2026 LACBA LABOR & EMPLOYMENT LAW SYMPOSIUM

6.0 Hours of General CLE & 1.0 Hour of Elimination Of Bias

KEYNOTE SPEAKER:

Thomas Saenz, President and General Counsel

​MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund): The Latino Legal Voice for Civil Rights in America

1. 2025 In Review: A Look Back At The Most Important Employment Law Cases

Back by popular acclaim, Anthony J. Oncidi and Andrew H. Friedman, who have been providing their annual update of employment law developments to the California legal community – up and down the State – for nearly two decades, will once again cover the top employment law cases from the past year, with an emphasis on the cases of greatest utility to employment law practitioners.

Speakers:

• Andrew H. Friedman, Founding Partner, Helmer Friedman, LLP
• Anthony J. Oncidi, Partner, Proskauer Rose LLP

2. The State of Labor Law Under Trump 2.0

BREAKOUT 1A

The first year of the second Trump administration saw consequential changes affecting traditional labor law. This panel will examine the latest key developments, including efforts by California and other states and localities to de-federalize American labor relations; the latest trends in unionization efforts; and recent changes at the NLRB.

Speakers:

• William B. Cowen, Acting General Counsel, National Labor Relations Board  
• Julie Gutman Dickinson, Partner, Bush Gottlieb
• Matthew T. Wakefield, Partner, Ballard Rosenberg Golper & Savitt, LLP

3. Trial by Expertise: Lawyers and Experts Collaborate

BREAKOUT 1B

This panel will arm attorneys with methods to develop and attack economic, HR, psychologist/psychiatrists, and other forensic experts at critical stages, including techniques for dismantling opposing expert testimony on statistical analysis, damages calculations, and industry standard practices in employment litigation.

Speakers:

• Pat Barrera, Barrera & Associates
• Yesenia M. Gallegos, Managing Partner Los Angeles, McDermott, Will & Emery
• Judy Ho Gavazza, Ph. D., ABPP, ABPdN, CFMHE, Clinical and Forensic Neuropsychologist
  • Diplomate, American Board of Professional Psychology
  • Diplomate, American Academy of Pediatric Neuropsychology
  • Diplomate, National Board of Forensic Evaluators
  • Professor, Pepperdine University

4. Trial Practicum: Show, Don't Tell: Mastering Visual Advocacy in the Courtroom

Plenary Session

Today’s jurors don’t expect you to just tell them your story; they need you to show them. Populating a well-crafted timeline, revealing a strategic chart, or displaying the right document callout can sway the decisionmakers in your favor. This panel reveals how top trial lawyers use demonstratives including timelines, charts, slides, and key document highlights to transform opening statements and closing arguments from noise to news. You'll learn tested techniques for creating persuasive visuals that stay within evidentiary boundaries, discover the psychology behind what makes demonstratives stick in jurors’ minds, and see real-world examples of visuals that won cases. Whether you’re facing tangled timelines or competing narratives, expect to learn practical strategies to enhance credibility, boost juror comprehension, and deliver arguments that resonate long after “no further questions.”

Speakers:

• Justice Anne Richardson, Associate Justice, California Second Appellate District, Division Two
• Angel James Horacek, Law Offices of Angel J. Horacek, PC
• Rodney S. Diggs, Ivie McNeill Wyatt Purcell & Diggs
• Kenneth J. Lopez, J.D., Founder/CEO, Persuadius

5. Elimination of Bias - California’s DEI Tightrope: Compliance in the Age of Backlash

Plenary Session

As the pendulum swings on DEI initiatives, our distinguished panel will examine how California employers’ anti-discrimination duties under FEHA, pay equity laws and board diversity requirements interact with the Trump administration’s anti-DEI directives. The panel will examine litigation trends, including “reverse discrimination” claims and retaliatory firings for past involvement in DEI efforts, and will offer insights into the future of the DEI landscape. Attendees can expect a practical guide to new legal developments, and trial-tested approaches for both defending and challenging DEI efforts.

Speakers:

• Kevin Kish, Director of the California Civil Rights Department
• Amber Grayhorse, Creative Artists Agency, Executive, Office of the General Counsel
• Melvin Felton, Partner, Sanders Roberts LLP
• Nina Baumler, Public Interest Investigations, Inc., Moderator

6. Wage and Hour panel:  The State of Play in Class and PAGA Litigation

BREAKOUT 2A

This panel, which will be led by leading practitioners, mediators, and experts, will examine the current state of California wage and hour litigation.  The panel will discuss litigation trends across class actions, PAGA actions (including so-called “headless PAGA actions”), and hybrid class and collective actions.  Specifically, the panel will discuss the (1) use of statistical modeling, and other forms of representative evidence in class and PAGA actions; (2) how to “tell your story” in class, collective, and PAGA actions and how to both collect and use data to do so; and (3) the current state of PAGA litigation following the 2024 PAGA reforms.  Finally, the panel will also examine the uptick in mass arbitrations as well as the impact of recent and forthcoming case decisions on pending litigation.  Wage and hour practitioners will not want to miss this!

Speakers:

• Beth Schroeder, Partner, Raines, Feldman, Littrell LLP
• Tagore Subramaniam, Mediator, Momentum ADR
• Kelsey Szamet, Kingsley Szamet Employment Lawyers
• Levon Massmanian, Partner, Resolution Economics LLC

7. Investigating the Investigator: Ethical Deposition and Discovery Tactics that Work 

BREAKOUT 2B

This panel will explore the tactics for challenging and defending a workplace investigation when the investigation is at issue in a harassment, discrimination, or retaliation case. An investigation typically is at issue only when the defendant invokes the investigation as a defense in the case. For example, in a case with a claim of failure to prevent harassment, the defendant may invoke the investigation in arguing that the investigation was part of its efforts to prevent harassment. The defendant is then required to produce the investigation file and the plaintiff likely will seek to depose the investigator. This panel will use case based scenarios and mock deposition questioning to demonstrate ethical tactics on how a plaintiff’s lawyer can seek to undermine the investigation and how a defense lawyer can bolster an investigation during discovery.

Speakers:

• Ann Fromholz, Investigator, The Fromholz Firm
• Marina Fraigun, Fraigun Law Group
• Jennifer Komsky, Levinson Arshonsky Kurtz & Komsky, LLP

8. Ready, Set, Go: A Judge’s Perspective on Getting Your Employment Case to Trial and Maximizing Your Chances for Success

Plenary Session

This panel of Judges will give insight into judicial pet-peeves, likes and dislikes, and tell you what you need to know for:

(1) Getting Ready for trial: managing your case in light of the historic dockets (how you can successfully navigate an overburdened court), case management strategies, and MSJ strategies.

(2) Getting Set for Trial: best practices on trial documents, MILs in employment law cases (including me too evidence), and local, local rules, and

(3) Going to Trial: themes and theories at trial, jury management, and top 10 trial tips.

Speakers:

• Judge Stephen Pfahler, Los Angeles Superior Court, Stanley Mosk Courthouse
• Judge Wendy Chang, Los Angeles Superior Court, Stanley Mosk Courthouse
• Judge Elizabeth Bradley, Los Angeles Superior Court, Compton Courthouse
• Moderator: Natasha Chesler, Chesler McCaffrey LLP

900 Wilshire Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90017

The LACBA online event registration system supports registration for individual event participants 24 hours a day, seven days a week. For assistance with group/multiple registrations, or if you’d simply prefer to register by phone (with Visa, MasterCard or American Express), please call LACBA’s Member Services Department at (213) 896-6560 any time from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. If you have questions about programs or program registration, you’re also welcome to contact Member Services by e-mail at: msd@lacba.org.  Full refunds issued only for registrations which are cancelled 48 hours in advance.

The Los Angeles County Bar Association is a State Bar of California MCLE approved provider. If this is a CLE event, the Los Angeles County Bar Association certifies that this activity has been approved for MCLE credit. CLE events will state the amount and type of credit offered in the calendar listing.