Executive Committee, Labor and Employment Law Section (2008 – 2011), and is also a member of the Los Angeles County Bar’s Judicial Appointments Committee (2009 – 2012).

Dean Schaner has exclusively practiced employment and labor litigation for more than 24 years, representing employers in all aspects of unfair competition, discrimination, retaliation, whistleblower, ERISA, wrongful termination, and tort/contract claims arising out of the employment relationship. Mr. Schaner has tried a wide variety of cases in the federal and state courts, including the successful defense of an energy company in a class action case in which plaintiffs sought $30 million in damages. He is certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization as a labor and employment law specialist. Mr. Schaner is the Editor-in-Chief of the Texas Employment Law Desk Reference, 5th Edition.

Mr. Schaner has been named as a Texas Super Lawyer by Texas Monthly magazine from the publication’s Super Lawyer inception in 2002 through 2012. Mr. Schaner is also listed in Best Lawyers in America 2012-2013 in Employment Litigation

Mr. Martucci, who holds an LL.M. in Employment Law from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., practices nationally in complex class action (employment discrimination and wage & hour) and EEOC litigation. Chambers notes “Bill Martucci is worth having on any dream team for employment litigation and policy issues.” His jury work has been featured in The National Law Journal. He is listed in the Euromoney Guide to the World’s Leading Labour and Employment Lawyers and The Best Lawyers in America for Business and Employment Litigation. He teaches multinational business policy and the global workplace at Georgetown