The Work I Do

I've spent my career where power meets accountability.

Today I represent employees in high-stakes employment cases: discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wrongful termination, and wage theft. I serve as Managing Partner at HKM Employment Attorneys and I'm licensed in Oregon, California, Idaho, and federal court. I usually litigate against institutions with deep resources and experienced defense teams.

Before I represented workers, I defended corporations. I learned how companies measure their exposure, how they structure early motions, and how they really decide to settle. That experience shapes how I litigate now. I know where the leverage sits. I know how a company frames a case internally long before it reaches a courtroom.

My practice lives in the details: documentation, timing, credibility, strategy. Over the years my clients have recovered multi-million-dollar settlements in cases involving medical discrimination, race discrimination, and retaliation. Preparation produced those results. Not rhetoric.

From 2013 to 2023, I served in the Oregon Legislature and as Oregon Secretary of State. I watched how systems operate, and I watched how they fail. One principle carried straight over into this work. Institutions must answer for the harm they cause.

The workplace is changing quickly. Algorithms now screen applicants. Software scores performance. Technology doesn't eliminate bias; it can scale it. I watch closely how employment law handles that, and where it still falls short.

Litigation is demanding, and it overwhelms most clients. I focus on clarity. I explain what we have to prove, where the risk sits, and how leverage builds. My clients understand the strategy behind their own case.

Employment disputes are rarely simple. They take persistence, careful analysis, and a willingness to see a case all the way through.

That's the work I do.