Mr William Stewart Waldo | Attorney

Mr. Waldo is one of the most experienced trial lawyers in America. He has represented both plaintiffs and defendants in a wide-range of legal disputes, with an emphasis in the areas of employment law and commercial litigation. Mr. Waldo's particular expertise focuses on jury trials of employment law and commercial disputes. Mr. Waldo is one of the very few distinguished lawyers who has been selected as one of The Best Lawyers in America each year for more than 20 years. Mr. Waldo co-founded the highly regarded course "Jury Trial Litigation of Discrimination, Harassment, and Other Employment Claims," and the "Advanced Jury Trials" courses, each of which has been taught throughout the United States.

Mr. Waldo has successfully represented clients in jury trials where the amounts in dispute have exceeded $200 million. His clients have ranged from individual employees to Fortune 500 corporations. Mr. Waldo has more than three decades of experience handling 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, and mental and physical disabilities.

Mr. Waldo also has handled jury trial litigation involving complex commercial disputes, including breaches of commercial contracts, leases, lease guarantees, trade secret theft and protection, and unlawful interference with business operations.

Mr. Waldo 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. Waldo has extensive experience litigating reasonable accommodation and disability discrimination cases, and has successfully tried these claims to jury verdicts in state and federal courts in California, and in other states. Mr. Waldo also represents employers, executives and employees in negotiating employment contracts and severance agreements.

In addition to being recognized as one of the Best Lawyers In America for more than 20 years, Mr. Waldo has been recognized by his peers as a Southern California Super Lawyer in the area of employment litigation for more than 10 years. In 2009, Mr. Waldo was one of only 36 labor and employment lawyers in California to be recognized in Who's Who Legal, published by the American Bar Association Section of International Law. Mr. Waldo has also received the highest peer review AV rating, under Martindale Hubbell's peer review rating process.

Mr. Waldo has lectured extensively throughout the United States on topics that include jury trial litigation of wrongful discharge and other employment claims, sexual harassment, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and state and federal discrimination laws. Mr. Waldo has also written many articles on employment law topics, including "Wrongful Discharge Suits; Judiciary Playing with Fire" (Los Angeles Times); "Wrongful Dismissal Cases Will Still Have Their Days in Court" (Los Angeles Times); "Lost Cause and Found Defense: Using Evidence Discovered After an Employee's Discharge to Bar Discrimination Claims" (The Labor Lawyer); and "Renewed Affirmative Action Enforcement is Imminent" (Personnel Journal).

Mr. Waldo received his law degree from the University of Michigan Law School where he graduated magna cum laude in 1976 and was the Administrative Editor of the Michigan Law Review. He received his undergraduate degree from Georgetown University, Washington, D.C. in 1973 where he graduated summa cum laude and was the Valedictorian of his class. After a one year clerkship on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York, Mr. Waldo joined the law firm of Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP, where he was a partner for 25 years, and served as Vice Chair of the Firm's Employment Law Department for 10 years. Mr. Waldo is a member of multiple professional trade associations, including the State Bar of California, and the Labor and Employment Law section of the State Bar of California.