Eric Amdursky

Partner

Eric Amdursky is a partner in O'Melveny's Silicon Valley office and a member of the Labor and Employment Practice. He represents numerous clients in federal and state court cases involving individual and classwide claims of employment discrimination, wrongful discharge, sexual harassment, and breach of fiduciary duty. Eric also has focused his practice on defending and prosecuting claims regarding non-competition agreements, "corporate raiding," unfair competition, and trade secret misappropriation. He has litigated several cases regarding employment issues arising from mergers and acquisitions, as well as disputes among venture capital partners. He regularly assists clients in handling termination and discipline decisions, drafting employment/severance agreements, and counseling clients on complying with wage and hour, disability, and family and medical leave laws.

Eric also regularly provides assistance on corporate transactions with respect to drafting non-competition agreements, employment agreements, severance agreements, change in control agreements, and providing advice on other labor and employment law issues arising out of mergers and acquisitions.

Eric has appeared in state and federal courts, as well as before the Pacific Stock Exchange, American Arbitration Association, National Labor Relations Board, and the Department of Labor Standards Enforcement. He also has been lead attorney for several mediations and successful arbitrations, and counsel in several court trials.

Eric has worked for employers in a variety of industries, including airline, aerospace, education, entertainment, finance, investment banking, manufacturing, oil, software consulting, technology, telecommunications, toys, and venture capital, among others.

Illustrative Professional Experience

• Represented Broadcom Corporation in obtaining a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction against several current and former employees and their new employer for misappropriating trade secrets and breaching a non-competition agreement.  The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal subsequently affirmed the order granting the preliminary injunction finding that an asset freeze against the competitor and its chief executive officer was appropriate and that the competitor’s chief executive officer was properly enjoined from competing with Broadcom pending the trial.
• Represented the Screen Actors Guild in a series of wrongful termination/discrimination cases over the past several years.  In one case, the Screen Actors Guild obtained summary judgment in both state and federal court, and was awarded significant attorneys’ fees and costs.  In another case, the Screen Actors Guild was awarded summary judgment and costs. 
  
• Represented Robertson Stephens in a pair of gender discrimination cases brought by a managing director and a principal of the firm who alleged they were terminated from the partnership and/or denied promotion to partnership on the basis of their gender.
  
• Represented an affiliate of Empire Corporation in an arbitration against a former executive for alleged failure to pay significant bonuses.  Eric obtained a defense verdict and an award of substantial attorneys’ fees, which was subsequently affirmed by both the trial court and the Court of Appeal before the California Supreme Court denied plaintiff’s petition for review.
• Represented Time Warner Entertainment Company and several affiliates in a class action brought by television writers over the age of 40 alleging industry-wide age discrimination against all of the major television networks, studios, and talent agencies.  Eric played a significant role in developing the strategy and drafting the briefs on threshold legal issues that resulted in the dismissal of numerous claims and theories.
• Represented GTE Corporation in a case t hat involved potential damages of $240 million brought by several employees against GTE and its seven-highest ranking officers for engaging in an allegedly fraudulent scheme to induce 5,000 employees to remain employed by GTE while it sold the subsidiary to General Dynamics.  Eric drafted successful motions to dismiss the individual executives based on a lack of personal jurisdiction and motions to dismiss GTE based on the failure to state a claim.  Eric also drafted the appellate brief that resulted in the Ninth Circuit affirming the dismissal with prejudice.
• Represented Verizon California, Inc. in a case involving claims for wrongful termination in violation of public policy and breach of implied contract.  Eric obtained an award of summary judgment and costs for Verizon in this action.
• Represented Inland Empire Corporation in an arbitration filed by a former Vice President who sought recovery for unpaid bonuses and significant damages for alleged fraud.  Eric was lead counsel in a two-day arbitration that resulted in a complete defense verdict.

Professional Activities

Admitted to Practice, U.S. District Court, Central, Southern, Northern, and Eastern Districts of California; U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
Honors, Named a “Rising Star” in a survey conducted by Law & Politics Media Inc. and published in Los Angeles magazine (2005, 2006)