Experienced labor and employment counsel for high-profile institutions and matters

Rich Paul is a leading labor and employment law strategist who works with national and multinational businesses and organizations to build strong and resilient workforces and management teams, manage business risks associated with employees and students, and address disputes effectively and strategically. An accomplished trial lawyer who has been a fixture among California management employment lawyers for over 40 years, Rich and his team focus on:

• Employment disputes
• Discrimination and systemic claims
• Higher education sector disputes

With judgment and vision honed by decades of experience in courtrooms and at the negotiating table, Rich is a highly skilled problem solver and team leader who assesses an institution’s employment challenges and crafts strategies to align with a client’s long-term business goals. He and his team take on the most serious employment disputes and, with care and hard work, deliver optimal results, leading one commentator to call him the “dean of Southern California employment lawyers.”

Rich was a co-founder of Paul, Plevin, Sullivan & Connaughton LLP, which combined with Quarles in 2023.

Bar Admissions

• California

Education

• Stanford Law School (J.D., 1973)

• Valparaiso University (B.A., with honors, 1970)
  • Distinguished Alumni Award (2005)

• "Employment Law and Technology"
• "Healthcare Human Resources Law"
• "Navigating the Complexities of Whistleblowing and Retaliation"
• "San Diego Employers Association"
• Employee Accommodation Requests for Religious Beliefs or Practices: The Supreme Court Rejects the De Minimis Undue Hardship Standard: A Substantial Cost to Employers?

Seminar

• 26th Annual Paul Plevin Quarles Employment Law Update
• Labor & Employment Law Advanced Practices Conference