Practice Expertise

  • Commercial Litigation
  • Class Action, Multidistrict Litigation
  • Business Litigation
  • Antitrust and Consumer Protection

Areas of Practice

  • Antitrust and Consumer Protection
  • Business Litigation
  • Class Action, Multidistrict Litigation
  • Commercial Litigation
  • California’s Proposition 65
  • Competition and Consumer Protection
  • Complex Employment Litigation
  • Labor and Employment
  • Litigation
  • Retail
  • Wage and Hour Class Actions
  • View More

Profile

Kirk’s practice focuses on class action defense and complex employment litigation.

Kirk has defended clients in dozens of class actions involving employee and consumer claims as well as statewide representative actions brought pursuant to the California Labor Code Private Attorneys General Act of 2004 (“PAGA”). In addition to his employment litigation practice, Kirk has represented clients in a wide range of complex commercial litigation matters, including in the retail and financial services sectors. Kirk also regularly counsels clients on how to minimize litigation risk with a focus on how to comply with California’s wage-and-hour laws. His pro bono experience includes representing a class of indigent foster care children seeking certain health care services.

Kirk is admitted to practice before all courts sitting in California, including the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Prior to law school, Kirk taught English at Crenshaw High School in South Central Los Angeles.

Relevant Experience

  • Defended more than 50 employee and consumer class actions in federal and state courts around the country
  • Defended dozens of statewide, representative “PAGA only” actions based on a variety of alleged underlying Labor Code violations
  • Successfully argued dispositive issues before the California Court of Appeal as well as federal and state trial courts
  • Counseled clients on wage-and-hour compliance and arbitration agreements, among other employment-related matters
  • Litigated a wide range of consumer and business disputes for clients in numerous industries, including accounting, construction, defense contracting, and retail
  • Represented banks, broker-dealers, insurance agencies, retailers, and affiliated entities in trial courts, appellate courts, and arbitral fora

Bar Admissions

  • California

Education
BA, Oberlin College, English, 1997

Areas of Practice

  • Antitrust and Consumer Protection
  • Business Litigation
  • Class Action, Multidistrict Litigation
  • Commercial Litigation
  • California’s Proposition 65
  • Competition and Consumer Protection
  • Complex Employment Litigation
  • Labor and Employment
  • Litigation
  • Retail
  • Wage and Hour Class Actions

Professional Career

Significant Accomplishments
  • Defended more than two dozen employment and consumer class actions in state and federal courts around the country.
  • Litigated a variety of business disputes, including breach of contract, unfair competition, tort, and antitrust claims for clients in numerous industries, including banking, construction, and retail.
  • Represented broker-dealers, registered representatives, and other entities before the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and in other arbitral fora.
  • Represented clients in various brand protection litigation, including trademark infringement and design patent cases.
  • Counseled clients on wage-and-hour compliance, among other employment-related matters.


Professional Associations
  • American Bar Association
  • Los Angeles County Bar Association


Articles

  • "Speculation, Overdeterrence, and Consumer Standing in Walker Process Litigation," The Southwestern Journal of Law and Trade in the Americas, Vol. 13, Issue 2
  • "One Hundred Years in the Making: The Cartwright Act in Broad Outline," Competition, The Journal of the Antitrust and Unfair Competition Law Section of the State Bar of California, Vol. 17, No. 2, 2008, cited by Clayworth v. Pfizer, Inc., 49 Cal. 4th 758, 772

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