Christine T. Hoeffner is a specialist in Appellate Law, certified by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization.
She has been selected for inclusion in the 2009 and 2010 “Southern California Super Lawyers” by the Los Angeles Magazine and Law & Politics, identifying the top 5% of attorneys in their field based on peer recognition, a blue ribbon panel, and independent research as to professional achievement. She has also been selected by the Los Angeles/San Francisco Daily Journal as one of the 100 “Top Women Litigators” in California. She holds a rating of “AV Preeminent - 5.0 out of 5” from Martindale-Hubbell, the highest personal rating an attorney can receive from this nationally-recognized legal directory. Her practice focuses on employment law, representing management in cases involving discrimination, retaliation, wage, and contract claims.
Wage/hour cases currently comprise some of the most high risk employment lawsuits facing California employers. Ms. Hoeffner recently assisted a client in avoiding potentially millions of dollars in discovery and liability exposure in a wage/hour class action, and did so without the expense of a trial. She stopped onerous class discovery by obtaining an appellate court order staying class discovery pending a determination of the plaintiff’s standing to be a class representative. She defeated the plaintiff’s motion for leave to amend to name a new plaintiff/class representative, and then won summary judgment against the plaintiff on all 10 class claims.
Ms. Hoeffner also successfully defended all 12 appeals of employment summary judgment/ adjudication orders she has handled in the past four years, despite employment appeals having one of the highest reversal rates. She has also obtained multiple attorney fee awards against parties who unsuccessfully sued firm clients.
She conducts seminars for the state bar’s continuing legal education program and is a volunteer mediator in the superior court and appellate court mediation programs, where she has assisted many individuals and companies to resolve their disputes without the expense and uncertainty of litigation. She is also a performing member of the Los Angeles Lawyers Philharmonic.
Ms. Hoeffner received her J.D. from Loyola University of Chicago, School of Law, and a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Connecticut. She has been a member of the California State Bar since 1981, and is also admitted to practice in the United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit, and the United States Supreme Court.
A few examples of Ms. Hoeffner’s numerous published opinions, reflecting her extensive appellate experience on over 100 appellate matters she has handled, include the following:
Pang v. Beverly Hospital (2000) 79 Cal.App. 4th 986 [Lead appellate counsel in one of the first cases interpreting the California Family Rights Act.]
State Dept. of Health Services v. Superior Court (McGinnis) (2003) 31 Cal.4th 1026 [Prepared amicus brief: California Supreme Court opinion adopted amicus position that plaintiff’s failure to use available workplace anti-harassment procedures is a defense to FEHA sexual harassment claims (avoidable consequences/failure to mitigate), and plaintiff’s recovery may be reduced by the amount of damages plaintiff could have avoided with reasonable effort and without undue risk, expense, or humiliation].
Tomaselli v. Transamerica Insurance Company (1994) 25 Cal.App.4th 1269 [Obtained reversal of an 11.25 million dollar punitive damages award against client in insurance bad faith and coverage case.]
State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. v. Superior Court (1991) 228 Cal.App.3d 721 [Obtained for client the right to use an advice of counsel defense in an insurance bad faith trial.]
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