Andrew H. Friedman, a name partner with the law firm of Helmer Friedman LLP, primarily represents employees in all aspects of employment law including not only individual discrimination, harassment and retaliation cases but also complex multi-party wage and hour class actions. In addition to occasionally representing employers and individual defendants, Mr. Friedman also conducts neutral fact-finding investigations into employment-related disputes. Mr. Friedman also represents clients in catastrophic personal injury, wrongful death, civil rights, and product liability cases.
Mr. Friedman received his J.D. degree from Cornell Law School and his B.A. degree in history and psychology, cum laude, from Vanderbilt University. At Cornell, Mr. Friedman was a member of the Board of Editors of the Cornell Law Review and a member of the Moot Court Board. Following law school, Mr. Friedman served as a judicial law clerk to the Honorable John T. Nixon, United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee. Subsequently, Mr. Friedman was trained as an employment attorney by two of the Nation’s most prestigious management-side employment law firms – Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker and Bryan Cave LLP.

Mr. Friedman has handled a wide range of employment-related litigation in state and federal courts. Indeed, Mr. Friedman recently won (with Tony Lewis of The Lewis Law Firm) a $4.1 Million jury verdict in a fraud and breach of employment contract lawsuit in the Los Angeles Superior Court and he also prevailed (along with his law partner, Gregory D. Helmer) in a three week sexual harassment jury trial in the Orange County Superior Court. He also settled a $2.4 Million wage and hour class action lawsuit in federal court (U.S. District Court for the Central District of California), a $1.575 Million class action discrimination lawsuit in the Orange County Superior Court and he recovered a $1.5 Million settlement in federal court (U.S. District Court for the Central District of California) in a wage and hour class action. Mr. Friedman has also had significant experience counseling employers and employees with work-related problems in an effort to resolve their disputes without the necessity of court intervention. In addition, Mr. Friedman has represented both employers and employees in matters pending with numerous governmental agencies, including the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing, and the California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement.

Mr. Friedman served as Counsel of Record in Lightfoot v. Cendant Mortgage Corp. et. al. (Case No. 10-56068) where he successfully convinced the U. S. Supreme Court to grant the petition for certiorari that he filed on behalf of his clients. In January 2017, the Supreme Court, in a unanimous decision authored by Justice Sotomayor, reversed the Ninth Circuit and ruled in favor of Mr. Friedman’s clients.

Mr. Friedman has received the highest possible Martindale-Hubble, indicating that he is ranked at the highest level of professional excellence with “very high to preeminent legal ability” and “very high” ethical standards as established by confidential opinions from members of the Bar.

The online legal referral service AVVO (www.avvo.com) rates Mr. Friedman a 10/10 (superb) as an employment/labor and class action attorney.

Mr. Friedman is a prolific author and editor of many employment-related publications including: Author, Litigating Employment Discrimination Cases, (James Publishing, 2005 – 2016); Co-Editor-In-Chief, California Employment Law Digest, (James Publishing, 2000); Co-Author, California Causes of Action, (James Publishing, 1998); Contributor, Litigating Sexual Harassment and Sex Discrimination Cases, (James Publishing, 1998).

Mr. Friedman has also written the following law review articles:

Andrew H. Friedman, California’s Anti-SLAPP Act Was Not Intended To Thwart FEHA Claims, Cal. Lab. & Emp. L. R. Vol. 31, No. 4 (June 2017)
Andrew H. Friedman, The Best and Worst Employment Cases of 2016, Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles (“CAALA”) Advocate Magazine (June 2017)
Andrew H. Friedman, Employment Law, California Litigation Review (2017)
Andrew H. Friedman, Ramit Mizrahi & Anthony J. Oncidi, Top Employment Cases of 2016, Cal. Lab. & Emp. L. R. Vol. 31, No. 1 (2017)
Andrew H. Friedman, The Best and Worst Employment Cases of 2015, Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles (“CAALA”) Advocate Magazine (June 2016).
Andrew H. Friedman, Employment Law, California Litigation Review (2015).
Andrew H. Friedman, The Best and Worst Employment Cases of 2015, Cal. Lab. & Emp. L. R. Vol. 30, No. 1 (2016).
Andrew H. Friedman & Courtney Abrams, The Best and Worst Employment Cases of 2014, Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles (“CAALA”) Advocate Magazine (June 2015).