Clifton W. Albright 

Clifton W. Albright founded Albright, Yee & Schmidt, APC in 1994. As the other name partners have retired or moved on, the seven-attorney defense-side employment boutique has turned into something of a family affair.

Albright, who oversees litigation and negotiates business transactions, remains president. His wife, Stella M. Albright, who holds an MBA in finance in addition to her law degree, is vice president and their son, Clifton W. Albright, Jr., is an associate. Another son, Alexander, holds a business degree and is the office manager and chief operating officer.

“It’s great to be working with my family like this,” Albright said. “It’s the best experience I could possibly ask for.”

He set out to be a business owner and planned to improve his chances of success by obtaining a law degree. “So when I went to law school, my goal wasn’t to become a lawyer. It was to get the credentials, so I could move up the corporate ladder.”

But the law proved more enjoyable than he’d expected. “I fell in love with the law. I just thought it was such a cool thing.” Still, business beckoned, so he passed the bar and took a job as house counsel for Lloyds Bank California. That work morphed into labor and employment work and a successful law firm launch.

Active in his community, Albright volunteers at local school programs to alert underserved students to career opportunities. In late June, he was honored with a Law and Justice Award at a gala celebrating the 150th anniversary of the First African Methodist Episcopal Church of Los Angeles.

Albright has watched and rolled with the times as employment law has evolved dramatically over the decades. An early turning point came in 1991 at the televised confirmation hearings for Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, Albright said, when Thomas faced sexual harassment allegations by law professor Anita Hill.

“People said, ‘Sexual harassment — what’s that?’” Albright recalled. “It was a big event that triggered awareness across the country.” Years later, he added, he was discussing the issue with business leaders and politicians in Nigeria when the subject arose. “They didn’t like hearing about it. They said, ‘Keep sexual harassment in America.’”

Albright is lead defense counsel in a current wage and hour case in which the plaintiff is seeking damages in the seven figures. He’s not worried. “I’m confident the matter will settle for an amount in the low five figures,” he said. Ortiz v. Konoike-Pacific California, Inc., 21STCV35262 (L.A. Super. Ct., filed Sept. 24, 2021).

–John Roemer