Laura V. Farber 

Laura V. Farber is a partner at Hahn & Hahn LLP, a certified women’s and minority-owned boutique, where she has practiced for more than 30 years. Unlike many in employment law, she represents both employers and employees — making her able to strategize and navigate the dynamics of this area of the law from a dual perspective.

“It’s quite helpful to have that perspective, and I generally share with opposing counsel that I have represented both sides,” she said. “I’ve been in their shoes. It gives a little more insight.”

Farber is a cum laude graduate of Georgetown University Law Center and the chair-elect of the fellows of the American Bar Foundation. In mid-July, she was looking forward to the ABA’s annual convention in Denver in August, where she’ll assume the chair.

She began her career as a business litigator. “A partner here handled the transactions work, and he’d say, ‘If this goes south, how do we handle the litigation?’ I got interested in the people side, beyond the number-crunching. Employment law has a humanity about it, and it is endlessly fascinating, especially in California, where we are on the cutting edge.”

In a current case, Farber is representing a former employee who now works in California and was sued by his company in another state for allegedly violating a non-compete clause in his contract. “We filed a declaratory relief action here, and I believe we’ll be able to litigate the claim here,” she said.

“California has always tried its best to protect employee mobility, and other states have taken notice,” Farber said. Her tracking of the issue shows that several state legislatures have passed laws banning non-compete contract clauses, including Colorado, Illinois, New York, Minnesota and the District of Columbia. “Even Delaware,” Farber said, “and they are strong believers in the value of contracts.”

Farber represented a restaurant chain in its defense of wrongful termination and disability discrimination claims by a former worker. She was able to persuade opposing counsel to dismiss the matter by crafting her responses to discovery queries so that the weaknesses of the plaintiff’s complaint were clear. “It was apparent that this was an unannounced disability and there was no actual termination,” Farber said. “We then negotiated a dismissal with prejudice in exchange for a costs waiver.”

In another matter for a financial services company, Farber successfully pushed for early mediation and was able to dispose of potential PAGA and class action claims regarding wage and hour and unpaid overtime issues without extended litigation. “We exchanged limited information and got court approval for a settlement that saved my client a lot of time and money,” Farber said.

—John Roemer