The Law Offices of Timothy Bowles is a well-seasoned firm representing employers exclusively. We work from two stark realities. First, executives and managers can become their own worst enemies out of misconception or ignorance of constantly evolving workplace laws. Second, and particularly in lawsuit-happy California, competent, experienced defense counsel is essential whether facing an employee’s good faith claim or a worker’s attempt to sacrifice truth and integrity to obtain an extortive settlement.
As an experienced firm with 100 years of combined attorney practice in management-side employment law, we believe in highly responsive service, particularly during the stress of litigation. Accordingly, we strive to provide an unparallaled level of client communication, care and attention unavailable from larger law firms.
Employment litigation is a game. Time and again, we have worked with employer-clients thrust upon this playing field without appreciation of the magnitude of the threat they face. We recently defended a class action complaint for allegedly underpaid overtime to several hundred employees. With our sound guidance, the employer traced an inadvertent error that at most appeared to amount to a few thousand dollars in potential backpay. Yet, citing a stack of special state and federal “penalty” laws, the skilled attacking lawyers made a company-crushing opening offer in negotiations nearly 800 times that amount. Suddenly, that employer faced two necessities to survive at all: first, to work with us intensively to effectively persuade our opposition to resolve the case on fairly valued terms the company could withstand, and, second, to promptly confront correct any workplace practices not in compliance with federal, state and local law so that such a death-dealing battle might never recur.
We know these harsh realities because we have been there, with 100 accrued years of aggressive defense-side experience between our three lawyers. Known as some of the most expert and trusted employment law attorneys Los Angeles has to offer, we fight where fighting is called for, not merely for its own sake. As employment lawyers, we work to “get it done,” guiding clients in a manner best calculated to deal effectively with the issues and to move management back to the essential business of doing business. For such legal assistance, please call (626) 583-6600 or otherwise contact us to schedule an appointment.
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A recent study found that a California-based company with 10 or more on payroll has a 42% higher chance of getting sued over employment practices than the national average. Workers claiming mistreatment have a wide set of options for seeking remedy, including discrimination, harassment or retaliation under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act or the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964 (so-called “Title VII” claims), to name a few. Such laws not only provide for damages to compensate a worker for his/her alleged personal losses, but also attorney fees and potentially business-busting punitive damages.
Such suits are often entirely preventable. For example, we represented a doctor some years ago defending a pregnancy discrimination suit. Our client had employed (and tolerated) his office administrator long past the point where he should have terminated her for chronic insubordination and sub-par performance. Finally, after months of indecision, the doctor mustered enough determination over one weekend to tell the person, first thing Monday, that he was going to let her go that Friday.
Monday morning came. Before the doctor could give his office manager the bad news, she happily announced that she was pregnant. Not thinking he should just as happily congratulate her and otherwise zip it, the doctor heedlessly told her that Friday would be her last day. Result: a nearly inevitable lawsuit ensued, alleging the doctor terminated the woman for his supposed hostility to her pregnancy. Further result: after thousands spent in aggressive defense, the doctor eventually settled the suit for a confidential amount to avoid the destruction of his health practice, essentially his life’s work.
If you are facing possible litigation or have an employee issue on which you need immediate guidance, call us to speak to one of our attorneys, or submit your question using our contact form.
or call us: (626) 583-6600
Our clients trust our appreciation and experience in dealing confidently with these serious potential consequences. Visit our “Cases” for a sampling. See also our employer resources section for reference to employment law issues and our glossary of important legal terminology.
Timothy Bowles is the founder and the managing partner of the firm. He has earned the highest possible “AV Preeminent” rating from his peers, signifying superior legal knowledge, experience, judgment, and analytical capabilities. The popular legal website Avvo has also honored Mr. Bowles with its highest rating of “Superb” in employment law based on his experience, achievements, and industry recognition. Mr. Bowles has become known within his industry as one of the top employment law attorneys Los Angeles has to offer.
Cindy Bamforth, a partner at Bowles Law, has a strong skill set and extensive experience in California employment law issues including investigations and resolution of workplace complaints, harassment prevention training, employee handbook compliance, and legal requirements on wages (including overtime), meal and rest breaks, leaves of absence, discipline, terminations and a wide range of other personnel practices.
Helena Kobrin, “Of Counsel” to the firm, is also a seasoned attorney, using her extensive experience to assist clients in the many areas of her practice, including employment as well as copyright, trademark, and trade secret issues, contract review and drafting, bankruptcy, litigation, and dispute resolution.
Attorneys you can trust. At Bowles Law, we understand how important it is to uphold the obligations as well as defend the rights of the employer. Business plays a critical role in the economic interchange of the communities it serves. There is little more important to an individual, boss and employee alike, than his or her livelihood. A company assists no one – whether its owners, managers, workers or the public – if it is risking the possibly fatal disruption of its operations by practices that are out-of-date and out-of-compliance with applicable workplace laws. We assist owners and managers daily in ensuring they are administering personnel by all legal standards and providing them with the support they need to get back on track with such legal boundaries as needed.
While many employee claims have legitimate foundations, there is also a percentage of worker complaints that have no grounds, instead based on false or imaginary assertions in order to extract wrongful financial gain. It is thus vital for a business to engage comprehensive legal help capable of sorting out the good faith, well-founded grievances from the sham efforts to obtain something from an employer for nothing. With our successful track record, we provide that assistance daily. The security established by the aggressive defense of lawsuits is of course necessary against ill-considered or ill-conducted allegations. While we possess decades of experience and skill to conduct address such challenges, litigation should never be an end in itself.
Whether or not to fight, and to what extent, requires consideration of all factors at play, including the history of the parties engaged in the battle, the extent of documentation on that relationship, and the economic realities of defense cost and the risk of loss if the case is drawn out through trial and beyond. Our firm is not only equipped to guide a business through this process, we are dedicated foremost to finding a way through to the actual solution or solutions to the controversy. For us, “solution” means the actions that will most efficiently and practically permit our clients to get back to the real business at hand: producing the products and services to the mutual benefit of manager and worker alike and, of course, to the public which the company serves.
Bowles Law provides results-oriented legal counseling in many employment areas, including:
If you are facing possible litigation or have an employee issue on which you need immediate guidance, call us to speak to one of our attorneys, or submit your question using our contact form.
