Paul Hastings LLP - The Who's Who Legal 100 2012

What is the Who's Who Legal 100?

Paul Hastings LLP’s world-class employment team has represented clients through all phases and types of employment litigation, ranging from individual charges and cases to broad-scale class and collective actions. As a six-time Who’s Who Legal award-winner for management labour and employment, the practice has an outstanding reputation.

In Los Angeles Paul Grossman has been described as “the dean of the employment discrimination bar”. He has represented numerous high profile clients such as Wal-Mart and is the general counsel of the California Employment Law Council, an organisation of 50 of the state’s largest employers. Nancy Abell is based in Los Angeles and is the global chair of the firm’s employment law department, which spans from Shanghai to Frankfurt. She specialises in employment law and litigation and is renowned for her ability to provide “strategic, precise and client-focused” counsel. In New York, Erika Collins chairs the firm’s international employment practice and is a specialist in cross-border employment matters. She is joined by Zachary Fasman, who is considered “one of the top employment lawyers in New York” and has brought two successful arguments before the United States Supreme Court, as well as submitting numerous amicus curiae briefs on behalf of a variety of different organizations. Barbara Brown is chair and senior employment lawyer in the Washington, DC, office and described by interviewees as “a wonderful lawyer”. In Atlanta, Geoff Weirich is regarded as “excellent” for his expertise concerning discrimination, retaliation and harassment, whistleblower issues and wage and hour matters. The “first-rate” Paul Cane Jr is co-chair of the firm’s appellate practice in San Francisco.

The firm also offers strong corporate and financial expertise in the areas of real estate, banking, insolvency and aviation. Robert Wertheimer is co-vice chair of the firm’s real estate practice and is described as a “superb lawyer”. He is joined by Martin Edelman who has “extraordinary expertise” in the field, and focuses on large, complex cross-border transactions. In the banking chapter John Hilson chairs the financing and restructuring practice and is particularly well respected. Luc Despins is widely recognised as one of the world’s leading financial restructuring lawyers. He is “very well known” for his expertise in insolvency and has represented clients in a variety of high-profile restructurings, including Lehman Brothers and Enron Corporation. Sheila Sundvall is one of the biggest names in aviation related litigation and is regarded as a “go-to lawyer” for her expertise in the industry. She has represented numerous clients in cases arising from high-profile airline accidents, such as the Air France Flight 447 crash over the Atlantic Ocean in 2009.

Paul Hastings has further listings in the areas of tax, trade, business crime, private funds, life sciences, environment and franchise. The firm continues to demonstrate a wealth of expertise at a global level, and earns a leading place in the world’s legal market.