KADING BRIGGS - Key Persons

Job Titles:

• Senior Counsel

Kymberleigh prides herself on being proactive with her clients to anticipate and resolve their employment matters. Prior to becoming an attorney, Kymberleigh held the position of Human Resources Director at multiple companies of varying sizes. Leveraging this background, Kymberleigh adds a unique perspective to her legal advice by truly understanding the issues her clients face and the practical implications of the solutions she offers. When not advising clients on day-to-day employment matters, Kymberleigh enjoys facing even the toughest of opposing counsel in litigation. As one of the two female owners of Kading Briggs, Kymberleigh embraces and encourages diversity at Kading Briggs. Education J.D., University of California at Los Angeles School of Law (2005) Order of the Coif B.A., University of California Los Angeles Professional Affiliations Kymberleigh is a member of the Orange County Bar Association, California Minority Counsel Program, Association of Corporate Counsel, and serves as Co-Chair for the Labor and Employment PAC of NAMWOLF.

Job Titles:

• Associate
• President
• Treasurer

Mike is a fearless, proactive, and creative advocate for his clients, exclusively practicing management-side employment law since graduating from law school in 2015. Immediately before joining Kading Briggs, Mike was in-house legal counsel, serving as the sole Labor & Employment Counsel for North America for a publicly traded e-commerce and logistics company with two thousand employees. Having served as in-house counsel, Mike understands the constraints and realities that his clients face, which allows him to offer practical solutions to his clients' employment law needs. Mike has successfully represented employers in litigation before state and federal agencies, courts, and arbitral forums. He has represented and counseled clients across various industries, including aerospace, manufacturing, film and studio, e-commerce, retail, finance, healthcare, hospitals and insurance providers, and staffing and employee leasing companies. Mike has won injunctive relief for clients faced with the theft of trade secrets and the dismissal of numerous employment suits brought under state and federal wage & hour and civil rights laws, including Title VII and the Fair Employment and Housing Act. Other examples of his successes include winning dismissal of an executive's suit for breach of contract on the eve of trial, dismissal of numerous actions at the pleadings stage, summary judgment affirmed on appeal to the Ninth Circuit, and defeating class certification in state court in protracted litigation involving the alleged misclassification of IT employees. Mike is the President and serves as a Board Member of Orange County Lavender Bar Association, Orange County's LGBTQ+ bar association. He is also a member of the Orange County Bar Association, the National LGBT Bar Association, and the Association of Corporate Counsel. Mike is also the Treasurer and serves as a Board Member of Orange County Coalition for Diversity in the Law, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit collaborative of professionals from leading Orange County law firms and other community partners promoting the recruitment, retainment, equity among, and advancement of diverse attorneys in Orange County, California. Mike has provided pro bono legal services including providing pro bono adoption services to foster parents in Los Angeles County, obtaining immigration relief for juvenile immigrants in a class action suit against the federal government, and serving at various legal clinics supporting low-income individuals.

Job Titles:

• Senior Counsel

Sarah recognizes that each employer faces unique challenges, and with that in mind takes the time to understand each of her client's business practices to provide practical, real-world advice. When not advising employers on day-to-day issues, Sarah provides effective representation by dissecting cases and leveraging facts to place our client in the best position possible. As a collegiate athlete, Sarah has learned to persevere and fight for our clients. Education J.D., University of California at Hastings (2013) B.A., University of California at Riverside (2009)

Job Titles:

• Senior Counsel

For more than a decade, Stanley has successfully represented employers in a variety of industries, ranging from international restaurant and retail chains to car dealerships, healthcare providers, and oil producers, defending them from single- and multi-plaintiff discrimination, harassment, and wrongful termination claims. Stanley also has extensive experience defending wage-and-hour class and private attorney general actions. He excels in quickly identifying the strengths and weaknesses in the claims alleged and then driving the claims to favorable and appropriate resolutions for his clients, whether by dispositive or other motion or settlement, as best serves each client's interests. The son of small business owners, Stanley witnessed first-hand growing up the financial harm and emotional toll that employment litigation could wreak on well-intentioned and honest employers, and that the potentially high cost of winning in court may often be a loss itself. With a philosophy of lawsuit-avoidance, he is driven to protect and counsel California employers in a state where the laws and courts disproportionately disfavor employers. Education University of Pennsylvania Law School, Philadelphia, PA, Juris Doctor, 2008 University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude, 2005 Professional Affiliations Admitted into the State Bar of California in December 2008. Admitted to practice in the U.S. District Courts for the Central, Northern, and Eastern Districts of California. Named a "Rising Star" by Super Lawyers magazine in 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018. Contributing Editor, Developing Labor Law, 2013-14.

Job Titles:

• Secretary

Meticulous. Focused. Creative. This is how Theresa's clients describe her. It is because of those traits as well as Theresa's vast experience working across varied industries and handling cases involving every type of employment dispute that clients choose her to represent them time and again. Theresa has practiced employment law exclusively for more than eighteen years and, in that time, has handled more than 100 wage-and-hour class actions and has represented employers in numerous jury trials. She is a seasoned legal veteran with keen insights and creative solutions to her clients' legal problems. Theresa understands that companies are not faceless entities but are comprised of individuals who are at the center of every case. Before starting Kading Briggs, Theresa was a partner at Hodel Briggs Winter LLP, where she worked for more than eleven years. Theresa began her legal career as an associate at Paul Hastings. Education J.D., University of Southern California (2000) Order of the Coif B.A., University of Southern California (1997) summa cum laude Professional Affiliations Theresa serves as secretary on the Board of Directors of the National Human Resources Association and is a member of the Association of Business Trial Lawyers.