Joseph R. Lordan

Overview

Joe Lordan the Managing Partner of O’Hagan Meyer’s San Francisco office, a member of the firm’s Executive Committee, and National Co-chair of the Labor & Employment practice group. He represents employers of all sizes—from Fortune 100 corporations to family-run businesses—across every industry, including technology, viticulture, transportation, healthcare, construction, retail, food service, and education, among many others. His practice focuses on both high-stakes employment and business litigation as well as strategic, preventative legal counseling tailored to each client’s operational realities and commercial goals.

Joe’s litigation experience is broad and deep and includes disputes involving wrongful termination, discrimination, harassment, retaliation, breach of contract, ADA access, trade secret disputes, and complex class and representative actions, including PAGA and wage and hour claims. In the wake of the #MeToo movement, Joe resolved numerous and highly sensitive harassment cases under FEHA, Title VII, and Title IX, resolving these disputes with both legal acumen and business sensitivity.

On the preventative side, Joe advises on all aspects of the employment relationship, including drafting and auditing handbooks, preparing employment and severance agreements, conducting workplace investigations, training managers and supervisors, and evaluating termination decisions. He is a sought-after lecturer on wage and hour compliance, effective employee management, harassment prevention, workplace training, counseling strategies, and litigation defense. Known for his pragmatic approach to problem solving, Joe delivers actionable guidance that empowers clients to make informed decisions, control costs, and minimize risk.

Beyond employment law, Joe also handles business and corporate litigation, including breach of contract, consumer class actions, trade secret misappropriation, and Fair Credit Reporting class actions. He is a sought-after educator and speaker to industry groups, corporate leadership teams, and legal associations on emerging employment law trends and best practices.

Experience

Joe has handled employment litigation for some of the largest and most sophisticated employers in California, including:

• One of the nation’s largest defense contractors, including securing full summary judgment (affirmed at the Ninth Circuit)
• Dozens of Napa and Sonoma Valley’s most influential wineries, negotiating resolutions and securing dismissals from both seasonal workforces and office administration
• Tech companies, from incubators to IPOs and beyond, including providing strategy counseling, policies, and training to guide them through development
• Livery and transportation companies, including representation at Labor Board Hearings, strategic counseling before California Legislature and CPUC, and wage and hour class actions
• Contractors, including a defense verdict after a two-week jury trial in U.S. District Court
• Higher education, from major California universities and local private colleges, conducting workplace investigations and litigating employment suits to resolution
• Professionals and professional organizations, including defense of licenses and litigation on both pre-litigation and litigation bases
• Mom & Pop companies, including litigation defense when bet-the-business litigation comes knocking for California’s next generation of entrepreneurs

Honors & Speeches

Honors

• Award for Excellence, Greater California Livery Association, December 2012

Speeches

• Presenter, “Life Cycle of an Employment Case,” O’Hagan Meyer CLE, April 2025
• Presenter, “Wage and Hour Best Practices,” Client Presentation, December 2024
• Presenter, “Payroll Training,” Client Presentation, December 2024
• Presenter, “Hot Topics in Employment Law,” Client Presentation, November 2024
• Presenter, “Stocking the Armory Assembling and Effectively Using the Tools Necessary for a Successful Mediation,” Contra Costa Bar Association MCLE Spectacular, October 2024
• Presenter, “PAGA Reform,” Client Presentation, August 2024
• Presenter, “Independent Contractors & PAGA,” Client Presentation, May 2024
• Presenter, “EEOC Trends,” Client Presentation, April 2024
• Presenter, “Wage and Hour Hot Topics,” Client Presentation, February 2024
• Presenter, “Mediation Best Practices,” O’Hagan Meyer CLE, February 2024
• Presenter, “Running with the Bulls,” Client Presentation, October 2023
• Presenter, “Life Cycle on an EPL Claim,” Client Presentation, December 2022
• Presenter, “Wage and Hour Compliance,” Client Presentation, November 2022
• Presenter, “The Importance of Documentation,” June 2022
• Presenter, “FEHA and #MeToo,” Client Presentation, September 2021
• Presented, “Employment Best Practices,” Client Presentation, June 2021
• Presenter, “Wage and Hour 101,” Client Presentation, October 2020
• Presenter, “COVID19 Employment Issues,” Client Presentations, Multiple Offerings, April 2020-November 2020
• Presenter, “AB 5, Prop 22, and AB2257,” October 2020
• Presenter, “AB5 Developments and Compliance,” August 2020
• Presenter, “Fostering A Great Workplace,” August 2020
• Presenter, “The Three Stages of Litigation,” July 2020
• Presenter, “New Employment Law Exposure and Considerations from COVID-19,” Multiple Sessions, May-June 2020
• Presenter, “Navigating Employment Law During the Pandemic,” Hong Kong Association of Northern California, May 2020
• Presenter, “Tips for Preventing Employee Lawsuits,” March 2020
• Presenter, “Dynamex, AB5, and You,” October, November 2019
• Presenter, "Defending Against Wage and Hour Liability,” July 2019
• Presenter, “Human Resources Excellence,” June 2019
• Presenter, “Employment Issues and Compliance,” December 2018
• Presenter, “Times are Changing: Sexual Harassment Investigations in the #MeToo and Times Up Era,” September 2018
• Presenter, “Wrongful Termination Prevention,” June 2018
• Presenter, “Times are Changing: Sexual Harassment Investigations in the #MeToo and Times Up Era,” October 2018
• Presenter, “California Fair Claims Settlement Regulations,” June 2017
• Presenter, “Wage and Hour Practices and Pitfalls - Ignorance is NOT Bliss!” International LCT Trade Show, Las Vegas, February 2016
• Organizer and Sole Presenter, “Wage and Hour Roundtables,” Multiple Offerings 2013-2014
• Presenter, “Labor Law Compliance,” 2012-2020
• Presenter, “Wage and Hour 101,” 2011-2014
• Presenter, “Legislative and Case Updates” “Wage and Hour 101” “Wage and Hour 201” “Sick Leave Laws,” Multiple dates 2010 – 2023

Professional

• Member, American Bar Association, 2009 to Present
• Member, Real Estate Broker, California Department of Real Estate, 2010 to Present
• Member, Benevolent and Protective Order of the Elks, 2014-2017