Alexandra Stathopoulos

Partner

San Francisco

Los Angeles

Alex Stathopoulos defends employers in complex wage and hour class actions and high-stakes single plaintiff cases, and provides creative and practical counseling on a wide range of employment issues including new and developing areas of the law.

Alex is based out of Orrick's San Francisco and Los Angeles offices and represents clients across California in their most critical employment law disputes. Legal 500 has recognized Alex as a "stand-out" attorney "who communicates quickly, confidently, and efficiently" and noted that she is "prepared, firm, and patient in depositions, with opposing counsel and with witnesses, and thinks very well on her feet." A thought leader in the employment law space, Alex is active on the Executive Committee for the California Lawyers Association (CLA) Labor and Employment Section and is an Editor-in-Chief of the CLA Labor & Employment Law Review. Alex also serves on the Executive Committee for the Bar Association of San Francisco (BASF) Labor and Employment Law Section.

Alex's north star is understanding a client's business objectives first, whether in litigation or counseling matters. Alex defends employers in class, collective, and representative actions alleging wage and hour violations, discrimination, and other claims under federal and state laws, including Private Attorney General Act (PAGA) claims. She also routinely defends employers in high-stakes single plaintiff cases involving contract disputes, leaves and accommodations, and allegations of discrimination, harassment, retaliation, whistleblowing, wrongful termination, and trade secrets misappropriation. In her counseling practice, Alex provides bespoke counseling advice to management, designs workplace policies and procedures, and offers creative and practical solutions to address a wide range of employment issues including new and developing areas of the law.

Orrick’s Employment Law and Litigation group was recently named Labor & Employment Department of the Year in California for the fourth consecutive year by The Recorder, the premier source for legal news, in recognition of their significant wins on behalf of leading multinational companies on today’s most complex and challenging employment law matters.

  • Prior to law school, Alex was a communication consultant to Fortune 500 companies, providing written deliverables and analysis on topics that included employee health plans, compensation, and retirement benefits.

  • Alex has significant experience litigating a broad range of employment issues. Her recent experience includes the following:

    Class, Collective, and Representative Actions

    • Filing two successful motions to compel arbitration of a plaintiff's wage and hour claims and individual Private Attorney General Act (PAGA) claim, obtaining dismissal of class claims and a stay of the non-individual / representative PAGA claim.
    • Obtaining an order granting her client's motion to dismiss, including claims under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and Investigative Consumer Reporting Agency Act (ICRAA).
    • Obtaining voluntary dismissal of an FLSA collective action following minimal discovery.
    • Representing a national retailer in four coordinated state class actions and a related federal collective action alleging minimum wage, overtime, regular rate, off-the-clock work, unreimbursed business expenses, pay cards, wage statements, and PAGA claims.
    • Representing a leading technology company in a putative hybrid state class action / federal collective action alleging off-the-clock claims.
    • Representing a national bank in putative statewide class action alleging misclassification of information technology employees.

    Administrative Charges

    • Obtaining dismissal of EEOC charge alleging age discrimination and wrongful termination.
    • Convincing Labor Commissioner to dismiss wage claim filed with the DLSE.

    Single Plaintiff Discrimination/Wrongful Termination

    • Obtaining summary judgment of all claims by a former C-suite executive against a cryptocurrency company, including claims for breach of contract, promissory estoppel, and breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing.
    • Obtaining summary adjudication of seven out of eight claims on behalf of a healthcare company in a single plaintiff arbitration that involved claims of wrongful termination, whistleblower retaliation, race discrimination, breach of contract, defamation, and related claims.
    • Achieving summary judgment on behalf of an energy company in a single plaintiff action alleging a host of claims including gender and disability discrimination, failure to accommodate, harassment, and retaliation.
    • Demurrer sustained without leave to amend in single plaintiff wrongful termination action against retailer.

    In addition, Alex has helped employers obtain resolution through negotiation and mediation. She has a demonstrated commitment to pro bono work, including work to secure relief for asylum-seekers and providing counseling on employment issues to non-profits.