Esra A. Hudson

Profile

Esra Hudson is the leader of Manatt’s employment and labor practice.

Esra focuses her practice on all aspects of employment law and related litigation. Her practice is client centered and cutting edge. She has saved clients hundreds of millions of dollars in high-stakes cases by developing creative and effective litigation strategies. Esra has particular experience handling Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) representative actions and class action defense. She also represents companies in state and federal courts, defending claims of discrimination, harassment, whistleblowing, wrongful discharge and related tort claims, breach of contract, trade secrets, unfair competition, and all other employment-related matters. Esra has represented employers in proceedings before state and federal agencies, including the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing, the California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement and the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. She has also successfully defended broad-ranging classification audits by the California Employment Development Department. Esra’s litigation practice also includes extensive experience in alternative dispute resolution, including managing and trying dozens of simultaneous arbitration matters following the enforcement of class action waivers in arbitration agreements.

In addition to her litigation practice, Esra is a trusted advisor to her clients on a variety of employment, personnel management and operational issues. She has expertise in crisis management and media relations, including in sensitive matters involving executives and high-profile individuals. Esra also provides a wide array of management training on a variety of employment-related subjects, including sexual harassment and discrimination prevention. She develops employment manuals and policies, as well as executive employment and severance agreements.

Esra provides services for companies in a diverse group of industries, including entertainment, financial services, healthcare, transportation, insurance, manufacturing, the service industry and nonprofits.

Experience

Secured a unanimous jury verdict on behalf of the Los Angeles Clippers basketball team in a wrongful termination, harassment and discrimination lawsuit brought against the team and its top executives by former General Manager Elgin Baylor.

Defeated the certification of a 1,000-employee class action suit in an off-the-clock overtime and meal and rest break case for a specialty finance provider.

Represented one of the largest health plans in California as plaintiff in a highly publicized action against a former senior-level employee who misappropriated confidential and privileged information.

Defended a major entertainment company against an employee who alleged age and sexual orientation discrimination; achieved full voluntary dismissal of the case with prejudice following the plaintiff’s deposition.

Developed a creative defense strategy for a national insurance company in a statewide class misclassification wage-and-hour action on behalf of thousands of insurance agents, resulting in full dismissal and no liability.

Secured an important victory that reduced liability by millions of dollars for a specialty finance provider in a PAGA representative action.

Obtained summary judgment for a major entertainment company in a wrongful termination case brought by an alleged whistleblower. The judgment was later upheld on appeal.

Defeated various crucial discovery challenges and ultimately secured dismissal on a successful motion for summary judgment for a large medical facility in a whistleblower wrongful termination action.

Represented a major entertainment company in two mediations of claims brought by former employees. The final settlements were less than the severance offers provided to the employees at the time of their separation.

Successfully resolved a complex trade secret misappropriation case involving allegations of destruction of evidence, obtaining a substantial settlement for the client.

Represented a mortgage lender in a trial of a pregnancy discrimination/wrongful termination case and obtained a full defense verdict on seven claims.

During jury trial, obtained full dismissal of plaintiff’s national origin discrimination/wrongful termination case in a motion for judgment of nonsuit.

In federal court, obtained full dismissal of sexual harassment/wrongful termination claims against a national bank on the first day of trial as a terminating sanction for plaintiff’s discovery misconduct.

In private arbitration, obtained full dismissal of assault/battery and wrongful termination claims against a textile machinery company as a terminating sanction for discovery abuses and evidence tampering by plaintiff and his counsel.

Settled a multimillion-dollar class action for a large healthcare provider for pennies on the dollar.

Secured plaintiff’s voluntary dismissal of all claims against the client for a waiver of costs only in a sexual harassment/wrongful termination case.

Obtained dismissal of numerous contract, fraud, harassment, discrimination, wrongful termination and other employment claims on summary judgment.

Represented the petitioner in Hairston v. Office of Personnel Management, 318 F.3d 1127 (Fed. Cir. 2003), a pro bono case that created new law in the area of federal employee benefits.

Speaking Engagements

Speaker, "Work and Weed: What Lawyers Need to Know About Cannabis in the Workplace," California Lawyers Association Webinar, September 3, 2020.

Speaker, "Return to Workplace Webinar Series: Legal and Regulatory Considerations,” ABD Insurance and Financial Services, June 11, 2020.

Speaker, "2012 Entertainment Labor Law Symposium," Los Angeles County Bar Association, February 9, 2012.

Memberships

Admitted to practice in California; admitted to practice before the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada, and the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals

Board of Directors, California Women’s Law Center

Board of Trustees, Laurence School, 2008–2014

Member, American Bar Association

Member, Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles

Provides pro bono adoption services for Public Counsel and Alliance for Children’s Rights

Publications

Co-author, “Families First Coronavirus Response Act: Two New Forms of Job-Protected Paid Leave To Be Enacted,” Westlaw Journal Employment, March 24, 2020.

Co-author, “Coronavirus: Top 10 issues for employers,” Daily Journal, March 13, 2020.

Co-author, "Avoiding Social Networking Land Mines for Employers," Inside Counsel, November 4, 2010.

03.24.21

Hudson Quoted in Daily Journal Discussing Technology Trends in the ...

Esra Hudson is quoted in Daily Journal about the long-term adoption of certain technologies that emerged among employers amid the pandemic.
12.07.20

Hudson, Kelly and Massoumi Recognized as Leading Employment Lawyers ...

Manatt employment and labor practice leader Esra Hudson and partners Deborah Kelly and Mandana Massoumi were named in The 2020 Lawdragon 500 ...
07.01.20

Manatt Files Amicus Brief on Behalf of California Women’s Law Center ...

On June 30, 2020, a Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP team, which includes partners Esra Hudson and Joanna McCallum as well as associates ...
06.18.20

Supreme Court Upholds the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals ...

Manatt is pleased with the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in 'Department of Homeland Security v. Regents of the University of California'

03.13.20

Coronavirus: Top 10 issues for employers

Manatt employment and labor practice leader Esra Hudson and associate Michael Olsen authored an article for Daily Journal offering guidance for ...

04.23.18

California Employers Not Required to ‘Police’ Meal Breaks

Why it matters As employers are not required to “police” whether or not workers take meal breaks, a California appellate panel ...

04.23.18

SEC Awards Whistleblower Record Amount, Uses ‘Safe Harbor’

Why it matters Continuing its recent streak of notable whistleblower awards, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced more than ...

03.22.18

NLRB’s Prior Joint Employer Standard Back in Effect

Why it matters In a blow to employers, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) vacated its decision in Hy-Brand Industrial Contractors, ...

05.21.21

Ninth Circuit Sends Statutory Employment Claims to Arbitration

In a new decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit announced a standard for when an employee has waived her rights to judicial ...
05.21.21

SEC Awards $50M to Joint Whistleblowers

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced an award of more than $50 million to a pair of joint whistleblowers, adding to the highest ...
05.21.21

COVID-Related Legislation in California

In California legislative updates, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed SB 93 into law, requiring that hospitality industry employers offer workers laid off due ...
05.21.21

Federal Law Doesn’t Preempt AB 5, Ninth Circuit Rules

In the latest chapter of the independent contractor or employee saga in California, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in California ...

10.07.20

To Test or Not to Test?

To Test or Not to Test—and What Do We Do With the Results? That Is the Question—and You Can Learn the Answer at a New Manatt Webinar. ...

05.20.20

Back-to-Work Series, Part Two: Mitigating Risk as Your Employees ...

As states evaluate options for reopening their economies and lifting some of the current stay-at-home restrictions, companies need to start ...

10.30.19

The ABCs of AB 5: Can Anyone Be an Independent Contractor in ...

In September, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law sweeping legislation that changes the landscape for workers in the state by ...

05.29.19

California Women’s Law Center’s 2019 Pursuit of Justice Awards

Manatt is pleased to sponsor the California Women’s Law Center’s 30th Year Anniversary and 2019 Pursuit of Justice Awards. The awards ...

Esra A. Hudson

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