Samantha C. Grant - Attorneys - Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp LLP ~ Full service entertainment law firm

Legal Expertise

Represents employers in a wide variety of labor and employment matters, including wrongful termination, harassment, discrimination, retaliation, breach of contract, fraud, wage and hour, public policy violations, defamation, invasion of privacy, and trade secret/unfair competition. Represents management in state and federal court and before state and federal administrative agencies (e.g. EEOC, DFEH, DLSE, and NLRB). Conducts workplace investigations and provides counseling and advice to employers regarding compliance with state and federal law (including FMLA, ADA, Title VII, FEHA, and NLRA), personnel policies and manuals, and difficult personnel decisions.

Representative Matters

Seconded as in-house employment counsel for international food company (2003-2005).
Obtained defense award for video service company in a four-day arbitration involving discrimination, sexual harassment, retaliation, and wrongful termination claims.
Obtained defense award for aerospace company in a seven-day arbitration involving discrimination, harassment, and retaliation claims.
Successfully obtained dismissal of breach of collective bargaining agreement claim for international beverage company.
Obtained dismissal on behalf of employer of unfair labor practice charge before the National Labor Relations Board.
Successfully represented major motion picture company in jurisdictional dispute before the NLRB.
After defeating class certification, successfully resolved wage and hour class action for global consumer goods company.
After successfully demurring, negotiated favorable resolution of wage and hour representative action on behalf of a major television network.
Obtained summary judgment for employers in wrongful termination, discrimination, and harassment cases.

Partner - Los Angeles

Email Samantha C. Grant

Phone:

(310) 312-3283

Fax:

(310) 231-8483

Practice Area

Labor & Employment

Education

University of California Los Angeles School of Law, J.D., 1998
Editor, Women's Law Journal; Moot Court Honors Program
University of Toronto, Honors B.A., 1994;
APUS Scholastic Award

Court Admissions

California, 1998
USDC, Central District of California, 1998
USDC, Northern District of California, 2001
U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit, 1998

Professional Recognition

"Most Powerful and Influential Women of California," California Diversity Council (2012)
"Attorney Spotlight" Profile, California Minority Counsel Program E-Newsletter (January/February 2011)
"Top Labor & Employment Lawyers in California," Daily Journal (2011)
"Southern California Rising Stars," Super Lawyers (2005-2010)
"California's Top Women Litigators," Daily Journal (2007)
"10 Up and Coming African American Lawyers to Watch," Diversity & the Bar by the Minority Corporate Counsel Association (2007)
"Rising Legal Star," LA Focus (2007)
Black Law Students Association Alumni Achievement Award, UCLA School of Law (2007)
"One to Watch" in the labor and employment field, Daily Journal (2006)

Publications and Presentations

Speaker, Competing for and Winning Work from Corporate Counsel, ABA, Section of Labor and Employment Law Annual Conference (2010)
Speaker, The Effectiveness of Corporate ADR Programs, ABA Annual Meeting (2010)
Speaker, Sexual Harassment Arbitration in the Union vs. Non-Union Worlds, ABA, Employment Rights and Responsibilities Committee Mid-Winter Meeting (2009)
Speaker, Mentors: Who Needs Them and Why?, ABA, Employment Rights and Responsibilities Committee Mid-Winter Meeting (2008)
Speaker, Grabbing a Jury and Keeping ‘Em, ABA, Employment Rights and Responsibilities Committee Mid-Winter Meeting (2008)
Speaker, Managing the Contingent Workforce, National Employment Law Council Annual Conference (2008)
Speaker, Maternal Wall Bias and Family Responsibilities Discrimination, ABA Annual Meeting (2008)
Speaker, Public Policy and Contractual Exceptions to the Employment At-Will Doctrine, ABA Annual Meeting (2007)
Speaker, Workplace Investigations: The Witness Interviews and Evaluation of the Evidence, ABA, Section of Labor and Employment Law Annual Conference (2007)
Speaker, True Believers in the Workplace: A Primer on Religious Discrimination, Accommodations, and Undue Hardship, State Bar of California Annual Meeting (2007)
Speaker, It's a Status Thing: The Ground War at FedEx. Independent Contractor or Employee?, ABA, Employment Rights and Responsibilities Committee Mid-Winter Meeting (2007)
Speaker, Employment Law Legal Update, Southern California Employment Round Table Fall Conference and Carol F. Schiller Award Luncheon (2007)
Speaker, The Nuts and Bolts of Harassment Cases: How to Prevent, Identify, and Litigate Harassment Cases, Black Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles Annual Meeting (2007)
Speaker, Are Law Firms and Corporations Committed to Diversity in the Legal Profession?, ABA, Employment Rights and Responsibilities Committee Mid-Winter Meeting (2007)
Speaker, Choices, Choices: Your Place or Mine? Drafting and Litigating Choice of Law and Forum Selection Clauses in Non-Compete Agreements, ABA, Employment Rights and Responsibilities Committee Mid-Winter Meeting (2007)
Speaker, Dealing with Difficult Adversaries, ABA, Labor & Employment Section, Litigation Skills Workshop (2005)
Speaker, An Exploration of Diversity Issues, College of Labor and Employment Lawyers of Southern Ninth Circuit Regional College Meeting (2004)
Speaker, We Didn't Hire You. You Don't Work Here and Where's That Memo You Owe Me? Who is an Employee?, ABA, Employment Rights and Responsibilities Committee Mid-Winter Meeting (2004)
Speaker, From Hiring to Firing, Black Women Lawyers of Los Angeles, Inc. Annual Retreat (2004)

Speaker, Competing for and Winning Work from Corporate Counsel, ABA, Section of Labor and Employment Law Annual Conference (2010)
Speaker, The Effectiveness of Corporate ADR Programs, ABA Annual Meeting (2010)
Speaker, Sexual Harassment Arbitration in the Union vs. Non-Union Worlds, ABA, Employment Rights and Responsibilities Committee Mid-Winter Meeting (2009)
Speaker, Mentors: Who Needs Them and Why?, ABA, Employment Rights and Responsibilities Committee Mid-Winter Meeting (2008)
Speaker, Grabbing a Jury and Keeping ‘Em, ABA, Employment Rights and Responsibilities Committee Mid-Winter Meeting (2008)
Speaker, Managing the Contingent Workforce, National Employment Law Council Annual Conference (2008)
Speaker, Maternal Wall Bias and Family Responsibilities Discrimination, ABA Annual Meeting (2008)
Speaker, Public Policy and Contractual Exceptions to the Employment At-Will Doctrine, ABA Annual Meeting (2007)
Speaker, Workplace Investigations: The Witness Interviews and Evaluation of the Evidence, ABA, Section of Labor and Employment Law Annual Conference (2007)
Speaker, True Believers in the Workplace: A Primer on Religious Discrimination, Accommodations, and Undue Hardship, State Bar of California Annual Meeting (2007)
Speaker, It's a Status Thing: The Ground War at FedEx. Independent Contractor or Employee?, ABA, Employment Rights and Responsibilities Committee Mid-Winter Meeting (2007)
Speaker, Employment Law Legal Update, Southern California Employment Round Table Fall Conference and Carol F. Schiller Award Luncheon (2007)
Speaker, The Nuts and Bolts of Harassment Cases: How to Prevent, Identify, and Litigate Harassment Cases, Black Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles Annual Meeting (2007)
Speaker, Are Law Firms and Corporations Committed to Diversity in the Legal Profession?, ABA, Employment Rights and Responsibilities Committee Mid-Winter Meeting (2007)
Speaker, Choices, Choices: Your Place or Mine? Drafting and Litigating Choice of Law and Forum Selection Clauses in Non-Compete Agreements, ABA, Employment Rights and Responsibilities Committee Mid-Winter Meeting (2007)
Speaker, Dealing with Difficult Adversaries, ABA, Labor & Employment Section, Litigation Skills Workshop (2005)
Speaker, An Exploration of Diversity Issues, College of Labor and Employment Lawyers of Southern Ninth Circuit Regional College Meeting (2004)
Speaker, We Didn't Hire You. You Don't Work Here and Where's That Memo You Owe Me? Who is an Employee?, ABA, Employment Rights and Responsibilities Committee Mid-Winter Meeting (2004)
Speaker, From Hiring to Firing, Black Women Lawyers of Los Angeles, Inc. Annual Retreat (2004)

Professional, Business, and Civic Affiliations

National Co-Chair, MS&K Diversity Committee
Member, MS&K Hiring Committee
President, Black Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles, Inc.
Diversity Outreach Initiative Taskforce, Employment Rights and Responsibilities Committee, American Bar Association
Member of the Council, American Bar Association, Labor and Employment Section
Fellow of the American Bar Foundation
Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference Executive Committee
Central District of California Attorney Admission Fund Board
Co-Chair, Central District delegation of Lawyer Representatives to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals (2008-2009)
Black Entertainment and Sports Lawyers Association
National Bar Association

Other Career Experience

Labor and Employment Legal Extern for the United States Information Agency, Washington, DC (1997)