Four Fisher Phillips San Diego Attorneys Listed in 2015 San Diego Super Lawyers and Rising Stars

SAN DIEGO, CA (January 28, 2015) – Fisher Phillips is pleased to announce that three of its San Diego attorneys, founding and managing partner Chris Hoffman and partners Regina Petty and David Monks, were selected by their peers for inclusion in 2015 San Diego Super Lawyers, and partner Jim Fessenden is listed in Rising Stars.

Super Lawyers rates exceptional lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have achieved a high degree of peer recognition and professional accomplishments. The multiphase rating process combines independent research, peer nominations and peer evaluations, with each candidate evaluated on 12 different indicators of peer recognition and professional achievement. The selections are completed on an annual, state-by-state basis. The final published Super Lawyers list represents the top five percent of the lawyers in the state, and no more than 2.5 percent are named to Rising Stars.

Hoffman is the founding and managing partner of the San Diego office. He represents employers in matters ranging from class-action litigation to traditional labor matters and general employment advice. He also counsels clients regarding practical and proactive solutions to their employment issues. He regularly assists employers to draft and enforce arbitration agreements, and successfully argued one of the most often-cited decisions from the California Supreme Court in this area, Little v. Auto Stiegler. Hoffman was selected for inclusion in San Diego Super Lawyers 2013 and he was recognized in The Best Lawyers in America 2013 and 2014.

Petty practices in state and federal courts at the trial and appellate levels and has extensive experience in multi-district and class-action litigation. She advises and handles litigation for private and public employers. She successfully argued Jones v. The Lodge at Torrey Pines Partnership (2008) 42 Cal.4th 1158 before the California Supreme Court, a case noted on Bender's California Labor & Employment Bulletin's top ten list of most significant cases and trends for the Fair Employment & Housing Act's 50th anniversary. Petty is a past president of the San Diego County Bar Association and a former member of the board of directors of the Minority Corporate Counsel Association. She has been named one of the Los Angeles Daily Journal's Top 75 Women Litigators in California and one of the San Diego Daily Transcript's Top Ten attorneys in both the labor and employment and business litigation categories. She was also honored by the Stanford University Black Community Services Center with its Legacy Award. Petty has been continuously selected for inclusion in San Diego Super Lawyers since its inaugural edition in 2007.

Monks counsels employers on a wide variety of matters, including employee discipline and termination, wage-and-hour issues, disability accommodation protocols, family and medical leave issues, investigations of harassment and other misconduct, and independent contractor issues. He has substantial experience defending employers and managers against lawsuits and administrative claims involving discrimination, harassment, defamation, breach of contract, and violations of wage-and-hour laws. As an avid proponent of proactive training and compliance, he presents training seminars on preventing harassment and discrimination in the workplace, workplace investigations, wage-and-hour compliance, disability management and accommodation. Monks has been selected for inclusion in San Diego Super Lawyers since 2007 and he has also been recognized in The Best Lawyers in America since 2013.

Fessenden represents employers in all aspects of employment law in both state and federal courts, and before administrative and governmental agencies. Fessenden has argued before the California Court of Appeal and numerous trial courts and administrative agencies. He has been a part of several arbitration and trial teams and recently served as second chair in a jury trial resulting in a complete defense verdict. Fessenden also regularly defends clients in investigations by a variety of federal, state, and local agencies. He devotes a significant portion of his practice to counseling clients and developing measures to prevent litigation and governmental investigations. While in law school, he served as the managing editor of the San Diego International Law Journal. Fessenden earned his law degree from the University of San Diego School of Law.