Andrew H. Friedman - afriedman@helmerfriedman.com

Andrew H. Friedman, a name partner with the law firm of Helmer & Friedman LLP, primarily represents employees in all aspects of employment law including not only individual discrimination, harassment and retaliation cases but also complex multi-party wage and hour class actions. In addition to occasionally representing employers and individual defendants, Mr. Friedman also conducts neutral fact-finding investigations into employment-related disputes.  Mr. Friedman also represents clients in catastrophic personal injury, wrongful death, civil rights, and product liability cases. 

Mr. Friedman received his J.D. degree from Cornell Law School and his B.A. degree in history and psychology, cum laude, from Vanderbilt University. At Cornell, Mr. Friedman was a member of the Board of Editors of the Cornell Law Review and a member of the Moot Court Board. Following law school, Mr. Friedman served as a judicial law clerk to the Honorable John T. Nixon, United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee. Subsequently, Mr. Friedman was trained as an employment attorney by two of the Nation’s most prestigious management-side employment law firms – Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker and Bryan Cave LLP.

Mr. Friedman has not only handled a wide range of employment-related litigation in state and federal courts, he also has significant experience counseling employers and employees with work-related problems in an effort to resolve their disputes without the necessity of court intervention. In addition, Mr. Friedman has represented both employers and employees in matters pending with numerous governmental agencies, including the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing, and the California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement. 

Mr. Friedman has received the highest possible Martindale-Hubble rating ("AV"), indicating that he is ranked at the highest level of professional excellence with "very high to preeminent legal ability" and "very high" ethical standards as established by confidential opinions from members of the Bar.

Law & Politics Magazine and the publishers of Los Angeles Magazine selected Mr. Friedman as a 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009 Southern California "Super Lawyer" in the category of Labor and Employment Law.

The online legal referral service AVVO (www.avvo.com) rates Mr. Friedman a 10/10 (superb) as an employment/labor and class action attorney.

Mr. Friedman is a prolific author and editor of many employment-related publications including: Author, Litigating Employment Discrimination Cases, (James Publishing, 2005 - 2009); Co-Editor-In-Chief, California Employment Law Digest, (James Publishing, 2000); Co-Author, California Causes of Action, (James Publishing, 1998); Contributor, Litigating Sexual Harassment and Sex Discrimination Cases, (James Publishing, 1998). 

Mr. Friedman has also written the following law review articles: Andrew H. Friedman, Saints and Sinners in the Workplace: A Survey of Religious Accommodation Cases, Cal. Lab. & Emp. L. Rev., Vol. 21, No. 4 (2007); Andrew H. Friedman, Same-Sex Marriage and the Right to Privacy: Abandoning Scriptural, Canonical, and Natural Law Based Definitions of Marriage, 35 Howard L.J. 173 (1992); Andrew H. Friedman, Tison v. Arizona: The Death Penalty and the Non-Triggerman: The Scales of Justice are Broken, 75 Cornell L. Rev. 123 (1989). 

Mr. Friedman is a frequent speaker and/or moderator for various human resource and legal organizations, including the American Bar Association ("ABA"), National Business Institute (“NBI”), the National Employment Lawyers Association (NELA"), the Continuing Education of the Bar ("CEB"), the Southern California Employment Round Table (“SCERT”), the Professionals In Human Resources Association (“PIHRA”), the Southern California Mediation Association (“SCMA”), the State Bar of California, the Los Angeles County Bar Association, and the Beverly Hills Bar Association.  In the last three years, Mr. Friedman has spoken and/or moderated the following:

Religion, God in the Workplace, State Bar of California's Labor and Employment Law Section (October 2009)

2009 Employment Law Update, State Bar of California's Labor and Employment Law Section (October 2009)

A Review of Recent Retaliation Cases, Labor and Employment Law Section of the State Bar of California (August 2009)

2009 Mid-Year Employment Law Update: Labor and Employment Law Section of the State Bar of California (July 2009)

Saints and Sinners in the Workplace: A Primer on Religious Discrimination, National Employment Lawyers Association (June 2009)

Bankruptcy 101 for Employment Lawyers: How to Protect Your Case, Beverly Hills Bar Association (June 2009)

2009 Employment Law Update: A Mid-Year Review of Recent Developments, Continuing Education of the Bar (June 2009)

Tips, Tricks and Strategies for Mediating the Employment
Discrimination Law Case, State Bar of California's Section Education Institute (January 2009)

2008 Employment Law Update, Employment Roundtable of Southern California (November 2008)

2008 Employment Law Update, State Bar of California's Labor and Employment Law Section (October 2008)

Age Discrimination: Handling the Coming Wave, State Bar of California (September 2008)

2008 Employment Law Update: A Mid-Year Review of Recent Developments, Continuing Education of the Bar (July 2008)

Mediation and Pre-Dispute Resolution and Investigation, American Bar Association's Section of Labor and Employment Law (April 2008) 

Legal Update, Southern California Employment Roundtable (February 2008)

A Practical Guide to Sexual Harassment Prevention, Policies and Programs, State Bar of California's Section Education Institute (January 2008)

Atheists, Agnostics and True Believers in the Workplace: A Survey of Religious Discrimination, Harassment and Accommodation Cases, Labor and Employment Law Section of the State Bar of California (October 2007)

True Believers In The Workplace: A Primer on Religious Accommodation, Discrimination, and Harassment, State Bar of California (September 2007)

2007 Employment Law Update: A Mid-Year Review of Recent Developments, Continuing Education of the Bar (June 2007)

Deal or No Deal: Negotiating Employment Law Settlement Agreements, Southern California Mediation Association (May 2007)

Saints and Sinners in the Workplace: A Primer on Religious Discrimination, Accommodations, and Undue Hardship, Los Angeles County Bar Association (March 2007)

Advanced Issues In Employment Law, National Business Institute (January 2007)

Mastering and Surviving Summary Judgment in Employment Cases, Los Angeles County Bar Association (November 2006)

2006 Employment Law Update: A Mid-Year Review of Recent Developments, Continuing Education of the Bar (September 2006)

Preventing & Dealing with Sexual Harassment Claims, Continuing Education of the Bar (August 2006)

E-mail, Voice-mail, and Snailmail: Privacy Issues in the New Workplace, State Bar of California's Section Education Institute (January 2006)

Mr. Friedman has also spoken about various labor and employment law issues on “Your Legal Rights”, a San Francisco-based public radio program, produced and hosted by Chuck Finney, which covers a wide range of legal issues for California consumers. 

Mr. Friedman’s professional memberships include, among others, the following: (1) Member, Executive Committee of the Labor and Employment Law Section of the State Bar of California (2002 – 2005); (2) Advisor, Executive Committee of the Labor and Employment Law Section of the State Bar of California (2005 – present); (3) Member, Executive Committee of the Labor and Employment Law Section of the Los Angeles County Bar Association (2003 – present); (4) Co-Chair of the Saturday Morning Seminar Committee of the Labor and Employment Law Section of the Los Angeles County Bar Association (2003 – 2005); (5) Member, Symposium Committee of the Los Angeles County Bar Association (2006 – present); Co-Chair of the Executive Committee of the Labor and Employment Law Section of the Beverly Hills Bar Association (2002-2003); Member, Board of Directors of the Employment Roundtable of Southern California (2007 - present). 

Mr. Friedman is licensed to practice in California, Missouri, and the District of Columbia. 

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