Shelley G. Bryant

Biography

Mr. Bryant specializes in suing large corporations for sexual harassment, discrimination, retaliation and wrongful termination. He also represents thousands of workers in class action cases seeking damages and penalties for unpaid overtime and missed meal/rest periods.

Within the last few years, he has recovered millions of dollars for his clients in employment cases. Most of his lawsuits involve big companies like Bank of America, Met Life, Cingular, AT&T, Longs Drugs, Safeway, Starbucks, Save Mart, Sam's Club, Wal-Mart, Aetna, Denny's, Sky West Airlines, Time Warner Telecom, Pacific Gas & Electric, Microsoft, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Ahern Rentals, Little Caesar's Pizza, Harris Ranch, the U.S. Army, the California Department of Corrections, the Fresno Unified School District, SK Foods, PDM Steel, JM Equipment, Berchtold Equipment, Tulare District Healthcare System, Zumwalt Construction, and the Fresno Police Department. These companies are typically represented by big law firms in Los Angeles or San Francisco, but Mr. Bryant knows how to help you enforce your workplace rights.

Mr. Bryant relies heavily upon technology in his law practice and in the court room during trial. Today, many cases involve thousands of documents and facts, and dozens of witnesses. He uses computer databases to keep track of this information, and to prepare for questioning company executives, managers and supervisors. He is also very comfortable using computers and projection equipment to present cases to juries and judges, which is a must in this day and age.

In virtually all of his cases, Mr. Bryant demands production of electronic evidence (emails, word processing documents, spreadsheets, databases, etc.) that might be stored on the defendants' computers and network. He works hard to keep up with the latest court rules/procedures and computer systems to ensure that his clients get the "smoking gun" information they need to get a fair resolution of their employment law cases.

Mr. Bryant's law practice extends from Bakersfield to Sacramento to Oakland. He has cases filed in federal and state courts all over the Central Valley. He has argued in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and worked on state-court appeals.

Mr. Bryant earned his bachelor's degree from Chapman University and his law degree from the University of California Davis. He worked as an extern at the California Supreme Court, and then at Jory, Peterson, Watkins & Smith representing employers in the Central Valley. As a shareholder attorney in that firm, Mr. Bryant advised employers regarding employment practices/policies and handled their general business litigation matters. He also defended their employment lawsuits. He left that firm to join the Smith & Bryant, Inc., law firm and then opened his own law firm in 2011.

Other Professional Accomplishments:

“Northern California Employment Law Rising Star” according to Super Lawyers

Association of Business Trial Lawyers Annual Seminar Speaker: Does your Technology Meet the Jury’s Expectations? Trying the Social Media Case with Cutting-Edge Technology

Settlement Officer for Mandatory Alternative Dispute Resolution Program in Fresno County Superior Court

Education

• University of California at Davis School of Law, Davis, California
  • J.D. - 2002
• Chapman University, Orange, California
  • B.A. - 1998
  • Honors: cum laude

Bar Admissions

• California
• U.S. District Court Eastern District of California
• U.S. District Court Central District of California

Past Positions

• California Army National Guard, Major, UH-60 Helicopter Pilot (retired)

Professional Associations

• State Bar of California, Employment Law Section, Member
• Fresno Bar Association, Member
• Hugh Goodwin Bar Association, Member
• American Bar Association, Employment Law Section, Member
• California Employment Lawyer's Association, Member
• National Employment Lawyer's Association, Member
• Fresno Trial Lawyer's Association, Member
• Association of Business Trial Lawyers, Member