Kern County Employment Lawyers

Ryan Bakhtiari represents clients in securities disputes before FINRA (NASD, NYSE), state and federal courts. In June 2019, Mr. Bakhtiari was nominated to serve as a public member of the Discovery Task Force Committee (DTFC) of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) which is the advisory group, established in conjunction with a directive from the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission that reviews substantive issues relating to discovery in arbitration proceedings that are conducted under the auspices of the FINRA Code of Arbitration Procedure. In June 2013, Mr. Bakhtiari was named Chairman of the National Arbitration and Mediation Committee (“NAMC”) of FINRA....

I am Employment Labor and Personal Injury Lawyer. My top attributes are that I am a motivated self-starter with an aptitude for learning new skills quickly, I am extremely organized, have great time management skills, can maintain composure under pressure and able to work autonomously with little direct supervision.

Ms. Gold is an experienced litigation attorney who specializes in class action labor and employment matters. She spent the first decade of her career at a major law firm working on a wide range of business matters, including defending clients in high-stakes class action litigation. This experience provided Ms. Gold with valuable insight on how to best position cases for settlement and/or trial by allowing her to better understand defendants’ strategies, incentives, and motivations throughout the various phases of litigation. Ms. Gold then transitioned to a well-known boutique plaintiff-side class action law firm, where she was instrumental in obtaining nearly $100,000,000...

Danielle L. GruppChang is a passionate advocate for workers’ rights and a seasoned attorney specializing in wage and hour class actions. Raised in a family where both parents worked in the restaurant industry, Ms. GruppChang developed an early respect for the hard work and resilience of the Californian workers. This background exposed Ms. GruppChang the struggles of working-class individuals sparked her dedication to fighting for justice on behalf of workers. Ms. GruppChang’s professional journey began when she started working at a local coffee shop and continued throughout college where she worked tables, often serving her classmates. These experiences further resolved her...

Lara is an associate attorney at Blackstone Law. She graduated from Wake Forest University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology with a concentration in Criminal Justice and a minor in Communications. Lara then earned her Juris Doctorate from the University of California, Los Angeles where she specialized in Critical Race Studies. While in law school, Lara worked as a law clerk at the District of Columbia Public Defender Service and as a judicial clerk in the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Hearings Unit in Los Angeles. She was involved with the El Centro Teen Court Clinic, Disability Law Journal,...

Leo Livshits is an accomplished employment attorney with extensive trial and litigation experience. Mr. Livshits handles a wide variety of employment matters involving workplace discrimination, harassment, retaliation, and other civil rights violations. Aside from securing numerous seven-figure settlements in single-plaintiff cases, Mr. Livshits has co-chaired jury trials and arbitrations that resulted in verdicts or judgments of $155.4 million, $2.7 million, $1.7 million, and $1 million. Additionally, Mr. Livshits has successfully litigated appeals in state and federal court. This includes a published decision in Hernandez v. Meridian Management Services, LLC (2023) 87 Cal.App.5th 1214, where the California Court of Appeal found that...

Betty is an associate attorney at Blackstone Law. She graduated from UCLA with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science with a concentration in International Relations and a minor in Armenian Studies. While in undergrad, Betty, along with fellow classmates, started the Armenian Pre-Law Students Association, to connect Armenian students aspiring to become attorneys to successful alumni within their community. A proud double Bruin, Betty later attended UCLA School of Law, where she obtained her Juris Doctorate. As a law student, Betty’s professor recognized her articulate writing abilities and selected her as a Legal Research and Writing Advisor for first...

P.J. Van Ert is a seasoned trial lawyer and civil litigator specializing in class actions and individual employment matters. As a Blackstone law associate she dedicates her practice to California employees. After more than 75 criminal jury trials during thirteen years as a deputy district attorney, she transitioned to civil litigation and found her way to Blackstone. From wage and hour theft to sexual harassment and hostile work environment, she is able to utilize her years of zealously advocating for victims of crime to get superior results in employment cases. Ms. Van Ert has earned guilty verdicts in lengthy homicide...

Ms. Schimmel’s practice is dedicated to employment litigation matters on behalf of California employees. More than half of Ms. Schimmel’s experience has been focused on representing employees in wage and hour class and representative actions for labor code violations (including, but not limited to, claims unpaid overtime, minimum wages, expense reimbursement, meal and rest period), as well as consumer and privacy right matters. Ms. Schimmel’s experience also includes representing employees in wrongful termination, discrimination, harassment and retaliation matters against employers who violate California law. She has successfully prosecuted and resolved hundreds of cases. Prior to joining Blackstone, Ms. Schimmel...

Alex is a Senior Associate Attorney at Blackstone Law. Alex is an active member of the legal community as it relates to employees’ rights. Alex is a member of the California Employment Lawyers’ Association (CELA), and is on the committee for the Mentor Committee, the Women’s Committee, the Legislative Committee, the Wage and Hour Committee, and the New Member Committee, as well as a recent admit to the 2024 – 2025 CELA Leadership Conservatory. Alex has significant experience providing the best counsel for his clients, whether through trial, or through multimillion dollar settlements, or through whatever need the client may describe....

Attorney Hines represents employees with claims against their employers for harassment, discrimination, retaliation and Labor Code violations.

Joana Fang is a Senior Associate Attorney with expertise in class action, employment litigation, personal injury, insurance litigation, and consumer protection laws. Ms. Fang has extensive experience in case management and all aspects of litigation, from drafting complaints to engaging in the discovery process, settlement negotiations, and preparing for trial. During her legal career, she has recovered millions of dollars for her clients. Ms. Fang is also a prolific writer who has written and published numerous articles on Law360, The Recorder, and Daily Journal. She has also led seminars on using depositions at trial and on litigating sexual abuse cases against schools...

Candice Klein is a skilled and devoted personal injury attorney with a passion for helping people suffering with physical and mental anguish after suffering catastrophic injuries. Candice is known for spending a large amount of time with her clients to fully understand their needs. By doing so, she is able to better convey their losses to a jury. With this approach, Candice has recovered millions of dollars in verdicts and settlements for her clients.

Alex Favela serves as the firm’s Pre-Litigation Attorney and specializes in disputes involving wage and hour violations, misclassification, harassment, discrimination, retaliation, wrongful termination, failure to accommodate violations, and class actions. Alex received his J.D. from Stanford Law School. As a child of immigrant working-class parents, upholding the dignity of workers is central to Alex’s identity as a lawyer. A person’s job is their livelihood, and Alex strongly believes that workers deserve to be treated with respect and fairness. Before joining the firm, Alex represented workers at a respected employment plaintiff-side law firm. He has also clerked for the U.S. Office of Special...

Imad Elias is a founding partner of The Law Offices of Mann & Elias, a Los Angeles based law firm handling employment law and personal injury cases. Contact Mann & Elias at (323) 857-9500 for a free consultation.

Barbara is dedicated to fighting for the rights of California’s employees in both individual and class/PAGA cases. As a working mom, Barbara has a particular passion for vindicating the rights of women who have suffered discrimination and harassment in the workplace. Barbara was also co-counsel on Young v. Department of Public Social Services, et al, a retaliation/whistleblower case, and obtained the 7th highest employment law verdict in California in 2022. Presently, Barbara and her team focus on litigating class and PAGA actions on behalf of thousands of California employees who have been denied meal and rest periods, denied fair compensation, and...

Mr. Dietz has aggressively litigated civil cases in California for over a decade. He has represented government agencies in high-profile employment law, general liability and civil rights matters, including representing some of the largest school districts in California. His prior experience includes working at one of the largest firms in the U.S., as well as a highly respected litigation boutique, where he represented the full gamut of businesses from Fortune 500 companies to mom-and-pop shops in employment and business litigation matters in state and federal court and administrative bodies. Over the course of his career, Mr. Dietz...

Ashley Cruz is an employment attorney who has spent her entire career pursuing justice and advocating for people across the United States. Her passion for upholding, asserting, and defending the rights of others has guided her throughout her career. Ashley has represented children in abuse and neglect proceedings, individuals and families in deportation proceedings, and workers actively seeking legal recourse. Her self-imposed requirement for nothing less than excellent representation, coupled with her dedication to helping others, has received praise from clients, judges, mediators, and fellow professionals. Ashley litigates in the area of labor and employment law. She has handled harassment, discrimination,...

Noriya Bragg is an Associate Attorney at Blackstone Law. Prior to joining Blackstone Law, she worked as a Law Clerk for a highly respected civil rights firm in Los Angeles where she gained experience working on matters ranging from employment discrimination to police misconduct. Ms. Bragg holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science with a minor in Philosophy of Law from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Ms. Bragg earned her Juris Doctorate from the University of California, Davis School of Law (Martin Luther King Jr. Hall), where she worked as a Research Assistant to Professor Irene O. Joe and...

Annabel Blanchard is an associate attorney who represents individuals in wage and hour class actions and representative actions under the California Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA). Prior to joining Blackstone, PC, Ms. Blanchard worked at a respected plaintiff’s-side employment law firm, where she focused on obtaining court approval of large-scale class and PAGA settlements. Before practicing wage-and-hour employment law, Ms. Blanchard worked at boutique law firms providing estate planning services to families, with a focus on special needs planning and conservatorship. As a part of her estate planning practice, Ms. Blanchard served on the Los Angeles Superior Court “Court Appointed...

In 1991, after graduating near the top of his class, an insurance company hired Paul Zuckerman to be their lawyer. Paul approached the job with optimism. He believed the company’s advertisement and thought that he was hired to be there, like a good neighbor, for policyholders in need. However, Paul soon discovered that his work was merely padding the pockets of his employer, and not ensuring that injured people were compensated fairly. Thus, Paul, with his law school classmate John Carpenter, established a new kind of law firm: A law firm that only represents injured people against insurance companies. Paul...

Mizrahi Law, APC is an employment law firm committed to helping employees.

Mr. Choe began his legal career in workers’ compensation representing insurance companies and employers. As a defense attorney, he became well versed in the nuances of worker’s compensation laws allowing him to aggressively represent his clients. The Law Offices of Anthony Choe was founded to provide the same aggressive representation to injured workers. Mr. Choe is able to use his experience in dealing with insurance companies and employers for the benefit of injured workers to effectively obtain medical treatment and maximize recovery. What sets the Law Offices of Anthony Choe apart from other firms...

Ethan D. Kirschner is an experienced litigator with clients in California, throughout the United States, and overseas. Originally from Wisconsin, Mr. Kirschner was a champion high school and college debater. He has a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Michigan, graduated cum laude from the University of Minnesota Law School, and received an LL.M. in intellectual property law from the University of California, Berkeley.


Mr. Kirschner has been practicing law since 2005. He is licensed to practice law in California.

Mr. Saba’s practice consists of prosecuting and defending individual, class action and mass action claims. He has considerable experience in a wide range of federal and state civil litigation and trial actions, including consumer litigation, employment litigation, women’s rights, complex business and entertainment disputes, catastrophic injury claims, professional responsibility, copyright/trademark, civil rights, maritime, and municipal, landowner and product liability.

Ani M. Akopyan received her bachelor’s degree, with honors, from UCLA in 2001 and her law degree from Southwestern Law School in 2004. Since law school, Ani has worked exclusively in the field of labor and employment litigation. Prior to joining the Akopyan Law Firm, Ani was a member of a well-known, reputable defense firm where she represented employers and their insurance companies in all stages of labor and employment litigation including wrongful termination, harassment, discrimination, retaliation, and whistle-blower litigation, as well as high stakes wage & hour class action cases. Ani’s 10+ years of experience in defending employers both...

Ken Ruttenberg is the founder of The Ruttenberg Law Firm, P.C.. He is an experienced and seasoned civil litigator in a broad range of legal areas including employment, construction and personal injury.

In 2014 through 2017, Ken was selected to the list of Southern California Super Lawyers, a rating service of outstanding lawyers who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. Fewer than five percent of attorneys receive the Super Lawyers recognition. In 2015, 2016 and 2017, Ken was named among the Top 100 Southern California Super Lawyers. Ken is also an AV® Preeminent™ Peer Review...

Brett Markson is a Santa Clarita employment law attorney with considerable experience practicing law. He originally gained his law degree in 1991 from Hastings College of the Law, and since that time he has continued to expand his comprehension of the law and to gain valuable experience that assists him in better handling the cases of his clients. He has formerly served as a prosecutor and this is an experience that has given him the aptitude to take cases to court when necessary. He takes the time to listen to his clients and thoroughly prepares their cases for any direction...

Attorney Lee of Law Offices of Lloyd Lee, P.C. provides business and corporate legal counsel to entrepreneurs and representation for personal injury victims. He is a graduate of the Temple James E. Beasley School of Law in Philadelphia, one of the best litigation schools in the nation. Attorney Lee is passionate about advocating for the local community, including serving as the current President-Elect of the Korean American Bar Association of Southern California. He regularly provides pro-bono legal support to disadvantaged members of the community and speaks out on important issues affecting local residents.

I grew up in Simi Valley, California, and my family is from Carpinteria, California. I attended Cal Lutheran University and the University of Oregon School of Law before establishing Bartlett & Herrington. Bartlett & Herrington is a general practice law firm located in the central California coastal town of Carpinteria. We represent individuals and businesses in Santa Barbara, Montecito, Summerland, Carpinteria, Ventura, Ojai, Thousand Oaks, Simi Valley, and Camarillo with the personal touch of local attorneys.

Tareq M. Hishmeh was admitted to the State Bar of California in 2004. He attended Loyola Marymount University, where he earned a degree in Political Science. While at Loyola Marymount, he interned in the House of Representatives and at the US Commerce Department. In the Summer of 2000 he completed one semester of study at the prestigious Queens College at Oxford University, England. Mr. Hishmeh earned his law degree at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. While at Loyola, Mr. Hishmeh, was an active member of Student Bar Association, competed in the American Bar Association Negotiation Competition, served as a...

Laura Horton is a seasoned advocate, dedicated to social justice. With nearly three decades of experience, she represents employees from all walks of life – from factory workers to highly compensated executives. Helping to right wrongs is her passion.

In April 2001, Ms. Horton opened her own firm, practicing exclusively in civil rights, labor and employment law and serious personal injury.

Ms. Horton is admitted to practice by the State Bar of California; United States Supreme Court; United States District Court, Central District; District of Hawaii; and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. She is...

My practice focuses on vindicating employees’ rights in single plaintiff discrimination suits, wage & hour class and representative action litigation, and other employment claims. Education I received his Bachelor of Arts in History, summa cum laude, with a minor in Public Affairs from University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). I earned his Juris Doctor from UC Berkeley School of Law (Boalt Hall), where he was awarded a Prosser Prize for his academic achievement. Experience As a former associate at Anderson Kill P.C., a Vault 150 leading mid-size law firm specializing in insurance coverage litigation, I gained significant experience litigating against insurance companies on behalf...