California Employer Advisory Council

Speaker Portfolios

February 4, 2012

Listed below is a portfolio of past speakers who have spoken on behalf of the West Los Angeles Employers Advisory Council.

Jonathan Klein

Attorney Jonathan Klein is a managing partner of Kelly, Hockel & Klein P.C. with offices in San Francisco and Los Angeles. His expertise includes national practice in employment, pharmaceutical, premises liability and commercial litigation, real estate and construction disputes. Klein is a regular presenter of human resources, pharmacy law, and Medicare reimbursement seminars to various clients and third party groups. Klein graduated from the University of California, Santa Cruz with a BA in Politics and received his JD from Santa Clara University. He recently spoke at the WLA EAC's Sexual Harassment Seminar in September 2009.

Fred Griffin

Fred Griffin is a partner in the Los Angeles office with a practice concentration in the areas of Employment Law and Labor Law on behalf of management in the private sector. In the area of Employment Law, Mr. Griffin represents clients in both litigation and transactional matters. Regarding litigation, he defends employers against claims of wrongful termination, discrimination, harassment, retaliation, and violation of wage and hour laws in both state and federal courts. He also represents clients in the areas of unfair competition and misappropriation of trade secrets in state and federal courts. He also represents clients in proceedings before the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing, the California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, the California Workers Compensation Appeals Board, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs and the Department of Labor.

Regarding transactional Employment Law matters, he prepares employment agreements for highly-compensated executives, general policies and procedures for employers (including employment handbooks) as well as settlement agreements and releases, and conducts in-house training.In the area of Labor Law, Mr. Griffin represents management in all phases of management-union relations, including representation elections, contract negotiations, the handling of grievances and arbitrations, and in proceedings before the National Labor Relations Board. Mr. Griffin is a frequent speaker at employment seminars and he lectures in various Human Resources programs. He taught "Elements of Industrial Relations" in the Human Resources Certificate Program at the UCLA Extension. Mr. Griffin graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of California at Berkeley in 1972, received a J.D. degree from the University of Southern California in 1975 and received an MPP Degree from the University of Michigan in 1979.

Fred recently spoke at the Sexual Harassment Supervisors' seminar in December 2009.

Jonathan Fraser Light 

Professional Experience

With almost thirty years of experience, Jon offers employment counsel and training programs to companies of all sizes to reduce liability and protect against lawsuits. Jon has shared his expertise with clients through:

• Periodic employment law updates and free roundtable discussions for small groups
• Sex harassment avoidance training for managers and staff
• Management strategies for hiring, layoffs, reviews, discipline and terminations
• Strategies for protection of proprietary information and trade secrets

Jon enjoys a stellar and long-standing reputation as a skilled trial attorney. His employment case notes as sole or lead trial attorney include a variety of successful matters:

• Opposed class certification involving meal and rest break claims by 4,000 security guards. After prevailing in the trial court, Jon successfully argued the appeal in a 2010 published opinion.
• Two-week jury trial in Santa Barbara on behalf of a large national title company accused of discrimination and wrongful termination. 11-1 verdict in favor of client.
• Three-week jury trial in Ventura on behalf of an international aerospace manufacturer and its management employee who were sued for sex harassment.
• Prevailed in a wrongful termination and slander jury trial on behalf of a Ventura County physician.
• Used effective motion practice to demolish a $4M lawsuit against a publicly-traded employer by an employee claiming breach of contract in Orange County.
• A San Diego County trial resulted in a complete defense verdict in a race and sex discrimination action filed against a Los Angeles-based national corporation.
• Two successful jury trials in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara Counties on behalf of a large international retailer, in which plaintiffs sought damages for wrongful termination and sex harassment.
• Four months in trial as lead counsel culminating in a successful settlement for a farming family that was a focal point of the Oxnard Dunes Toxic Waste Litigation, the largest civil case in Ventura County history.

Jon has proven successful in a variety of litigation matters outside the employment arena as well:

• A successful will contest on behalf of the sister of the decedent, who purportedly executed a deathbed will in favor of his estranged wife. Despite an attorney and a doctor claiming that the decedent was competent, we succeeded in invalidating the deathbed will and recovering over $350,000 in real and personal property for the sister.
• Successful verdict on a seven-week jury trial on real estate fraud and misrepresentation claims against a large national real estate broker and its agents.
• Trial court judgment in favor of a publicly-traded real estate investment trust in a shopping center breach of contract claim filed in Los Angeles.

Community

Beyond frequently lecturing to business groups and civic organizations on employment issues, Jon serves the community where he lives and works as a current or former board member of the Ventura County Bar Association (Past President), Volunteer Legal Services Association, Ventura County Taxpayers Association, the Ventura County Boy Scout Council (Past President), the Channel Islands Ballet (Past Chair), the Footworks Youth Ballet, and the Ventura County Medical Resource Foundation (Past Chair).

He is the author of the nationally acclaimed and award-winning book, The Cultural Encyclopedia of Baseball, the Second Edition of which was published in 2005. He is a frequent and sought-after speaker on the history of baseball. Jon has been the Production Manager for the Footworks Youth Ballet, has coached girls' softball in Camarillo, and coaches the Newbury Park High School mock trial team. He is also a member of the National Eagle Scout Association.

Education

Jon is a 1981 graduate of the UCLA School of Law, where he was a member of the Law Review. He graduated magna cum laude in history from UCLA in 1978, and is a 1986 graduate of the National Institute for Trial Advocacy.

Personal

Jon Light lives in Camarillo with his wife of 27 years, Angela, a public school teacher and college admissions consultant. They are enjoying their empty nest now that their twin daughters are in college at Yale and Georgetown.

http://www.lightgablerlaw.com

Cheech & Chong Marijuana Article