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| Curt Surls, Employment Lawyer |
Contact
1500
Rosecrans Ave #500,
Manhattan
Beach, CA 90266.
Phone:
(310) 706-4055
Located
in Manhattan Beach, California, the Law Office of Curt Surls offers a complete
range of employment law services to those living throughout Southern
California, including all of Los Angeles, Riverside, Orange and San Bernardino
counties. With nearly 30 years of experience focusing almost exclusively on
this area of law, attorney Curt Surls and his law firm provide the personalized
assistance and effective support his clients need when facing any of the
following legal challenges:
Employment
discrimination
Sexual
harassment
Wrongful
termination
Workplace
investigations
Age
discrimination
Disability
discrimination
Other
labor and employment law issues
Trained
as a mediator, Mr. Surls uses his negotiation skills to resolve his clients'
conflicts without the need for court intervention. However, he will not
hesitate to take a matter to court to achieve the positive results his clients
expect and deserve. He has handled hundreds
of cases before state and federal courts. In all cases, Mr. Surls fights hard
to protect the rights and liberties of his clients, and his law firm has earned
a reputation as one of the region's top employment law practices.
News
Curt
Surls to speak at the Los Angeles County Bar Association (LACBA) September 2018
workshop “Workplace Investigations," see
https://customers.lacba.org/Interactive/Event_Display.aspx?EventKey=091218LAB&WebsiteKey=d1ad4c15-b0de-4a6e-9a08-bebf7733938b,
and note at
https://www.einpresswire.com/article/455792400/curt-surls-to-speak-at-the-los-angeles-county-bar-association-lacba-september-2018-workshop-workplace-investigations
Attorney
News at: https://attorneygazette.com/curt-surls%2C-esq#5282ef1c-68bd-44ca-a705-13c4c4d19d33
"Respected
Employment Specialist Curt Surls starts legal blog and commentary on complex
Employment Law
matters," https://www.einpresswire.com/shareable-preview/o9PXoYIye7Ljhu5U27NMTQ,
also available at
https://www.prlog.org/12714987-legal-blog-on-complex-employment-law-launched-by-respected-employment-specialist-curt-surls.html
Memberships,
Recognitions and Awards
Curt
Surls is a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation, a non-profit professional
association honoring lawyers whose careers have demonstrated dedication to the
welfare of the community and the traditions of the profession. Mr. Surls was
also named as a “Southern California Super Lawyer” in Los Angeles Magazine for
multiple years since 2007, and was listed among the “Best Lawyers in Southern
California” by American Law Media/US News and World Report for multiple years,
most recently in the 2018 Edition (Tier One).
Mr.
Surls was inducted into the prestigious College of Labor and Employment Lawyers
(see https://www.laborandemploymentcollege.org),
after a vigorous nomination and peer review process (see https://www.laborandemploymentcollege.org/leadership/fellows).
The College is a non-profit professional association honoring the leading
lawyers nationwide in the practice of Labor and Employment Law, with an
emphasis on high standards of professionalism and civility.
Mr.
Surls is a member of the National Employment Lawyers Association and the
California Employment Lawyers Association, both organizations that emphasize
the practice of employment law on behalf of plaintiffs. He is also a
member of the Association of Workplace Investigators (https://www.awi.org/). He is a regular speaker on employment law
panels for, among other organizations, California Employment Lawyers
Association, National Employment Lawyers Association, Los Angeles County Bar
Association, Continuing Education of the Bar, Beverly Hills Bar Association,
Orange County Bar Association, Consumer Attorneys of Los Angeles and the South
Bay Bar Association. He has also written many articles on employment law.
Also
of note is that Mr. Surls was a successful contestant in the television show
Jeopardy! (originally aired on February 3, 1989). See
https://www.thetvdb.com/series/jeopardy/episodes/4953116,
http://www.j-archive.com/showgame.php?game_id=4296, see also
http://entora.com/tv/1192/Jeopardy-1964/episode/1152832
News
Attorney
News at: https://attorneygazette.com/curt-surls%2C-esq#5282ef1c-68bd-44ca-a705-13c4c4d19d33
"Respected
Employment Specialist Curt Surls starts legal blog and commentary on complex
Employment Law
matters," https://www.einpresswire.com/shareable-preview/o9PXoYIye7Ljhu5U27NMTQ,
also available at
https://www.prlog.org/12714987-legal-blog-on-complex-employment-law-launched-by-respected-employment-specialist-curt-surls.html
Geographic Area
As
a legal practitioner, Curt Surls serves clients in the Los Angeles region,
including Los Angeles County, Orange County, Riverside County and San
Bernardino County.
Education and
Professional Formation
Mr.
Surls received his B.A. from the University of Iowa and his J.D. from Loyola
Law School (Los Angeles) in 1988. He was admitted to the California Bar in
1988.
Mr.
Surls began his legal career with the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles,
initially as a law clerk and later as a staff attorney in the East Los Angeles
branch office.
Mr.
Surls is on the Executive Committee of the Los Angeles County Bar Association
Labor and Employment Section and served as Section Chair in 2015-2016.
Mr. Surls was Chair of the Section’s 2012 Labor and Employment Law
Symposium. He also served on the Fair Judicial Election Practices
Committee and the Judicial Election Evaluation Committee. Mr. Surls served
as Vice President of the Board of Directors of the Disability Rights Legal Center
(www.disabilityrightslegalcenter.org) from 2008 to 2010.
Prior
to opening the Law Office of Curt Surls in July 2012, he was a partner with
Bornn & Surls for over 15 years. Mr. Surls was also an attorney with
the Oakland, California civil rights firm then known as Saperstein, Seligman
& Mayeda, specializing in employment and civil rights class actions. Mr.
Surls also worked for the State of California as counsel to the Director of the
Department of Industrial Relations.
Presentations and
Public Appearances
Curt
Surls is a frequent speaker and presenter on legal matters. He recently
participated in the Roundtable Discussion Responding to Sexual Harassment in
the Workplace: A Roundtable Discussion, see https://www.law.com/sites/almstaff/2018/01/09/responding-to-sexual-harassment-in-the-workplace-a-roundtable-discussion/?slreturn=20180503142017,
also published at
https://www.raineslaw.com/files/the-corporate-counselor-january2018.pdf
In
this roundtable discussion, Phillip Maltin, an expert in employment law
and a partner at Los Angeles-based Raines Feldman, LLP; Phyllis Cheng, a
Los Angeles mediator, former partner at DLA Piper, and former director of the
California Department of Fair Employment and Housing; Curt Surls, a
plaintiff’s lawyer and workplace investigator in Manhattan Beach, CA;
and Bradley Rutt, vice president of Elkins Jones Insurance Agency, and an
attorney licensed in the State of California, shared their advice their insight
for employers to consider when addressing this timely issue. Editor-in-Chief Adam
Schlagman serves as the Moderator.
Mr.
Surls was a panelist to Employment Law Practice: 2016 Year in
Review (Continuing Education of the California Bar, CEB). See
https://ceb.com/employment-law-practice-2016-year-in-review
Mr.
Surls was one of the Panelists on Pre-litigation dispute resolution at the SCMA
Employment Mediation Institute. Curt Surls presented a paper why he prefers to
resolve employer-employee disputes without litigation if possible. See
http://mediate-la.com/pre-litigation-dispute-resolution/
Mr.
Surls was also a Panelist for a Continuing Legal Education Program, “From
Hiring to Firing: The Nuts and Bolts of Employment Law” - A panel of prominent
Southern California employment attorneys will guide you through the
complexities of this exciting and constantly developing practice area. Topics
will include wrongful termination, discrimination, harassment, retaliation,
wage and hour law, independent contractors, public employment law, trade
secrets, arbitration agreements and other employment contracts, employee
handbooks, terminations and severance. See
https://www.clecenter.com/program/programdescription.aspx?pgmid=1454
He
was a volunteer attorney for Workplace Fairness. Workplace Fairness relies
heavily on its nationwide network of employee rights advocates to help us
prepare the site's content. The following individuals, listed by state,
provided valuable assistance in researching and reviewing site content. Each
deserves our thanks and gratitude for the time and effort spent in assisting
workers through our website. See https://www.workplacefairness.org/volunteers
Endorsements by Clients
and Peers
Mr.
Surls has received multiple endorsements from clients and fellow attorneys,
including the following:
Client
Endorsements
Very
helpful Attorney
5.0
stars
Posted
by anonymous
May
17, 2018
Curt
was very kind and honest with me about my case, I was referred to him by
another attorney. I think he is definitely one of the most sympathetic and
strongest lawyers out there.
Attorney
Endorsements
Afshin
Mozaffari, www.mozaffarilaw.com
Wrongful
termination Attorney on Jan 10, 2013
Relationship: Fellow
lawyer in community
I
endorse this lawyer.
David
Mallen, http://www.employeelawgroup.com
Employment
and labor Attorney on Oct 12, 2012
Relationship: Fellow
lawyer in community
I
endorse this lawyer. While it is hard for me to choose favorites among the
hundreds of labor and employment attorneys I have come to know in the last 20
years, I say without reservation that Curt is in the top 99.5% . . .he is
off-the-charts smart, well-liked, and highly respected by his legal peers and
adversaries. Curt makes a formidable expert witness in workplace investigations
and employment cases. He does great volunteer work in the legal community. I
would recommend Curt and his law partner Nancy Bornn in a heartbeat.
See
also references at
https://www.martindale.com/manhattan-beach/california/curt-l-surls-173396-a/peer-reviews/
Professional
Endorsements
Mr.
Surls was inducted into the prestigious College of Labor and Employment Lawyers
(see https://www.laborandemploymentcollege.org),
after a vigorous nomination and peer review process (see https://www.laborandemploymentcollege.org/leadership/fellows).
The College is a non-profit professional association honoring the leading
lawyers nationwide in the practice of Labor and Employment Law, with an
emphasis on high standards of professionalism and civility.
References
Law
Firm Website: www.curtsurlslaw.com
Professional
Profile on law firm website: https://www.curtsurlslaw.com/attorney-profile/
LinkedIn
Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/curt-surls-83118b5/
Listed
in the Super Lawyer Directory (https://www.superlawyers.com/) (Super Lawyers is
a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who
have attained a high-degree of peer recognition and professional achievement.
This selection process includes independent research, peer nominations and peer
evaluations):
https://profiles.superlawyers.com/california-southern/manhattan-beach/lawfirm/law-office-of-curt-surls/7d7bf48f-c2ff-4237-9fde-9017064c7ce2.html
Martindale
Attorney Directory:
https://www.martindale.com/manhattan-beach/california/curt-l-surls-173396-a/peer-reviews/
Nolo
Attorney Directory: https://www.nolo.com/lawyers/profile/law-office-curt-surls
Attorney Profile at: https://solomonlawguild.com/curt-surls%2C-esq
Attorney Profile at: https://solomonlawguild.com/curt-surls%2C-esq
Publications
Among
the many legal publications of Mr. Surls are the following:
Mr.
Surls published several articles on CELA VOICE (http://celavoice.org/), a
project of the California Employment Lawyers Association (CELA)
dedicated to promoting the voices of workers’ rights attorneys on issues that
are important to California workers and the attorneys who represent them.
The
articles by Mr. Surls include:
“Bill
protecting workers from forced arbitration awaits Governor approval,” http://celavoice.org/2015/09/01/bill-protecting-workers-from-forced-arbitration-awaits-governor-approval/
“What
do the United States and Papua New Guinea have in common?”, http://celavoice.org/2015/05/18/what-do-the-united-states-and-papua-new-guinea-have-in-common/
“PayPal,
Dog Food and California’s Anti-Forced Patronage Law: Did PayPal Chief David
Marcus cross a line by threatening the jobs of employees who don’t use
PayPal products?”,
http://celavoice.org/2014/02/28/paypal-dog-food-and-californias-anti-forced-patronage-law-did-paypal-chief-david-marcus-cross-a-line-by-threatening-the-jobs-of-employees-who-dont-use-paypal-products/
“Donning
and doffing”: The Supreme Court will decide an issue of great importance to
employees required to wear gorilla suits to work (and to other employees
with workplace uniform requirements as well), http://celavoice.org/2013/11/06/donning-and-doffing-the-supreme-court-will-decide-an-issue-of-great-importance-to-employees-required-to-wear-gorilla-suits-to-work-and-to-other-employees-with-workplace-uniform-requirements-as-w/
“Iowa
Supreme Court re-affirms statutory right of jittery, insecure spouses to
interfere in the workplace,”
http://celavoice.org/2013/07/25/iowa-supreme-court-re-affirms-statutory-right-of-jittery-insecure-spouses-to-interfere-in-the-workplace/
“Workplace
Investigations: How to get them, how to use them and how to fight them”, By
Jeremy Pasternak and Curt Surls [Published by Consumer Attorneys of California
(CAOC, see www.caoc.org), a professional organization that represents the
interests of 39 million Californians. Our member-attorneys stand for plaintiffs
seeking accountability from those who do wrong.] See
https://pasternaklaw.com/publications/workplace-investigations-how-to-get-them-how-to-use-them-and-how-to-fight-them-2/
and
https://s3.amazonaws.com/membercentralcdn/sitedocuments/ca/ca/0463/691463.pdf?AWSAccessKeyId=0D2JQDSRJ497X9B2QRR2&Expires=1528050829&Signature=iTraaZHTUoGsSbzGkcxRfDbi8io%3D&response-content-disposition=inline%3B%20filename%3D%221305f-pg16-Pasternak-Surls%2Epdf%22%3B%20filename%2A%3DUTF-8%27%271305f%252Dpg16%252DPasternak%252DSurls%252Epdf
ASSOCIATIONS AND
MEMBERSHIPS
Curt
Surls is a member of several professional organizations, including:
*
National Employment Lawyers Association (NELA), https://www.nela.org/
*
California Employment Lawyers Association (CELA), https://www.cela.org/
*
Association of Workplace Investigators (AWI), https://www.awi.org/
*
Chair of the Los Angeles County Bar Association (LACBA) Labor and Employment
Law Section (2015-2016), https://www.lacba.org/
*
Member, Fair Judicial Election Practices Committee
*
Fellow, American Bar Foundation, http://www.americanbarfoundation.org
*Fellow,
College of Labor and Employment Lawyers, https://www.laborandemploymentcollege.org/for-fellows/current-fellows
