PUBLIC ENTITY LITIGATION
The firm and its attorneys are highly experienced in the area of public entity litigation, and represent over 75 cities, counties, universities, school districts, joint powers authorities, law enforcement agencies, state agencies, and other public entities, officials and employees throughout California in state and federal court and before state and federal administrative agencies and tribunals.
LABOR & EMPLOYMENT LITIGATION
Carolee Kilduff leads the firm's labor and employment practice. Ms. Kilduff is a seasoned trial attorney who has represented a number of high profile public officials in controversial and politically charged employment cases over the past twenty years, and lectures and provides training to public and private employees on labor and employment related rights, issues and duties. The firm and its attorneys represent public entities and private employers in almost every significant area of labor and employment litigation under federal and state law, including wrongful termination, sexual harassment, defamation, invasion of privacy, assault, battery, discrimination based on race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, marital status, sex, age and sexual orientation.
CIVIL RIGHTS & CONSTITUTIONAL LITIGATION
A significant percentage of the cases filed against the firm's public entity clients involve the litigation of complex constitutional issues. Bruce Kilday, one of the firm's founding partners, is one of only ten lawyers named to Superlawyer.com's 2005 and 2011 list of Northern California Super Lawyers in the field of constitutional law. Mr. Kilday, and other attorneys in the firm, regularly litigate cases concerning the First, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution that arise in a wide variety of factual settings involving law enforcement, employment, zoning, child welfare and government entitlements.
LAW ENFORCEMENT & POLICE PRACTICES LITIGATION
Bruce Kilday has been representing state and local law enforcement agencies, administrators and officers for more than twenty-five years. As a former Deputy District Attorney, he has a keen understanding of the issues that confront law enforcement on a daily basis, both in the street and at the administrative level. Mr. Kilday is regularly asked to speak at law enforcement conferences, and has been a P.O.S.T. instructor since 1995 in the "Officer Involved Shootings" course. The firm has represented several elected District Attorneys, the California Attorney General, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, and scores of peace officers and law enforcement agencies in cases involving riots and civil demonstrations, confidential informants, officer-involved shootings, unlawful searches and seizures, restraint devices, excessive force, deadly force, K-9 policy and practice, arrest procedures, Taser use, post-arrest interrogations, jail suicides, allegations of cruel and unusual punishment of inmates, unconstitutional pursuit and use of force policies, practices and procedures, discrimination and selective enforcement, conspiracy, warrant tipping, fraud, malicious prosecution, special relationships, failure to protect, failure to provide medical care and a host of other issues arising in a law enforcement context.
WRIT & APPELLATE PRACTICE
John Whitesides heads the firm's highly successful appellate practice. The firm has represented private and public entity clients on appeal before the United States Supreme Court, United States Courts of Appeal, California Supreme Court and California Courts of Appeal, and has an extensive practice prosecuting and defending writ proceedings involving its public entity clients.
INVESTIGATIONS
Charges of discrimination, harassment and other inappropriate conduct by public entities and employees require a prompt, thorough and unbiased investigation. The attorneys who conduct investigations for the firm are all very experienced attorneys who are committed to completing investigations in timely and economical manner.
MEDIATIONS & ARBITRATIONS
The firm's partners serve as mediators and arbitrators in a wide variety of civil cases and as settlement conference judges, early neutral evaluators and special masters for the Superior and United States District Courts.
GENERAL TORT & ACCIDENT LITIGATION
The firm has an extensive practice defending public entities in wrongful death, dangerous condition and general liability cases.
STATE PERSONNEL BOARD APPEALS
Carolee Kilduff and Peter Halloran have represented city and state entities in State Personnel Board proceedings involving wrongful termination, discrimination, and retaliation claims as well as related state and federal lawsuits.
