Apalla Chopra

Partner

Apalla Chopra is a partner in O’Melveny’s Los Angeles office and a member of the Firm’s 12-person board of directors. She specializes in labor and employment law and has represented clients in cases regarding employee allegations of wage and hour violations, invasion of privacy, wrongful discharge, and discrimination based on age, race, sex, national origin, physical handicap, and related matters. Apalla also has represented clients in traditional labor matters under the National Labor Relations Act and Educational Employment Relations Act, and has experience negotiating collective bargaining agreements and executive employment contracts. She has appeared in state and federal courts in the civil and criminal context, as well as before various administrative agencies. Apalla’s industry experience is broad, as she has represented companies in the biotechnology, manufacturing, airline, health, retail, food, private and public school, and entertainment sectors.

Illustrative Professional Experience

• Represented the major Hollywood motion picture and television studios in a class action race discrimination lawsuit brought by an African American director; successfully moved to dismiss lawsuit
• Represented a major Hollywood studio and network in a class action age discrimination claim brought by television writers; successfully moved to dismiss lawsuit multiple times
• Represented a public school district in a high-profile multi-plaintiff federal lawsuit alleging peer-to-peer racial harassment
• Represented a Fortune 50 manufacturing company in multiple wrongful termination lawsuits; successfully moved for summary judgment on multiple causes of action
• Represented public hospital in collective bargaining negotiations with Service Employees International Union
• Representing four public and private companies in six wage and hour class actions which include a range of allegations from minimum wage, overtime, meal/rest and pay stub violations, to California's Unfair Competition Law and fraud
• Representing retail market chain in sexual harassment case
• Provides day-to-day labor and employment law advice to public and private employers
• Provides training in labor and employment law issues to public and private employers
• Acts as neutral investigator into allegations of whistleblowing and sexual harassment

Professional Activities

Judicial Extern, Honorable Charles Legge, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California

Admitted, California

Admitted to Practice, U.S. District Court, Central and Northern Districts of California

Member, American Bar Association, Labor and Employment Law Section; American Employment Law Counsel; California Bar Association; California Employment Law Counsel; Institute for Corporate Counsel, Board of Governors (President 2008, Secretary 2007)

Author, California Practice Guide: Employment Litigation (chapter author); articles dealing with workplace violence and arbitrating employment disputes

Honors, Selected as one of California's leading lawyers in the area of Management Labour & Employment by Who's Who Legal (2008).  Named a “Super Lawyer” in a survey conducted by Law & Politics Media Inc. and published in Los Angeles magazine (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008)