Samuel J. Stone
Associate
Overview
Samuel J. Stone is a trial attorney in Holland & Knight's Los Angeles office. Mr. Stone focuses his practice on high-stakes complex litigation and investigations, offering creative strategy to achieve goals in and out of litigation.
Mr. Stone is a trusted advisor to some of the largest, most successful companies in the world, including those in the financial services and banking, healthcare, advanced technology, defense and government, manufacturing and construction, transportation, and retail and hospitality industries. He has represented employers and management of large and small companies at all stages of litigation and appeal, whether it is securing favorable pre-complaint resolutions, first-chairing trials, administrative hearings and appeals or successfully defending favorable results on appeal.
Mr. Stone is frequently called upon to handle high-profile wage and hour class, representative, and administrative actions; California Civil Rights Department (CRD), Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), government investigations and civil litigation involving claims of systemic harassment, discrimination and retaliation; and sensitive whistleblower and retaliation claims. He helps clients proactively manage compliance through bespoke advice and counsel focusing on and recognizing clients' practical realities.
Mr. Stone's practice also includes advising on labor and employment matters for national and international merger and acquisition (M&A) deals, as he represents management before the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), in collective bargaining and negotiating proceedings and in labor-management arbitration.
Representative Experience
- Represented one of the 10 largest companies in the world and a leader in electric vehicle (EV) transportation technology in extensive systemic race discrimination, harassment and retaliation claims brought by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), California Civil Rights Department (CRD) and private plaintiffs
- Successfully negotiated favorable settlements of sexual harassment, sexual assault and sexual battery claims against various ultra-high-net worth individuals
- Defended numerous wrongful termination, harassment, retaliation and discrimination claims brought against a multinational security contractor, including settling a multimillion-dollar exposure case for a fraction of the value
- Served as counsel in a decade-long multistate wage and hour class and collective action against a major financial services company for off-the-clock overtime pay brought by mortgage loan officers; defeated Rule 23 class certification of more than 1,200 employees, successfully decertified Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) collective action, obtained summary judgment in employer's favor on issue of first impression regarding calculating overtime wages
- Served as counsel for major supplier to petrochemical producers; secured a class action settlement on terms favorable to employer for more than 1,100 employees in a case involving alleged off-the-clock work, security checks and donning/doffing claims
- Served as counsel for an international luxury brand and family in multiple class, Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) and representative actions; successfully secured settlement of various actions for client, including PAGA and class actions, for minimal compared to calculated liability
- Successfully defended and secured settlement for major international food producers and beverage manufacturers on claims involving alleged off-the-clock work due to COVID-19 checks and donning/doffing
- Represented a receiver in resolving and managing claims process and distribution for initial coin offering (ICO) fraud scheme, including working closely with U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) attorneys
- Managed a multinational client's response to California Department of Justice site inspections of immigration detention facility and subpoenas, including preparing staff for government interviews and facilitating on-the-ground response to government officials
- Represented employees as pool counsel for internal investigations into banking fraud allegations and advised in follow-on federal grand jury matters
- Advised a market leader in a highly regulated industry on compliance in connection with criminal indictments and investigations
- Represented an industry market leader in bicoastal non-compete and non-solicitation litigation involving allegations of misappropriation of trade secrets
- Represented a major medical devices supplier in misappropriation of trade secrets and breach of fiduciary duty case alleging theft of company "crown jewels"
- Advised on complex multijurisdictional issues in furtherance of successfully obtaining a nationwide injunction barring dissemination of a major insurer's confidential information and trade secrets
- Obtained successive temporary restraining orders barring a client's competitor from punitively enforcing an unlawful noncompetition agreement and compelling arbitration against the client's employee
- Secured an injunction preventing an unlawful work stoppage at two of the largest construction sites in New York City
- and dismissal of unlawful secondary activity claim in connection with the same
- Assisted with high-profile negotiations involving a union threat to picket and handbill presidential debates
- Advised on furloughs and mass layoffs of an international airline's unionized workforce, as well as Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN Act) and Older Workers Benefit Protection Act (OWBPA) compliance for complete closure of colleges
- Advised on labor and employment and restrictive covenant diligence matters for a merger between two national banks; the merger resulted in adding approximately $1.3 billion in assets, $1.2 billion in loans and $1 billion in deposits to the surviving entity
- Provided in-depth substantive diligence review and advice on an acquisition deal worth more than $50 million between multinational private security companies, including liaising with and securing government consent required for transaction
Credentials
- Southwestern Law School, J.D., cum laude
- Tulane University, M.A.
- Tulane University, B.A.
- California
- All Superior Courts in California
- U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California
- U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California
- U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California
- American Bar Association, Labor and Employment Law Section
- American Bar Association, Criminal Justice Section
- Los Angeles County Bar Association, Labor and Employment Law Section
- Southwestern Law Review
- Holland & Knight Pro Bono All-Star, 2018, 2020
