Philip A. Toomey

Philip A. Toomey serves as the trusted outside general counsel for international, privately held, and small to mid-market companies in the aerospace, transportation, manufacturing, food production, office, and retail services industries, among others. Phil serves as Chair of the Labor & Employment Practice Group.

Phil has more than 37 years of successful business and courtroom experience in helping business owners and organizations sustain and build their enterprises. Clients rely on his rare combination of business experience and legal expertise to meet their needs. Phil regularly advises clients on issues involving commercial & civil litigation, employment law, insurance and risk management, ethics and business compliance, real estate, intellectual property, internal/external investigations, strategic transactions, corporate structure issues, and other business law matters. Phil has been a Martindale-Hubbell® AV-Rated Attorney for the past 25 years.

Phil is in demand as a frequent panelist, moderator, and expert speaker at industry events and seminars, and has authored professional articles offering business and legal advice in numerous publications including Accounting Today, PEO Insider, Progressive Grocer, Nation’s Restaurant News, and The Deal Magazine.

Phil is a well-respected litigator in employment and business law matters, and has a successful track record of litigating claims for both public and private employers involving:

• Affirmative Action and OFCCP compliance

• Arbitration

• Collective bargaining agreements/grievance administration

• Defense of class action wage and hour claims

• Disability accommodation & ADA compliance

• Disciplinary action and termination

• Discrimination claims involving disability, race, age and ethnicity

• Diversion of corporate opportunities

• Drugs/alcohol in the workplace

• Employment agreements, hiring and contracts

• Employee benefits consulting

• Employee handbooks/policies & procedures

• Family/medical leaves of absence

• Misuse of confidential information

• Payment practices

• Performance appraisals

• Planning and defending reduction in force initiatives, corporate campaigns and union organization activity

• Pre-employment testing and background checks

• Public policy/whistleblower claims

• Restrictive covenants and confidentiality agreements

• Severance agreements, waivers and releases

• Sexual harassment

• Strikes, picketing & boycott advice

• Theft

• Trade secret/unfair competition

• Unemployment compensation claims

• Unfair labor practice complaints

• Unionized employee arbitrations

• Use of temporary/leased/contract employees and independent contractors

• Violation of civil rights• Workplace investigations

• Workplace violence/safety

• Workplace privacy

• Wrongful termination/employment at-will

• Wrongful inducement

Phil regularly advocates on behalf of public and private employers before federal and state agencies, including the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the National Labor Relations Board, the U.S. Department of Labor, the Public Employee Retirement Board, the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing, and the California Employment Development Department.

Phil is also a Los Angeles Superior Court trained mediator. In addition, he has investigated and resolved numerous sensitive in-house matters involving corporate ethics, senior level management, and key employees. Phil has successfully closed several senior level separations and advised management and boards on successor employer liability, Sarbanes-Oxley, and fiduciary obligations.

On the corporate side, Phil has set up, dissolved, kept compliant, merged, and acquired hundreds of privately held businesses. He has negotiated and documented exit strategies, including leveraged management buy-outs. Phil has also successfully negotiated with a host of Fortune 1000 companies.

From the perspective of risk management, Phil has reviewed hundreds of insurance policies and negotiated coverage disputes.

Phil regularly handles Employment Practices Liability Insurance (EPLI) covered claims as pre-approved counsel. He has also managed outside or assigned attorneys, driving discussions of risk, strategy, planning, cost, and impact.