Karl Gerber
Attorney Profile
Karl Gerber has fought, in Superior and Federal Court, close to 1,100 cases filed on behalf of employees who had problems at work. Mr. Gerber’s clients include employees from all types of industries, at all levels, ranging from workers earning less than minimum wage to employees earning more than $1,000,000.00 a year.
Karl Gerber has been nominated for 2010 as a Southern California Super Lawyer which is a designation based upon other lawyers voting and then verification by Super Lawyer. Less than 5% of the attorneys nationwide achieve this status of receiving enough votes from other lawyers and judges to be designated a Super Lawyer.
Mr. Gerber handles all types of labor disputes including, but not limited to, discrimination cases (including pregnancy, medical issues, disability, etc.), wrongful termination, sexual harassment, lawsuits regarding unpaid wages, and contracts. In the last few years Mr. Gerber has received particular recognition amongst the legal profession as being regarded as an expert in the field of sexual harassment and the recovery of unpaid wages on behalf of groups of employees under Labor Code Section 2699. Recently, the Los Angeles Daily Journal, Southern California’s daily newspaper for lawyers, quoted Mr. Gerber as being “an expert in sexual harassment.” Mr. Gerber has also been on the cutting edge of Labor Code Section 2699 writing a published article on the subject, speaking at a convention for Labor lawyers on Labor Code Section 2699, and receiving continuing education credit for providing a continuing education lecture to labor lawyers on the topic of Labor Code Section 2699.
Mr. Gerber’s articles on employment and labor law have been published in a wide variety of places from legal periodicals to a newspaper specifically dealing with issues relating to pregnancy. Recently, a national journal quickly picked up Mr. Gerber’s article on mediation.
Mr. Gerber regularly supervises, mentors, and works jointly with his associate attorneys. Mr. Gerber also handles some of the firm’s largest cases, without any help. Besides litigating cases through adjudication, Mr. Gerber practices appellate law with a high rate of success.
Mr. Gerber is considered so good at what he does, he was asked by corporate counsel in charge of litigation Mr. Gerber brought on behalf of a client, to handle the attorney’s own labor case. He has also been asked by executives he has deposed in an adversarial fashion to represent them on their labor disputes. This year, a supermarket chain Mr. Gerber went up against asked him to provide sexual harassment training for their management following the conclusion of the case.
In recent years, Mr. Gerber’s clients have included, amongst other professionals, attorneys, chief financial officers, high technology sales directors earning seven figure salaries, operations managers, high end sales people, counselors, teachers, and insurance adjusters. Mr. Gerber also frequently represents employees working in food service, gas stations cashiers, mechanics, drivers, dispatchers, clerical departments, construction, warehouses, medical offices, bank workers, and aerospace engineers.
Mr. Gerber has also developed a focus in his practice aimed at representing Hispanic women who have been sexually harassed. In numerous cases he has obtained recoveries for these often low wage workers who do not speak English, in the mid $200,000.00 range. Since high school, Mr. Gerber has been trying to learn as much Spanish as possible. Besides taking classes, Mr. Gerber has traveled to Mexico for vacation, and kept his boat in Ensenada for several months which allowed him to visit most weekends during that period of time. Although he is able to read and understand most Spanish, Mr. Gerber prefers to handle cases on behalf of monolingual clients with a bi-lingual associate attorney and/or one of the native Spanish speakers employed by the Employment Lawyer’s Group.
Although Mr. Gerber’s cases often involve large recoveries, his criteria for taking a case is not how much it may be worth. Mr. Gerber takes cases because it is the right thing to do because of legal or ethical principles.
KARL GERBER, born Westwood, California, October 25, 1969; admitted to bar, 1993, California and U.S. District Court, Central District of California; 1994, U.S. District Court, Eastern and Northern Districts of California; 1995, U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Education: California State University, Northridge (B.A. 1990); Southwestern University School of Law (J.D. 1993).
EMPLOYMENT: Principal, Employment Lawyer's Group (2008-Present) 4 Attorneys in California, Nationwide, Pro Hac Basis & Plaintiff Employment Law Expert Witness Services With 85 Law Firms; Founder & Managing Partner, Danz & Gerber, Statewide Leader in Employee Lawsuits, Multiple Office Operation, 6-12+ Attorneys Throughout California, Appellate, Law & Motion, Trial Work, Brief Editor, Handled Over 1,000 Superior Court and Federal District Court Cases (1994-2006); Law Offices of Karl Gerber (1993-1994).
FICTION WRITING: Novels: Angelenos Ain't Lizards (2006); Does This Make My Butt Look Big? (2007); Short Stories: Hallway (1989); Eggie (1990); Odd Client (1994); Dullard (1995); Red Pants and Allergy Pills (1990, 2000).
LEGAL PUBLICATIONS: "Self Critical Analysis Documents & After Acquired Evidence" Consumer Attorneys of California, 1997; "Self Critical Analysis Documents are Discoverable," Los Angeles Daily Journal, December 12, 1997; "Permanent Responsibility," Los Angeles Daily Journal, June 16, 1999; "Working Moms Have Legal Rights," Wetset Gazette, Fall 2000; "Federal and State Discrimination Law are Diverging," Los Angeles Daily Journal, July 7, 2003; "The Late 2003 Amendment to Labor Code Sections 1102.5 and 1106 are Salutary," Matthew Bender California Labor and Employment Bulletin, August 2004; "Labor Code Sections 2699 & 2699.3 Traps for the Weary & Burden to All," San Fernando Valley Bar Notes, February 2005.
MEMBER: State Bar of California (Member, Labor Section); National Employment Lawyer's Association; American Association of Justice. Central, Southern, Eastern, Northern Districts of California; 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. Membership Pending in District of Columbia, Massachusetts, Michigan, Texas.
AWARDS & RANKINGS: 2010 Superlawyer (only 5% of the bar is so voted); Dean's List During College 5 out of 8 Semesters; Unfair Competition Book Award 1992.
PRACTICE AREAS: Labor and Employment Law; Wrongful Termination; Employment Discrimination; Sexual Harassment; Breach of Contract; Employment Fraud; Wage Disputes.
PUBLISHED CASES: Pinedo v. Premium Tobacco, 85 Cal.App.4th 774, 102 Cal.Rptr.2d 435 (2000); Boonyarit v. Payless Shoesource, Inc.,145 Cal.App.4th 1188 (2006); Young v. Exon, 167 Cal.App.4th 1467 (2008).
SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS: 36th Annual Consumer Attorneys of California Convention (MCLE Provider), November 16, 1997; Leftjaw, Labor Code Section 2699 (MCLE Provider), Fall of 2005.