Richard J. Frey

/My focus

My practice focuses on general and complex commercial litigation and business matters, as well as unique labor and employment challenges faced by employers. I have experience in a wide range of industries, including technology, transportation, banking, and securities. I read the legal landscape and explain risk in business terms to help my clients make critical decisions and identify creative solutions.

I have litigated cases in both state and federal courts and have particular skill in defending commercial class actions against alleged violations of the California Business and Professions Code §17200, as well as wage and hour and shareholder derivative class actions.

In addition to my significant litigation experience, I provide transactional advice on corporate matters, including employment-related concerns associated with mergers and acquisitions and executive employment agreements. I have substantial experience representing clients in distribution deals, partnership agreements, and other contract negotiations. In addition, I have developed deep experience in trade secret and employee mobility cases involving insurance brokerages, talent agents, banks, and private equity firms.

In commercial disputes, I represent limited liability companies in contentious breakups involving breach of contract, fiduciary duty violations, or employee ownership claims. Even in the face of multimillion-dollar wage and hour class action claims, clients trust my proactive and strong approach to either shut down the case early or settle it favorably.

/Representative experience

The below representative experience includes representations from prior firms.

• Representing CABIA in suing the State of California to invalidate PAGA on constitutional grounds. Currently on appeal after being heard in Orange County Superior Court, Rich is arguing that permitting employees to claim workplace-wide Labor Code violations and demand civil penalties from an employer violates California’s constitution, and resulted in an unfair system that compels employers to settle regardless of the merits.
• Obtained a very favorable result in a trade secret and breach of fiduciary duty case in federal court between a Chinese joint venture and a former US-based employee, who caused a patent to be put in his relative’s name and set up a competing business in China. A significant part of the successful strategy included winning two spoliation motions and obtaining significant evidentiary sanctions. Rich also defeated the employee’s counterclaims.
• Led the representation of a group of employees who left a bank to join another bank. The former bank sued the employees, claiming they violated trade secret laws and breached fiduciary duties by leaving to join an alleged competitor in the healthcare lending space. After several motions and many contentious months of litigation, Rich was able to secure a dismissal of the claims against his clients.
• Successfully prosecuted whistleblower and retaliation claims on behalf of the departed CFO of a private software company. The CFO had an ownership claim in the business but was fired abruptly and placed in a position of losing his ownership claim. Rich was able to leverage his reputation and ability to ultimately go to trial to obtain a complete payout of the ownership interest with no downward adjustments despite the business being a private company.
• Secured a significant attorneys’ fee award in a state action on behalf of a national insurance brokerage group arising out of a threatened trade secret and breach of contract claim by another broker. Confronted with a possible claim by an out-of-state company in Texas, Rich successfully sued in California and convinced the trial court to ignore the Texas forum selection clause. Ultimately, Rich secured a declaratory judgment that his client had not violated any laws or breached a non-compete clause in the contract. The icing on the cake was successfully enforcing the attorneys’ provision in the contract, so that his client also recovered the majority of its expenses in bringing the action.