Curt Surls is a specialist Attorney in the areas of Employment Discrimination, Sexual Harassment, and Wrongful Termination, located in Manhattan Beach, California.

Curt Surls, Employment Lawyer
Curt Surls is a Specialist in the areas of Employment Discrimination, Sexual Harassment, and Wrongful Termination.


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

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

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