Polsinelli, an Am Law 100 firm, announced today the addition of Carmen J. Cole to its Los Angeles office, bolstering its national Labor and Employment practice in California. She is one of five principals to join the firm’s Los Angeles office in the past two months, adding to the firm’s approximately 800 attorneys across 20 offices coast to coast.

“Employers, whether large or small, face an ever-growing web of workplace regulations and potential entanglements with employees,” said Polsinelli’s Labor and Employment Practice Chair Nancy E. Rafuse. “California in particular presents employers with distinct challenges that require attorneys to have substantial depth of understanding and experience. We are very excited to have Carmen join the firm and the practice, and to work on our team and assist our clients in California with their employment issues.”

Polsinelli’s Labor and Employment practice has more than 60 full-time attorneys who navigate the complexity and sensitivity of employee relations and workplace issues, and are able to guide clients through the full spectrum of employment related legal matters.

Cole has successfully defended employers in litigation under state and federal anti-harassment and anti-discrimination statutes, as well as defended against common law claims for wrongful termination, breach of contract, defamation, invasion of privacy, and other employment-related torts.

Cole is an active member of the California Minority Counsel Program, Black Women Lawyers of Los Angeles, Los Angeles County Bar Association and the Defense Research Institute. She earned her J.D. from Pepperdine University School of Law and her B.A. from California State University-Fullerton.

“Polsinelli’s commitment to strategically grow its California offices and expand its national Labor and Employment practice, is one of the reasons attorneys with Carmen’s experience and accomplishments are choosing to join our team,” said Charles O. Thompson, Vice Chair of the Labor and Employment practice and managing partner of the firm’s San Francisco office. “Carmen is a terrific addition to our already strong Labor and Employment practice in California and to our ability to counsel clients on the complex issues they are facing throughout California and across the United States.”

As exclusively management counsel, Polsinelli represents Fortune 500 corporations and privately-owned entrepreneurial firms, with recent national rankings and recognitions that include, Chambers USA and recognition as a Tier 1 Best Law Firm in Labor & Employment by U.S. News and World Report/Best Lawyers in 2016. Earlier this year, the firm was rated as a “Standout” in both complex and everyday employment litigation in the 2017 BTI Litigation Outlook, based on a survey of more than 300 general counsel at companies of more than $1 billion in revenue.

www.polsinelli.com