Overview
Joseph D. Lee focuses his practice on complex commercial litigation and complex labor and employment disputes.
He has tried cases in both state and federal courts and has argued cases before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, the Court of Appeal of California and the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation.
Joe has represented a wide variety of leading national and California clients, including AmeriGas Propane, GardaWorld and 99 Cents Only Stores.
In his free time, Joe is an avid runner and cyclist.
Experience
Complex Commercial Litigation
Joe has advised on a wide range of complex commercial disputes, including consumer class actions. He has also conducted numerous internal investigations, including FCPA investigations overseas, and has counseled companies on internal corporate controls and compliance issues.
AmeriGas Propane in:
- a series of antitrust lawsuits consolidated in multi-district litigation in the Western District of Missouri (In re Propane Tank Litigation).
- in multiple consumer class actions.
GE Aircraft Engines in U.S. litigation arising from an airplane crash in the People’s Republic of China; argued in California Court of Appeal and won dismissal based on forum non conveniens.
Labor and Employment Litigation
Joe has advised on complex employment matters including wage and hour class actions and lawsuits under the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA).
Key representations include:
AmeriGas Propane in PAGA litigation.
GardaWorld – obtained first-of-its-kind summary judgment holding as a matter of law that the company could use “on-duty” meal periods for armored car driver-messengers and that related rest period claims were preempted by federal law. This victory was recognized as a Top Defense Verdict of the Year by the Daily Journal.
More
- Past president and Member of the Board of Directors, Disability Rights Legal Center, 2012-2024
- Past member, Board of Directors, Constitutional Rights Foundation; Chair, Audit Committee
- Los Angeles Advisory Committee, Kids in Need of Defense (KIND)
- Member, Board of Advocates, Human Rights First
- Member, Oxfam America Leadership Council
- Past chair, State Bar of California, Committee on Administration of Justice
Joe is deeply committed to the community and to the firm’s pro bono practice. He has represented numerous pro bono clients including those seeking asylum and other immigration relief.
Notable victories include:
- Securing a $400,000 judgment on behalf of a former student of Western University of Health Sciences who alleged the university failed to properly accommodate her learning disabilities.
- Helping secure a California Supreme Court ruling that vacated a criminal guilty plea based on ineffective assistance of prior counsel, and so allowed a wrongly deported veterans rights activist to return to his family in the U.S. nearly 20 years after his deportation.
Publications
- Co-author, “Cleaning Up Corruption,” Los Angeles Lawyer Magazine, February 2022
- Co-author, “Apple Bag Search Ruling Informs on Calif. Pay Compliance,” Law360, February 2020
Speaking Engagements
- Panelist, “Fourth Pacific Law Forum of International Conferences,” Far Eastern Federal University, Vladivostok City, Russia, October 2018
- Panelist, Sandpiper Partners LLC’s Innovations in E-Discovery, January 2015
- Visiting Professor, U.S. Commercial Law Seminar, Far Eastern Federal University, Vladivostok Russia (2018); University of Latvia, Riga Latvia (2014; 2016); University of Pardubice, Pardubice Czech Republic (2015); Károli Gáspár University of the Hungarian Reformed Church, Budapest, Hungary (2013); Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic (2011)
