Janice P.
Brown

Representative Experience

Labor & Employment

Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD). Counsel to the District in a series of high-profile, high-value employment matters.

• Odom v. LACCD – $10 Million Verdict Overturned – Brought in to handle post-trial motions and the appeal after a jury awarded $10 million in emotional distress damages against the District, and won a complete reversal. The Second Appellate District reversed for judicial misconduct during trial and in the post-trial proceedings and for the admission of inflammatory, prejudicial evidence without regard for the evidentiary rules, writing in its published opinion: “It seems clear the judge’s rulings were motivated by personal opinions untethered to the rules of evidence. Whatever his motivations may have been, the judge admitted inflammatory evidence without consideration of the evidentiary rules, with undeniable prejudicial effect, thus preventing a fair trial.” (Odom v. Los Angeles Community College Dist. (Apr. 7, 2025, B327997) [cert. for pub.].) A reversal of this magnitude is rare, and the representation continues through re-trial.
• Related Harassment and Retaliation Defense – Simultaneously retained on three other well-publicized harassment and retaliation matters brought against the District by high-profile plaintiff’s firms.

San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS). Lead counsel to MTS in its highest-profile employment matters.

• Figueroa v. MTS – Won complete summary judgment in the front-page lawsuit brought against MTS and Nathan Fletcher, the former Chair of its Board, alleging harassment and retaliation. The case drew television coverage and unusual political sensitivity and required complex electronic discovery into social media and text messages; the summary judgment strategy eliminated the claims early and avoided trial.
• Outlaw v. MTS – Defending a related retaliation case brought by the agency’s former Chief Information Officer arising from her role in the Figueroa matter, with a summary judgment motion pending (as of August 2026).

City of Milpitas – McHarris v. City of Milpitas. Won a total victory on summary judgment for the City in a high-profile lawsuit brought by a former City Manager alleging breach of contract, retaliation, and wrongful termination, a case carrying complex legal and political challenges. The June 2025 ruling disposed of every claim, ended a two-year fight, and awarded the City about $400,000 in fees and costs. Handled a related writ proceeding earlier in the case, and now defends the judgment on appeal.

NCAA – Independent Accountability Resolution Process. Selected as one of three law firms nationwide for the NCAA’s pilot Independent Accountability Resolution Process, built to adjudicate complex Division I infractions cases, and served as Complex Case Unit Advocates from 2020 to 2023. The work included one of the NCAA’s highest-profile enforcement actions, against LSU men’s basketball coach Will Wade, arising from an FBI wiretap investigation into alleged illegal payments to student-athletes: investigated, prepared, and prosecuted the violations, resulting in severe penalties, multiple game suspensions, and Wade’s termination.

Professional Sports Team – Wage and Hour and Discrimination Defense. Counsel to a Southern California professional sports team, including two high-stakes arbitrations brought by former employees on sensitive claims. Developed the trial strategy and examined the key witnesses in each, securing favorable outcomes that protected the team’s business and reputation while avoiding public controversy.

Multinational Technology Manufacturer – Full Defense Verdict. Defended the company at trial against a former senior executive’s $2.8 million claim for age discrimination, constructive termination, unpaid commissions, and retaliation. The evidence showed the executive had a history of poor performance, had accepted a higher-paying job before resigning, and was demanding commissions on accounts he no longer managed; cross-examination and the documentary record dismantled the plaintiff’s narrative and produced a full defense verdict.

National Retailer – Worldwide Discovery Reversed. Defended the country’s largest retailer against wrongful termination, discrimination, retaliation, and harassment claims exceeding $7 million. After a magistrate judge granted the plaintiff’s sweeping request for worldwide production of the employer’s records, appealed the order to the presiding district judge, who reversed it and invited a Rule 11 sanctions motion, then negotiated dismissal of all claims with prejudice in exchange for a waiver of costs.

Large Retail Chain – Claims Dismissed, Counterclaim Won. Defended a prominent retail chain against a former employee’s harassment and retaliation claims seeking $3 million to $5 million in compensatory and punitive damages. Discovery revealed the employee had taken confidential company documents just before termination; the employer counter-sued for breach of the contractual duty of loyalty and won summary judgment on the counterclaim. The harassment and retaliation claims then went to arbitration, where the arbitrator dismissed every claim, finding the termination was due to the employee’s combative workplace conduct.

Transit Manufacturer – Reduction-in-Force Defense. Defended an age discrimination claim brought by a long-time employee terminated in a company-wide reduction in force, building an extensive factual record of the legitimate, nondiscriminatory basis for the decision and moving for summary judgment on the entire case.

Property and Casualty Insurer – Whistleblower Trial. Defended one of the nation’s largest insurers in a month-long jury trial of a whistleblower case brought by a former vice president who had demanded a mid-seven-figure settlement before trial. The jury’s award came in at less than five percent of that demand, with no punitive or emotional distress damages and less than half of what the defense had offered before trial, and the case settled on terms favorable to the insurer during the appeal.

Large Public University – Dismissal at the Pleading Stage. Won dismissal for a major public university in San Diego Superior Court when a former employee alleged wrongful termination, discrimination, retaliation, and harassment: the court sustained the university’s demurrer without leave to amend, and the Fourth District Court of Appeal affirmed, awarding the university its costs on appeal.

Fortune 50 Company – Dismissal After Deposition. Defended a Fortune 50 corporation in a wrongful termination lawsuit in which investigation revealed the plaintiff had made significant misrepresentations on her employment application and in other legal filings. Once those surfaced at deposition, the plaintiff dismissed the action entirely.

Fortune 500 Energy Company – Class Claims Dismissed. Defended a combined wage and hour class action and individual disability discrimination and wrongful termination case, securing dismissal of the class claims after deposing the named plaintiff and narrowing the dispute to manageable proportions.

Fortune 500 Energy Company – Sensitive Executive Dispute Resolved. Represented the company in a high-profile sexual orientation discrimination matter brought by an executive, made especially sensitive because the alleged conduct was attributed in part to another senior executive in the same protected class. Resolved the matter at mediation with innovative non-economic settlement terms that protected the company’s reputation and relationships.

Hotel Owner – Defense Ruling from the Bench. Defended a wage and hour dispute through a three-day bench trial in San Diego Superior Court after the plaintiff refused to settle across multiple mediations. The court ruled for the defense immediately after closing arguments, rejecting the claims outright and opening the door to a fee recovery given the frivolous nature of the claims.

Fortune 50 Banking Institution – Summary Judgment Affirmed. Represented a major bank in a wrongful termination case marked by contentious discovery disputes, defeating the plaintiff’s demand to depose the bank’s human resources representative and winning summary judgment. The Fourth District Court of Appeal affirmed, and the California Supreme Court denied the plaintiff’s petition.

Fortune 500 Company – Constructive Termination Defense. Defended a wrongful constructive termination case litigated over seven years to a bench trial ruling for the company, with the appeal dismissed by the Fourth Appellate District.

Security Services Employer – Class and PAGA Actions. Defended coordinated class and PAGA actions for an employer with more than 50,000 nonexempt California employees, through certification, settlement approval, and LWDA negotiations.

Fortune 100 Industrial Company – Cross-Complaint Dismissed. Represented one of the oldest industrial companies in the United States in a complex business dispute with a cross-complaint for breach of contract, interference, and other business torts carrying significant potential liability, and negotiated its complete dismissal in exchange for a simple waiver of costs.

Fortune 50 Company – $120 Million Contract and Lease Victory. Prevailed at trial and on appeal in a contract and lease dispute against a large San Diego law firm with more than $120 million in controversy, then obtained an award of the client’s reasonable attorneys’ fees.

Eleven Businesspeople v. a Fortune 50 Corporation – Eight-Figure Settlement. Represented 11 businesspeople defrauded by a Fortune 50 corporation, litigating opposite two national law firms and securing an eight-figure settlement the day before trial was set to begin.

Real Estate Developer – Easement on the Eve of Closing. Negotiated a hard-fought easement agreement with an adjacent landowner on the eve of escrow closings for multiple residential lots, producing dismissal of the landowner’s lawsuit, release of the lis pendens, and closings on schedule.

Family Business – Ownership Resolved. Resolved a long-standing family dispute over control of a mortuary business, with the client obtaining full ownership and operational control.

Developer – Slander of Title Dismissed on Demurrer. Won a demurrer dismissing a slander of title complaint with prejudice before depositions or other costly litigation steps were taken.

Commercial

Fortune 100 Industrial Company – Cross-Complaint Dismissed. Represented one of the oldest industrial companies in the United States in a complex business dispute with a cross-complaint for breach of contract, interference, and other business torts carrying significant potential liability, and negotiated its complete dismissal in exchange for a simple waiver of costs.

Fortune 50 Company – $120 Million Contract and Lease Victory. Prevailed at trial and on appeal in a contract and lease dispute against a large San Diego law firm with more than $120 million in controversy, then obtained an award of the client’s reasonable attorneys’ fees.

Eleven Businesspeople v. a Fortune 50 Corporation – Eight-Figure Settlement. Represented 11 businesspeople defrauded by a Fortune 50 corporation, litigating opposite two national law firms and securing an eight-figure settlement the day before trial was set to begin.

Real Estate Developer – Easement on the Eve of Closing. Negotiated a hard-fought easement agreement with an adjacent landowner on the eve of escrow closings for multiple residential lots, producing dismissal of the landowner’s lawsuit, release of the lis pendens, and closings on schedule.

Family Business – Ownership Resolved. Resolved a long-standing family dispute over control of a mortuary business, with the client obtaining full ownership and operational control.

Developer – Slander of Title Dismissed on Demurrer. Won a demurrer dismissing a slander of title complaint with prejudice before depositions or other costly litigation steps were taken.

Trademark Enforcement – Name Change and Recovery. Enforced a client’s trademark rights against a competitor marketing a product under a confusingly similar name, compelling the competitor to change the product’s name and pay a mid-six-figure settlement.