Donna M. Mezias
Consultant
Areas of Focus
- California Labor & Employment Litigation
- Class Actions
- Employment Discrimination/Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Advocacy
- Executive Disputes & Agreements
- Labor & Employment
- Trade Secret Litigation
- Wage & Hour/Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) Litigation & Counseling
- Whistleblower Litigation
- Cybersecurity, Privacy & Data Protection
- Energy & Infrastructure
- Media & Entertainment
- Technology
- Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning
- Film, Television & Digital Media
- Semiconductors
- Consumer Protection
- Represents clients in a wide range of employment issues.
- Has tried cases in federal and state courts and argued appeals in California and Washington Supreme Courts and in the 9th Circuit.
Donna Mezias advises employers on a wide range of employment issues, including management of risks associated with:
- employee terminations
- sexual harassment and other employee investigations
- reductions in force and facility closures
- discrimination issues
- trade secret and employee mobility issues
- disability accommodation
- family and medical leave laws
- wage and hour compliance
- drug testing
- employee privacy rights.
She represents employers in all types of employment litigation including:
- class action and individual discrimination cases
- wage and hour class actions and Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) collective actions
- retaliation
- whistleblower
- wrongful termination and employment contract cases
- trade secret
- employee solicitation
- defamation
- unfair competition litigation
Donna also has defended cases under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and analogous state laws involving accessibility of retail establishments, Internet websites and public transportation. In addition to employment litigation, she has litigated a broad range of complex business disputes, including securities class actions, fraud, director and officer liability and intellectual property cases, as well as commercial contract disputes.
- Obtaining dismissal and an award of litigation costs for a Fortune 100 technology firm in a statewide class action challenging the exempt status of outside sales representatives.
- Defending a leading developer of storage and communication semiconductors in a statewide class action alleging misclassification of engineering employees.
- Defending a leading technology and consulting firm in a nationwide class action and FLSA collective action challenging the exempt status of technical services employees and IT specialists.
- Representing a national bank in a wage and hour class action challenging the exempt status of mortgage underwriters.
- Obtaining dismissal of a statewide wage and hour class action alleging failure to properly credit and pay vacation under California law.
EducationJ.D., Stanford Law School, 1983
B.A., Boston College, magna cum laude, 1977
J.D., Stanford Law School, 1983
B.A., Boston College, magna cum laude, 1977
Bar AdmissionsCalifornia
California
- Euromoney, Expert Guide: Women in Business Law 2022, Labor and Employment.
- Daily Journal, Top Women Lawyer, 2022.
- Daily Journal, Top Labor and Employment Lawyer in California, 2015-2023.
- The Legal 500 US – Labor and employment, 2015-2018, and Labor and employment disputes (including collective actions): defense, 2019-2022.
- Akin Gump’s labor and employment practice has been named as Law360 Employment Practice Group of the Year four times in seven years, including in 2009, 2013, 2015 and 2016.