TMRMaestro

Sue M. Bendavid is an employment attorney, Shareholder, and the Chair of the Employment Practice Group at Lewitt Hackman. Working exclusively with employers, Ms. Bendavid handles employment litigation, counseling and transactions, representing employers in matters from claims prevention and training, to individual and class action lawsuits. Apart from victories in the trial and appellate courts, Ms. Bendavid obtains dismissals and favorable rulings from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Department of Fair Employment and Housing, the Employment Development Department, the Labor Commissioner and the Department of Labor – saving clients millions by quashing litigation. Adept in pre-litigation counseling, advocacy, depositions, discovery and motion practice, Ms. Bendavid can often show why employees should withdraw claims, or convince agencies to dismiss claims in early stages. This results in large cost savings for the companies she represents. Ms. Bendavid assists employers with hiring and firing; wage and hour issues; leaves of absence; wrongful termination, harassment, discrimination, and retaliation claims; preparation of employee handbooks, policies, employment agreements; and performance management. She successfully defended multiple harassment, discrimination, wrongful termination and wage and hour disputes; and has substantial experience with trials and class actions, writs, appeals, hearings and motion practice. With a practice focus on claims prevention, Ms. Bendavid provides in-house training on sexual harassment, discrimination, hiring and firing, disciplinary methods, leaves of absence, and other employee topics. She also aids clients with corporate down-sizing such as WARN Act notifications and strategies to determine layoff procedures. Graduating cum laude with honors in Political Science, Ms. Bendavid earned her undergraduate degree from California State University, Northridge. Ms. Bendavid was a member of the Political Science Honor Society, the Golden Key Honor Society, and the Dean's List. She received her Juris Doctor from Loyola Law School Los Angeles, in 1990, and was elected to the St. Thomas More Law Honor Society and was a contributor to the International and Comparative Law Journal. Ms. Bendavid is a member of the State Bar of California and the Los Angeles County Bar Association. She is a member of the San Fernando Valley Bar Association, where she served multiple terms as Trustee, Officer, Chair of various committees, and President. She is admitted before the U.S. District Court and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. A frequent lecturer, Ms. Bendavid publishes employer-focused articles and receives numerous business and legal recognition awards. As a California employment attorney, Ms. Bendavid served as counsel in the published decision of Reeves et al. v. Hanlon, et al. (2003), and in Century 21 adv. Fenton (1998).