Felicia A. Davis

Paul Hastings • Los Angeles


Early last year, Felicia Davis became the chair of her firm's employment law department in Los Angeles. "It's very exciting," she said.


The department has been increasing the training it provides its attorneys, especially about handling large, systemic government investigations and government claims. "A lot of our attorneys are becoming quite expert in litigating not only individual single-plaintiff claims, but these larger class and systemic cases, which are obviously really important to our clients," Davis said.


"We're seeing a lot more activity in that area, particularly ... with the California Civil Rights Department."


In a prime example of those sorts of cases, Davis was part of the team that defended Activision Blizzard against gender discrimination and harassment claims brought by both the rights department and the federal EEOC. She led the defense against the CRD's pay and promotion discrimination claims, which were a substantial share of the state case. It settled in January, shortly after she and her team filed a summary judgment motion related to those allegations. California Civil Rights Department v. Activision Blizzard Inc., 21STCV26571 (L.A. Super. Ct., filed July 20, 2021).


Davis leads Paul Hastings' pay equity group, and she is currently representing major clients in several very large pay equity cases. She represents Disney in what was the largest putative pay discrimination class action filed in California. She and her team blocked certification of a class under the FEHA in December, although the court did allow the case to go forward under the Equal Pay Act. Rasmussen v. The Walt Disney Co., 19STCV10974 (L.A. Super. Ct., April 2, 2019).


In March last year, Davis defeated certification of a class action against Nike, and the 9th Circuit affirmed. The case is continuing with four individual plaintiffs. Cahill v. Nike Inc., 3:18-cv-01477 (D. Ore., filed Aug. 9, 2018).


She also is defending Google in a pair of class actions alleging racial discrimination. One, filed by well-known civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump, seeks a class of all the company's Black employees and job applicants nationwide. Curley v. Google, 3:22-cv-01735 (N.D. Cal., filed March 18, 2022).


The second began as a PAGA-only case under the state's Equal Pay Act, but the plaintiffs later moved to add class allegations on behalf of all non-white, non-Asian Google employees working in California. The court is set to decide that motion later this year. Cantu v. Google, 21CV392049 (Sta. Clara Super. Ct., filed Dec. 8, 2021).


Besides litigation, Davis is advising clients about recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions related to diversity and affirmative action. The decisions weren't employment matters, "but you can see the future of litigation in this space," she said. Therefore, she is helping her clients review their existing programs and develop new ways to increase opportunities while also being legally compliant, she said.