Nancy L. Abell

Labor and employment litigation

Abell, chair of Paul Hastings' global employment law department, won big on behalf of law firms and multinational corporations over the last year. In 2009, she led a legal team that defeated class claims in a series of nationwide race, national origin and gender class actions against industrial uniform manufacturer Cintas Corp., and this year she won summary judgment for the remaining named plaintiff. Abell also scored wins for Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom in a wrongful termination suit and Seyfarth Shaw against allegations of breach of fiduciary duty, and she was tapped by O'Melveny Myers and other law firms in employment disputes. She represented the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association in collective bargaining negotiations on a new master agreement with the Musicians Union, and defeated wage and hour class claims against a major winery and Internet infrastructure services provider. Abell is representing leading U.S. corporations against threatened nationwide race discrimination class actions, and a technology firm in a securities fraud and employment case filed by a former top executive.