Daniel Qualls

Overview

Daniel Qualls is a partner in the San Francisco office of O’Hagan Meyer, a member of the Labor & Employment Practice, and National Co-Chair of the Class & Collective Actions Practice Group (Wage and Hour). He is an experienced trial lawyer with over 50 trials and arbitrations. Before switching to represent the interests of employers, Mr. Qualls was a prominent plaintiffs’ counsel and trial attorney. Trial verdicts obtained include a $12 million plaintiff’s verdict for general and punitive damages against a title insurer for fraud and bad faith following a six-week jury trial; a $1.2 million plaintiff’s verdict for general and punitive damages against the granddaughter of William Randolph Hearst for wrongful termination and sexual harassment following an eight-week three phase jury trial; and a $2.4 million plaintiff’s verdict against a global infrastructure services firm for breach of contract following a four-week jury trial. Mr. Qualls’s practice focuses on California wage and hour and consumer class actions, and California Labor Code Private Attorney General Act of 2004 qui tam proceedings/executive compensation cases. As a defense attorney, Mr. Qualls has defended employers of all sizes, from Fortune 100 to ‘Mom and Pop’ establishments, from wage and hour litigation. He brings his experience to bear to provide pragmatic and aggressive litigation defense, preventative counseling, and business advising.

Mr. Qualls has provided employment law counseling and litigation support to senior executives, and privately owned and publicly traded companies, in state and federal courts. Mr. Qualls has procured arbitration awards and mediation settlements on behalf of senior executives against corporate and private equity fund employers, and has negotiated employment and severance agreements for senior executives of marquee Silicon Valley companies, addressing stock option grants, good cause termination and accelerate option vesting, change of control, double trigger, and confidential trade secret employment provisions.

Mr. Qualls has prosecuted wrongful termination, employment discrimination, and wage and hour and consumer class actions, and has been appointed as class counsel in more than 35 cases in state and federal court. Mr. Qualls has procured class settlements for more than 50,000 Californians totaling more than $65 million. Appellate practice includes reported class action decisions in:

• Reyes v. Macy’s, Inc., 202 Cal. App. 4th 1119 (Cal. App. 1st Dist. 2011)
• Kullar v. Foot Locker Retail, Inc., 191 Cal. App. 4th 1201 (Cal. App. 1st Dist. 2011)
• Bufil v. Dollar Financial Group, Inc., 162 Cal. App. 4th 1193 (Cal. App. 1st Dist. 2008)
• Kullar v. Foot Locker Retail, Inc., 168 Cal. App. 4th 116 (Cal. App. 1st Dist. 2008)