DLA Piper announced today that Maria Rodriguez has joined the Labor and Employment practice as a partner in the Los Angeles office. Prior to joining DLA Piper, Rodriguez served as a partner in the Los Angeles office of Winston & Strawn.

A dedicated labor and employment lawyer, Rodriguez represents and counsels US-based employers, as well as foreign companies doing business in the US, in all aspects of state and federal laws, including wage and hour (both FLSA and state labor code laws), discrimination, wrongful termination and harassment, employee coaching and performance documentation, trade secrets, employee mobility and restrictive covenants, unfair business practices, executive and employee contracts, employment policies and all issues related to the employer-employee relationship. As part of her compliance work designed to help employers avoid litigation, Rodriguez also trains executives and managers on behalf of employers about employment laws and effective management, in English and Spanish.

“Maria’s established labor and employment practice complements DLA Piper’s strategic objective to expand the capabilities of the firm’s labor platform in California,” said Michael Meyer, managing partner of DLA Piper’s Los Angeles office. “With Maria’s addition, we are able to further strengthen our employment litigation offering for the numerous clients who seek our guidance on these complex issues.”

Rodriguez’s litigation practice has involved a great deal of wage-hour class action defense over the past 14 years, including defeating class certification on many occasions. She also defends single and multiple plaintiff employment cases. Rodriguez has successfully argued before the California Court of Appeals in a class action in which the denial of class certification was upheld. Her clients include large corporations in industries including: media, technology, food and restaurant, transportation, construction, fuel and clean energy, banking and finance, advertising, distribution and logistics, real estate and property management, and sports and entertainment.

“As a successful and dedicated litigator, Maria will be an important asset to our national labor and employment practice.  Her extensive experience serving clients on a broad range of employment matters further deepens our offering amid a very litigious climate facing today’s employers,” said Michael Sheehan, US chair of DLA Piper’s Labor and Employment practice.

Rodriguez currently sits on the executive committee of the Los Angeles County Bar’s Labor and Employment Law section, as well as the benefits committee for the Women’s Sports Foundation. In addition, she serves on the Board of Directors of CAN-DO, a nonprofit which provides aid to natural disaster victims. She is a former president of the Cuban-American Bar Association. Rodriguez earned a J.D. from Loyola Law School and a B.A. in political science with an emphasis in business from the University of California at Los Angeles.

www.dlapiper.com