Lecturer Bios
Laura E. Innes, Esq.
Laura E. Innes, a director of Simpson, Garrity & Innes, PC, has been engaged exclusively in the practice of labor and employment law for more than 20 years. Her practice combines preventive counseling for management with civil and administrative litigation defense. Ms. Innes has achieved the highest rating in the Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory. She regularly publishes articles on a wide range of employment law topics and is a frequent speaker to client and community groups. Ms. Innes has been named a Northern California Super Lawyer – one of the top 5 percent of lawyers in Northern California – by San Francisco Magazine for each of the last four years. She was featured in an interview titled “America’s Most Influential Women” for the Forbes SkyRadio program airing on American Airlines and United Airlines flights in January and March 2005, respectively. Ms. Innes is a mediator in labor and employment matters, and serves as an expert witness regarding all labor and employment matters with special emphasis on employment practices, discrimination and sexual harassment claims, and wage and hour disputes. She is a member of the editorial advisory committee for the Employer’s Resource Institute; is an associate member of the Associated General Contractors Legal Advisory Committee; and an associate member of the California Association of Licensed Security Agencies, and Guards and Associates. Ms. Innes is a member of the Labor and Employment Law Section of the State Bar of California, the American Bar Association, The Bar Association of San Francisco, the San Mateo County Bar Association and the Marin County Bar Association.
Robert Fried, Esq.
Robert Fried is a partner in the Pleasanton office of Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Ruud & Romo. Mr. Fried manages the Northern California private sector labor employment practice for the Employer Services Practice Group. His caseload ranges from class action wage and hour and unfair business practices defense to defense of the small employer facing a labor commissioner, DFEH, NLRB or OSHA case. Mr. Fried also has extensive background in union and construction labor relations, including public works construction. He has represented clients before the California Supreme Court and other state and federal appellate courts in many of the leading cases determining the scope and application of California public works law. Mr. Fried also serves as a mediator and expert witness in employment and public works matters. He was named one of 12 outstanding attorneys by the East Bay Business Times in their annual review of area attorneys and has been consistently listed as one of the top litigators in the San Francisco Bay area (Top Lawyers in the Bay Area, Bay Area Lawyer Magazine, July/August 2006). Mr. Fried is a member of the State Bar of California, the American Bar Association, The Bar Association of San Francisco, the Alameda County Bar Association and the East Alameda Bar Association. He has played a key authorship role in the creation of California’s most respected publications on labor and employment law, published by the California Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Fried is a frequent writer, lecturer and advocate on issues of human resources policy throughout California and the West. He received his B.A. degree, magna cum laude, from the University of California, Berkeley, and his J.D. degree from Santa Clara University School of Law, where he was an editor of the Santa Clara Law Review.
Nina Kani, Esq.
Nina Kani is an attorney with Foley & Lardner LLP’s Labor & Employment Practice. Ms. Kani’s practice focuses on defending and advising employers in various aspects of the labor-employment relationship, including state and federal equal employment opportunity laws, trade secrets, wage and hour, and the National Labor Relations Act. She represents employers in individual and class actions, and has extensive experience with health care and high-technology companies. Prior to joining Foley, Ms. Kani was an associate with O’Melveny & Myers LLP. She served as a legal extern to the Hon. Howard A. Matz of the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles. Ms. Kani received her bachelor’s degree in political science, summa cum laude, from the University of California, Irvine, and her law degree, cum laude, at the University of California, Hastings College of the Law. She is admitted to practice in all California state courts and the U.S. District Courts for the Northern and Eastern Districts of California. Ms. Kani is also a member of the Labor and Employment Practice Group of the State Bar of California.
Jon Welner, Esq.
Jon Welner is an attorney in the San Francisco office of Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP. Mr. Welner represents private companies and public agencies on a wide range of environmental, real estate and development issues. His practice includes the redevelopment of contaminated properties, or brownfields, and the early transfer and cleanup of closed military bases. Mr. Welner regularly represents clients on complex prevailing wage issues, including the careful structuring of major development projects to clearly define prevailing wage requirements. He represented the developer in the recent Carson Marketplace decision, which held for the first time that an important statutory exemption to prevailing wage requirements can be applied to brownfields redevelopment projects. Mr. Welner received his A.B. degree, with distinction, in political science from Stanford University, where he was a Harry S. Truman Scholar, a John Gardner Fellow and a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He received his J.D. degree from Stanford Law School, where he was associate editor of the Stanford Law Review and president of the Environmental Law Society. Mr. Welner is admitted to the California state bar and all federal courts in California
