We are pleased to welcome an exceptional team of accomplished litigators and employment lawyers to our offices in Southern California. Joining us as Partners in Los Angeles are Kandice Canchan, Megan Childress, Nicole Davidson, Katherine Den Bleyker, John Haubrich, and Anna Rozman. In Orange County, we are pleased to introduce new Partners Kate Akamine, Christopher Cho, Natasha Covarrubias, Madonna Devling, Christina Guerin, Jessica Hahn, Christopher Harmon, Alaleh Khosrowpour, Alison Miceli, William Richards, Thalia Rofos, and Sarah Takasugi.
We are also proud to welcome Associates Tatyana Esmailian, Sohin Gautam, Jennifer Hsiao, Elizabeth Martin, Krikor Moloyan, and Rafael Sanchez in Los Angeles; and Alexandra Adams, Janna Akers, Andrew Cho, Erin Cole, Marilena K. Guadagnini, Emily Hoskins, Justin Odell, Deborah Song, Tamar Tellado, and Kenny Tran in Orange County.
These exceptional attorneys bring with them a track record of success in employment and commercial litigation within state and federal courts and valuable years of experience in legal counseling. They will be instrumental in the future success of the O’Hagan Meyer family in addressing our west coast clients’ employment and litigation needs.
Please Join Us in Welcoming:
Los Angeles
Kandice Canchan, Partner
Megan Childress, Partner
Megan Childress is a seasoned litigator with over a decade of experience in employment law. Ms. Childress focuses on wage and hour class action and Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) litigation involving claims such as meal and rest period violations, unpaid wages, off-the-clock work, improper rounding practices, and wage statement violations. Ms. Childress also defends employers against claims of harassment, discrimination, wrongful termination and retaliation. She also has vast experience handling other legal matters commonly faced by California businesses, including ADA accessibility lawsuits, franchise litigation under federal and state statutes, and contract and real property disputes. Learn more about Megan.
Nicole Davidson, Partner
Nicole Davidson’s practice is focused on representing and counseling employers. in single and multi-party discrimination, harassment, retaliation, and wrongful termination actions. In addition, Nicole defends employers in both single-plaintiff and class action wage and hour litigation. She has significant experience in all aspects of litigation through discovery and trial, and also regularly counsels her clients on employment-related issues and compliance with state and federal law. Nicole’s pro-bono legal work earned her the Sanctuary for Families Award for Excellence in Pro Bono Advocacy for 2011 in recognition of her successful representation of a client who suffered severe physical abuse by her husband. Learn more about Nicole.
Katherine Den Bleyker, Partner
Kate Den Bleyker specializes in Wage & Hour Class Actions and representative lawsuits pursuant to the California Private Attorneys General Act (“PAGA”). She has extensive experience litigating complex cases in both state and federal court, including class action matters involving California’s consumer protection statutes, wage and hour regulations, unfair competition laws, and the Private Attorneys General Act. Additionally, Ms. Den Bleyker defends clients against claims brought by individual employees involving various employment-related matters. Ms. Den Bleyker provides preventative counseling to employers on various employment issues, in an effort to help reduce the risk of litigation. Learn more about Katherine.
John Haubrich Jr., Partner
John Haubrich’s practice is focused on all aspects of California employment litigation, from single Plaintiff wrongful termination matters to large scale Wage and Hour Class action matters. Mr. Haubrich defends clients against claims of harassment, discrimination, retaliation as well as whistleblower claims and actions under the Federal and State leave statutes. Mr. Haubrich has handled employment matters in both state and federal courts, as well as before administrative agencies including the California Civil Rights Department, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the National Labor Relations Board. Learn more about John.
Anna Rozman, Partner
Anna Rozman is a partner in the Los Angeles office. She defends employers in all aspects of employment litigation including wage and hour, wrongful termination, harassment, discrimination, breach of employment agreements claims, collective and representative actions, and whistleblower claims. In addition to her litigation practice, she represents employers before administrative agencies, counsels employers on all employment-related matters, drafts company policies, conducts workplace investigations into employee complaints and conducts training on all employment-related topics. Learn more about Anna.
Tatyana Esmailian, Associate
Tatyana Esmailian is a member of the Labor & Employment Practice Group, and she has experience counseling clients on a variety of labor and employment matters such as wage and hour compliance, from the initial case evaluation through resolution. With a focus on litigation, class actions and PAGA defense, Ms. Esmailian has defended companies in a range of labor and employment claims stemming from discrimination, retaliation and wrongful termination to wage and hour representative actions. Learn more about Tatyana.
Sohin Gautam, Associate
Sohin S. Gautam primarily handles wage and hour disputes, class actions, and PAGA claims – on behalf of employers. Mr. Gautam further defends and advises employers on various employment issues and practices, including evaluating policies, records, and employment and termination decisions, to ensure compliance with state and federal laws and regulations. Mr. Gautam has successfully obtained dismissals of cases through demurrers and dispositive motions. Prior to joining O’Hagan Meyer, Mr. Gautam defended public entities in labor and employment matters. Learn more about Sohin.
Jennifer Hsiao, Associate
Jennifer Hsiao represents businesses of all sizes in employment law litigation as well as providing legal advice and counsel according to each company’s needs. Ms. Hsiao also has international experience working in the in-house legal department of ADATA Technology Co., Ltd. in Taipei, Taiwan. Ms. Hsiao has a strong passion and background in social activism, and remains heavily involved in community affairs, including working with the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office to facilitate the growth of cultural and economic resources for Asian American professionals and associations in the US. Learn more about Jennifer.
Elizabeth Martin, Associate
Elizabeth (Liz) Martin defends employers in single and multi-party discrimination, harassment, retaliation, and wrongful termination actions, and in class action matters involving wage and hour disputes, unfair competition laws, and “PAGA.” Prior to joining O’Hagan Meyer, Ms. Martin worked for a boutique firm where she represented small business owners in complex employment and commercial litigation matters, and also provided counseling on employment compliance. While working towards her J.D. at Southwestern Law School, Ms. Martin worked for the Los Angeles District Attorney’s office. Learn more about Liz.
Krikor Moloyan, Associate
Krikor Moloyan’s practice is focused on employment litigation, wage and hour class actions and claims under the California “PAGA”, and general counseling for corporations, higher education institutions, and non-profit organizations. Additionally, he has been instrumental in creating higher education programs for his clients from formation to accreditation and management. Mr. Moloyan is a first generation Armenian-American who is passionate about civil rights and community activism. While in law school, Mr. Moloyan was a Judicial Extern to the Honorable Amy M. Pellman of the Los Angeles Superior Court. Learn more about Krikor.
Rafael Sanchez, Associate
Rafael Sanchez is a member of the firm’s Employment Law Practice Group, and he focuses on matters involving Fair Employment and Housing Acts claims and Wage and Hour. Mr. Sanchez’s experience defending civil matters has helped him build, develop and sharpen his analytical and strategic skills while evaluating all aspects of his cases from pre-litigation through discovery, law and motion, negotiations and all the way to trial preparation. He has conducted examinations under oath, taken and defended depositions of percipient witnesses, plaintiffs, company representatives and expert witnesses. Learn more about Rafael.
Tamar Tellado, Associate
Tamar Tellado specializes in defending employers in a variety of litigation matters, including discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wrongful termination, and more. Ms. Tellado also assists in providing general counsel for employers on best practices. Ms. Tellado earned her J.D. from the Villanova University School of Law, where she focused her education on oral advocacy by serving as a member of Villanova’s Moot Court Board. She also served as a judicial extern in the United States District Court for the Central District of California and in the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Learn more about Tamar.
Orange County
Kate Akamine, Partner
Kate Akamine is a partner in the Orange County office of O’Hagan Meyer whose practice focuses on all aspects of employment law. She represents and defends employers against claims of discrimination, harassment, retaliation, and wrongful termination in both state and federal court. She also regularly defends employers in wage and hour class actions and PAGA actions. Kate believes that ongoing communication with her clients is paramount in creating efficient and creative solutions to complex employment matters. In addition to litigation, Kate also provides counseling services to employers in connection with pre-litigation disputes and assists in the development and implementation of employment policies and procedures. Learn more about Kate.
Christopher Cho, Partner
Christopher Cho’s practice focuses on the defense of employers of all sizes against claims for discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wrongful termination, and wage and hour violations. Chris also has experience representing clients in general liability matters involving claims of personal injury and negligence. In addition to being a partner in the Orange County office, he is also a member of the Employment Litigation Practice. His Chris grew up locally in Irvine, and he attended the University of California, Irvine to earn his B.A. in English and his J.D. from the UCLA School of Law. Learn more about Christopher.
Natasha Covarrubias, Partner
Natasha Covarrubias is a Partner at O’Hagan Meyer and a member of the Labor and Employment Group. Ms. Covarrubias represents employers in a variety of employment disputes including discrimination, harassment, wrongful termination, and whistleblower retaliation claims. Ms. Covarrubias represents her clients in state and federal court, arbitration, and pre-litigation resolution. In addition to her employment practice, Ms. Covarrubias has experience defending personal injury, medical malpractice, and elder abuse claims. Learn more about Natasha.
Madonna Devling, Partner
Madonna Devling has extensive experience in civil litigation in state and federal courts and has represented a wide variety of clients including hotels, grocery stores, manufacturers, schools, hospitals, insurance companies and religious organizations. Her practice includes litigation, mediation and arbitration of employment related claims and lawsuits, as well as for personal injury claims including construction site and premises liability accidents. Handling construction defect cases, she defends general contractors and subcontractors against construction defect claims involving residential, commercial and industrial projects. Learn more about Madonna.
Christina Guerin, Partner
Tina Guerin’s employment practice focuses on the defense of private and public entity employers in discrimination, harassment, wrongful termination and related claims. Ms. Guerin represents employers before public agencies, in state and federal court, in arbitration, and in pre-litigation resolution.
Ms. Guerin is a certified Civil Rights Investigator through the Association of Title IX Administrators (ATIXA), and brings her breadth of experience and knowledge from years investigating discrimination, harassment, and related claims under Title VII and the FEHA to the nuanced investigations of Title IX and other educational institution-related claims. Learn more about Christina.
Jessica Hahn, Partner
As a Senior Partner in the Orange County OM office, Jessica Hahn’s practice is dedicated exclusively to representing and counseling employers in employment-related matters including litigation, appeals, risk management, policy preparation, discipline, and training. She routinely represents employers in State and Federal Courts in all aspects of employment-related litigation, and she has extensive experience taking and defending depositions, arguing before courts on pre-trial and trial law and motion matters, and drafting and arguing motions for summary judgment, and motions to compel arbitration. Ms. Hahn also represents employers before the California CRD (DFEH), DLSE, EDD, and the United States EEOC. Learn more about Jessica.
Christopher Harmon, Partner
Christopher Harmon has successfully represented clients in a variety of complex employment and business litigation matters in both federal and state court. He has represented employers in an expansive range of industries, and prides himself on his ability to offer his clients with practical and creative solutions to defend existing, or threatened, single-plaintiff and class action lawsuits. Mr. Harmon’s practice includes defending employers in a wide range of state and federal employment law disputes involving issues of wrongful discharge, discrimination, harassment, retaliation, breach of contract, privacy rights, trade secrets, unfair competition, contractor agreements, employee benefits and wage & hour claims. Learn more about Christopher.
Alaleh Khosrowpour, Partner
Alaleh Khosrowpour has practiced law for over 16 years, representing clients in a variety of employment matters including discrimination, wrongful termination, retaliation, and wage and hour disputes. She spent the majority of her past legal career practicing with an Am Law 100 law firm successfully representing large institutional clients in hundreds of legal matters at various stages of litigation. In addition to her employment practice, Ms. Khosrowpour has extensive experience handling personal injury defense including claims, premises liability, hospitality and transportation related claims. Ms. Khosrowpour has proven herself as a skilled aggressive, resourceful, and determined litigator. Learn more about Alaleh.
Alison Miceli, Partner
Alison Miceli uses client-focused advocacy coupled with exceptional legal knowledge and skill to represent and defend clients in matters of employment, wage and hour, and class and PAGA representative action litigation. Her practice includes helping businesses formulate sound preventative measures to avoid employment disputes prior to inception. When litigation is appropriate, she believes in an aggressive approach combined with the expertise necessary to bring about a successful outcome. Ms. Miceli has extensive experience defending employment cases before both state and federal courts and administrative agencies through all stages of litigation. Learn more about Alison.
William Richards, Partner
William Richards’ practice focuses primarily on defending employers in all stages of litigation regarding a variety of employment related claims. In addition to ample experience managing heavy litigation caseloads, Mr. Richards also provides counseling and transactional services for employers on an array of personnel matters, such as employment contracts, company policies and handbooks, arbitration agreements, HR management, and more. Mr. Richards also previously served as the Employment and Labor Law Compliance Officer for a San Diego employment/consumer protection class action law firm, where he was responsible for ensuring firm-wide compliance with all federal, state, and local employment/labor law regulations. Learn more about William.
Thalia Rofos, Partner
Thalia Rofos has obtained favorable defense outcomes at trial, mediation, through confidential settlements, and routine motion practice representing clients in a variety of employment matters and class actions. She has defended clients in numerous forums, including state and federal court and administrative agencies. In addition to her litigation work, Ms. Rofos provides counseling services to employers seeking to ensure legal compliance with employment policies and minimize their future risks of liability. She seeks to understand the nuances of each client’s business from the outset of every case so that case strategy is tailored to diligently defend the client, and is dedicated to securing the best possible results for her clients through strategic and aggressive advocacy. Learn more about Thalia.
Sarah Takasugi, Partner
Ms. Takasugi represents employers in all facets of employment law, including single-plaintiff discrimination, harassment, wrongful termination, retaliation, wage and hour, and governmental agency charges and investigations. In addition to employment-related litigation, Ms. Takasugi provides employment counseling and guidance on all aspects of the employer/employee relationship. Ms. Takasugi came from a large firm in Orange County where she worked directly with the Chair of the employment practices group, gaining valuable experience working on her own caseload of employment cases from beginning to end, successfully mediating single as well as multi-plaintiff claims. Learn more about Sarah.
Alexandra Adams, Associate
Licensed on both coasts in California, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, Alexandra Adams assists clients nationally in their employment-related and litigation needs. An experienced litigator who is quick on her feet, Ms. Adams uses her multifaceted litigation expertise to protect her clients’ interests and fight for the most favorable outcome. Her prior experience includes premises liability, professional liability, personal injury protection, coverage, and special investigations. She has successfully represented clients from inception of the claim through resolution, whether that be dismissal, settlement, or a trial verdict. Learn more about Alexandra.
Janna Akers, Associate
Janna Akers represents employers in the defense of a variety of employment disputes, including, but not limited to, claims of discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wrongful termination, wage and hour violations, and unfair business practices. Prior to joining O’Hagan Meyer, Ms. Akers worked for a civil litigation firm where she gained experience representing plaintiffs and defendants in civil actions that involved car accident, personal injury, and other civil practice areas. Learn more about Janna.
Andrew Cho, Associate
In addition to being an associate in the Orange County office, Andrew Cho is also a member of the Employment Litigation Practice. His practice focuses on the defense of employers of all sizes against claims of discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wrongful termination, and wage and hour violations. Andrew grew up locally in Irvine and earned his B.A. in Intercultural Studies at Biola University, during which he also studied abroad at Tokyo Christian University in Japan. Andrew obtained his J.D. from Chapman University Dale E. Fowler School of Law. Learn more about Andrew.
Erin Cole, Associate
Erin Cole is a member of the Labor & Employment Practice and is licensed on both the east and west coasts. Ms. Cole represents clients in a variety of employment lawsuits, government charges and pre-litigation claims for discrimination, wrongful termination, retaliation, harassment, and wage and hour disputes. Prior to O’Hagan Meyer, she received her B.A. from UCLA and her J.D from NYU Law School. Learn more about Erin.
Marilena K. Guadagnini, Associate
Marilena Guadagnini’s litigation practice focuses on representing employers against lawsuits and administrative charges brought by individual employees for claims of harassment, discrimination, retaliation, wrongful termination, breach of contract, and wage and hour violations. She also regularly defends employers in state and federal court against class and representative actions for claims of wage and hour violations under the California Labor Code and Private Attorneys General Act (“PAGA”). In addition to her litigation practice, Ms. Guadagnini advises employers on all aspects of the employer-employee relationship. Ms. Guadagnini also conducts customized trainings for managers and employees regarding employment law updates and other employment issues. Learn more about Marilena.
Emmy Hoskins, Associate
Emily Hoskins represents clients in a variety of employment lawsuits and pre-litigation claims for discrimination, wrongful termination, retaliation, harassment, and wage and hour disputes. Ms. Hoskins has also defended employers in wage and hour class actions and PAGA actions. Ms. Hoskins graduated first in her class at Chapman University’s Fowler School of Law, where she served as a Senior Articles Editor on the Chapman Law Review. Prior to joining O’Hagan Meyer, Ms. Hoskins practiced employment law at an Am Law 100 firm where she also served as an editor for the firm’s employment blog. Learn more about Emmy.
Justin Odell, Associate
Justin is a litigation associate whose practice focuses on all aspects of employment law. Justin regularly represents employers in all phases of litigation, including pre-litigation negotiations, dispositive motions and appeals. He also advises clients in multiple industries on a broad range of issues, employment practices and policies, and responding to administrative charges. He brings creativity and problem-solving skills to the issues presented to defend employers against the myriad of potential class and representative claims. Learn more about Justin Odell.
Deborah Song, Associate
Prior to joining O’Hagan Meyer, Deborah Song primarily represented federal employees for Federal Employment Discrimination cases in front of the EEOC and represented local union branches of the NALC and APWU in front of the NLRB. During law school, Ms. Song served as the president of the Korean American and Asian Pacific American Law Student Associations. In obtaining her certification as a court mediator during her last year of law school, Ms. Song successfully mediated several cases involving sexual harassment, discrimination, auto accidents, and landlord tenant disputes. Learn more about Deborah.
Kenny Tran, Associate
Kenny’s practice focuses on employment defense, including defending claims of discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wrongful termination, and wage and hour violations. He has prior experience representing injured workers on their workers’ compensation claims. He graduated from Chapman Fowler School of Law with a full-merit scholarship. During this time in law school, Kenny completed an emphasis in Sports and Entertainment Law, and was a student director for Chapman’s annual Entertainment and Sports Law Symposium. Learn more about Kenny.