Michael J. Bononi | Attorney

Mr. Bononi, the founding partner of Bononi Law Group, is an experienced trial attorney who represents both Plaintiffs and Defendants in a wide range of legal disputes with a particular emphasis in the areas of employment law and commercial litigation. Mr. Bononi has been recognized for several years as one of the leading employment law attorneys in Southern California and has a client list that ranges from fortune 50 corporate companies to individual employees. Mr. Bononi routinely handles employment lawsuits involving claims of wrongful termination, breach of contract, whistle-blowing, wage disputes, and discrimination or harassment claims based on race, gender, sex, pregnancy, national origin, sexual orientation, age, mental and physical disabilities.

Mr. Bononi also provides human resource advice to employers, including how to satisfy California's new harassment training requirements, proper investigation of employee claims, updating handbooks and manuals, and assisting employers on navigating the overlapping medical leave requirements for state and federal law. Mr. Bononi has extensive experience litigating reasonable accommodation and disability discrimination cases and has tried these claims to a jury on behalf of both employers and employees. Mr. Bononi also represents employers, executives and employees in negotiating employment contracts and severance agreements.

In addition to his employment law practice, Mr. Bononi also handles a variety of commercial law disputes including, but not limited to, partnership dissolution proceedings, bad faith insurance claims, trade secret disputes, commercial breach of contract claims, and unfair competition, fraud and breach of fiduciary duty claims. Mr. Bononi has been involved in multiple lawsuits involving the entertainment industry including disputes over the rights to broadcast NASCAR automobile races, the right to air television programs like Roseanne and the Cosby show, and multiple employment related disputes arising from cast members on shows like Desperate Housewives.

Mr. Bononi has been recognized by his peers as a Southern California Super Lawyer in the area of employment litigation for 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009. Michael J. Bononi has received the highest peer review AV-rating, under Martindale Hubbell's Peer Review Rating process*.  Mr. Bononi has also been quoted as a source for employment law expertise by the Los Angeles Times, and several of the cases he has recently handled have been closely followed by the media and reported on in newspapers and trade publications in Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Miami, and London, as well as national magazines and main line media television shows.

Mr. Bononi received his law degree from Cornell University where he graduated magna cum laude in 1987 and was an editor of the Cornell Law Review. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1984. Mr. Bononi joined Latham & Watkins, a large multi-national law firm, after his graduation from law school in 1987. Mr. Bononi was voted into the Latham & Watkins partnership in October, 1994, and left the firm shortly thereafter to start his own firm.

Mr. Bononi is a member of multiple professional trade associations including the California State Bar, the Los Angeles County Bar Association, the California Employment Lawyers Association, and the American Business Trial Lawyers Associations. Mr. Bononi is also a member of the Board of Trustees and Human Resources Committee for Altadena Town and Country Club, and a member of the Evangelism Committee at First United Methodist Church in Pasadena. Mr. Bononi is also a member at Palm Valley Country Club in Palm Desert, California, and Lake Arrowhead Country Club in Lake Arrowhead, California.

Business & Commercial Litigation
Employment Discrimination and Harassment
Wrongful Discharge or Termination
Whistleblower Protection Claims
Wage and Overtime Disputes
Family Medical Leave Act Claims
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
Union Management Relations

*CV, BV and AV are registered certification marks of Reed Elsevier Properties Inc., used in accordance with the Martindale-Hubbell certification procedures, standards and policies. Martindale-Hubbell is the facilitator of a peer review rating process. Ratings reflect the confidential opinions of members of the Bar and the Judiciary. Martindale-Hubbell Ratings fall into two categories - legal ability and general ethical standards.