Bio

Adriana began her legal career as early as 1993, when she graduated from the University of San Diego Paralegal Program with Honors. After working as a paralegal for six years, she decided to take her career a step further by becoming an attorney; Adriana’s goal since enrolling in law school was to become an employment lawyer. While in law school, Adriana served as the Chief Articles Editor for the Loyola of Los Angeles International and Comparative Law Review (2001 – 2002), and received the highest grade in several of her classes, including for Legal Research and Writing. Adriana graduated from Loyola Law School of Los Angeles in 2002, and was offered a position as an associate attorney that same year at a prestigious Los Angeles firm specializing in labor and employment law. Adriana is passionate about the law, her practice, and her clients. What makes her stand out among her peers is the fact that she loves what she does, and she excels at it. Adriana recognizes that each of her clients trust her to navigate them through the circuitous terrain of California’s labor and employment law landscape, and she has risen to the challenge again and again. She has successfully represented Fortune 500 Companies as well as start-ups, and her clients span a wide array of industries, including financial institutions, school districts, law firms, agricultural concerns, contractors, large accounting firms, restaurants, and those in the automotive industry. Adriana is a seasoned litigator, and defends employers against claims brought against them for wrongful discharge, discrimination, sexual harassment, retaliation, and wage and hour disputes. She is also experienced in handling cases involving allegations of trade secret misappropriation and the enforcement of non-compete and non-solicitation provisions, which often involve conflicts-of-law issues where the subject contracts contain forum selection and choice of law provisions. Adriana has also successfully defended against Department of Fair Employment and Housing charges filed by clients’ employees alleging discrimination and/or harassment, as well as employee claims filed with the California Labor Commissioner alleging failure to pay employees all wages due. Adriana is also highly adept at providing advice and counseling to employers in the areas of hiring, firing, discipline, termination, and protected leaves, which involves the application of federal and state leave laws, including the American with Disabilities Act, the Family Medical Leave Act, the California Family Rights Act, and the California Fair Employment and Housing Act. She also assists employers with the preparation and implementation of employment policies and contracts, such as employee handbooks, arbitration agreements and severance and compensation agreements. Additionally, Adriana has significant experience conducting sexual harassment training, as well as workplace investigations on behalf of employers in connection with allegations of discrimination and harassment. Adriana has assisted school districts, law firms, accounting firms, and various other institutions in both the public and private sectors to fulfill their duties to conduct prompt and thorough investigations in response to workplace complaints.