Norman Pine Associate Editor
Norman Pine About
this issue Beverly Tillett Pine
Employment and Labor Law Relishing our empowerment
By Norman Pine About
this issue Associate Editor
Thinking about this issue of
Advocate, one word kept popping up in my head – empowerment. This is partially because so many of our articles are devoted to ways we can fight more effectively against the huge odds and large resources arrayed against our clients who are fighting for employ- ment rights. The thing that makes this all the
more striking is that none of the authors consulted with each other about their selected topics. Nor did Bev or I take any steps to coordinate a “theme” to this issue. Rather, like Athena from Zeus’s head, it just “sprung full grown.” We shall have more to say about
our articles shortly. First, however, there is another reason that the word “empowerment” seems so appropriate. From the beginning of the year, it seems that one thing after another has been happening that whisper that Employment Law, circa 2011, is off to a great start. It seems that each day brings another report of an employee- related victory in a trial court or appel- late court. The very existence of a strong
plaintiffs’ bar has ironically con- tributed to our sense of empowerment in a different way. Many of you undoubtedly have heard about the attempt in which Paul Hastings engaged to subpoena confidential California Employment Lawyers Association’s (CELA) listserv messages on the strained claim that they were somehow “relevant” to defending a fee petition brought by CELA member, Stephen Jaffe. Not only did Jaffe fight
12— The Advocate Magazine APRIL 2011
against the subpoena, but Consumer Attorneys of California (CAOC) imme- diately jumped into the fray, submit- ting an amicus brief at the trial court level to fight off that attack on the pri- vacy of attorney listserv communica- tions. CELA joined in the fight as well with its own briefing on the subject. Thank you to Lee Harris (of CAOC) and David deRubertis and Jeff Winnikow (of CELA) for dropping everything to file these briefs and stop Paul Hastings’ attack on our irreplace- able plaintiffs’ listservs. I am pleased to report that as a result of these prompt actions, the subpoena was quashed. CAOC and CELA standing together and fighting the common enemy. Or, to put it another way, empowerment. I could go on, but that would leave
inadequate room to describe our bill of fare in this issue and to thank our won- derful authors. Iris Weinmann, one of our finest,
regular contributors, has penned what I like to think of as “judo” for plaintiffs’ lawyers. Her thesis is that each time the defense comes up with a new form of aggression against our cases (e.g., cross- complaints against the plaintiff and/or their lawyers) there is a way that we can reverse that aggression to seize a power- ful litigation advantage. Item by item, she lists the defense’s move and a pro- posed counter-strategy. It’s empower- ing.
Next, we have a great piece by two
partners, Lee Feldman and Gina Browne. Their article has selected four key cases decided over the past two years, each of which blunts a favorite
device defendants used to employ to gut our cases and each of which pro- vides great tools we can use on the offensive. A third great article comes from my
co-editor, law partner, and wife – the incomparable Beverly Pine. Given Bev’s appellate perspective, her article takes the “top cases” which the defense loves to cite (either in summary judgment or on appeal) and details how each case can be neutralized. Our next article comes from anoth-
er regular – and stellar – contributor, our “Energizer-bunny,” David deRubertis. This time David writes about the critical importance of using visual images to tell a compelling story in an employment trial. He wonderfully illustrates his points with concrete examples. For anyone contemplating filing a
class action, Shawn Khorrami and Crystal S. Yagoobian’s article contains a wealth of useful information. After not- ing the pros and cons of litigation in state versus federal court, it then focus- es upon creative ways that plaintiffs’ counsel can avoid removal of their cases under the CAFA. Finally, no discussion of empower-
ment would be complete without acknowledging, as we try to always do, the winner of CELA’s most prestigious honor – the annual “Joe Posner Award.” This year the winner was Toni Jaramilla, honored not only for the great job she does for her clients, but also for her unceasing work to promote greater diversity in the bar.
— Norm Pine
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