María G. Díaz

A Stanford-educated attorney, Ms. Díaz has dedicated her legal career to representing
workers in employment cases. She is the founder of THE DIAZ LAW FIRM and serves as “Of Counsel” to the law firm of Allred, Maroko & Goldberg. 

Ms. Díaz focuses her practice exclusively on representing workers in a range of employment matters including defamation, whistleblowers, sexual harassment, gender/pregnancy discrimination, disability discrimination, and wrongful termination. She has expertise navigating leave laws, including those related to pregnancy, disability, and family medical leave. Ms. Díaz is bilingual in Spanish and English. 

She has a broad range of experience in federal court, state court, and arbitration. Ms. Díaz litigates, tries cases in state and federal court, arbitrates cases, and does appellate work. She has negotiated millions for her clients in a multitude of employment claims against a wide range of companies, individuals and public entities. 

Her last trial resulted in a jury verdict of $1,325,000 for Ms. Eva O’Brien who worked part-time at Baca Properties when she was wrongfully terminated. After Baca Properties hired an appeals expert to appeal the verdict, Ms. Díaz prepared the responding appeal brief on behalf of her client, Ms. Eva O’Brien. 

Key educational and professional achievements:

EDUCATION
∙    Stanford Law School, 2001, J.D.
∙    Harvard University, 1994, Masters in Public Policy.
∙    Stanford University, 1991, B.A. in Quantitative Economics. 
∙    Princeton University, Summer Fellowship, 1990.
∙    Honors: Woodrow Wilson National Fellow, Woodrow Wilson Foundation.
   
REPRESENTATIVE VERDICTS, AWARDS AND SETTLEMENTS
∙    $1,325,000 verdict in a wrongful termination case representing a part-time woman earning $15 per hour.
∙    $2,500,000 award in a race discrimination case of three construction workers.
∙    $2,000,000 settlement in a sex harassment and retaliation case by a male against a large corporation.
∙    $1,750,000 settlement in a gender discrimination case involving a group of women against a government entity.
∙    $750,000 arbitration award in a nurse's defamation case against Methodist Hospital of Southern California.
∙    $850,000 settlement in a woman's gender discrimination case against a large manufacturing company.
∙    $550,000 settlement in a retaliation case of a female physician against a government agency.

ADMITTED TO PRACTICE
∙    United States Supreme Court
∙    U.S. District Courts: Southern, Eastern, and Central Districts of California
∙    All California State Courts

LEADERSHIP POSITIONS
∙    Executive Board, California Employment Lawyers  Association (CELA)
∙    Editor, California State Bar Labor and Employment Law Review
∙    Former Advisor, Executive Committee of the State Bar of California, Labor and Employment Section, 2011-2012
∙    Former Member, Executive Committee of the State Bar of California, Labor and Employment 2008-2011

HONORS & AWARDS
∙    Wiley W. Manuel Award, State Bar of California
∙    Outstanding Legal Services Award, San Diego Volunteer Lawyer Program
∙    Outstanding Service Award, Senator Barbara Boxer
∙    Southern California Super Lawyers "Rising Star", 2005-2008
∙    Top 50 Women Attorneys in Northern California, 2012
∙    Northern California Super Lawyers “Rising Star”, 2012

PUBLISHED WORKS INCLUDE
∙    Los Angeles Daily Journal
∙    California Labor & Employment Law Review

LANGUAGES
∙    Bilingual in English and Spanish.

PUBLIC SPEAKING
∙    Presenter, California Employment Lawyers Association’s Trial College, 2014-2016
∙    State Bar of California Annual Labor and Employment Conference “How to Take and Defend Depositions”
∙    California Employment Lawyers Association Annual Conference “Arbitration in Employment Cases”
∙    California Employment Lawyers Association “Legislative Intent: How To Use It In Employment Cases”
∙    California Employment Lawyers Association “Diversity Summit”
∙    California Employment Lawyers Association “How to Conduct Discovery in Employment Cases”
∙    Latina Lawyers Bar Association “ How to Oppose Summary Judgment Motions” 
∙    Los Angeles County Bar Association “ Employment 101: The Basics"
∙    Guest on National Television Show--The Cristina Show, the #1 Spanish-speaking talk show seen worldwide for several decades.

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS
∙    National Employment Lawyers Association (NELA)
∙    California Employment Lawyers Association (CELA)
∙    State Bar of California, Labor and Employment Section
∙    Los Angeles County Bar Association
∙    Fresno County Bar Association
∙    Latina Lawyers Bar Association
∙    Mexican-American Bar Association