Samuel P. Nielson

Bar / Professional Activity

• California state courts
• Section Chair, Labor and Employment Section, Orange County Bar Association, 2025
• Committee Member, California Employment Lawyers Association ("CELA") Education Committee, 2024 to present
• Vice Chair, Labor and Employment Section Committee, Orange County Bar Association, 2024
• Secretary, Labor and Employment Section Committee, Orange County Bar Association, 2023
• Labor & Employment Section of the Orange County Bar Association
• Orange County Bar Association
• U.S. District Court, Southern District of California
• U.S. District Court, Northern District of California
• U.S. District Court, Central District of California
• Committee Member, Orange County Bar Association Education Committee, 2020 - present
• Co-chair, Education Committee, Orange County Bar Association (2015 to 2016)
• Secretary, Education Committee, Orange County Bar Association (2013 to 2015)
• Executive Committee Member, Orange County Bar Association Labor & Employment Section, 2012 - 2016, 2019 - present
• Member, J. Rueben Clark Law Society (2013 to present)
• Member, Association of Business Trial Lawyers (2011 to 2013)

Verdicts / Settlements (Case Results)

• Secured a $1.965 million arbitration award in a single-plaintiff retaliation case. (Gilliatt, Cheryl vs. Veritas Health Services, Inc. dba Chino Valley Medical Center, JAMS Arbitration #5200000551). , 2025
• Secured a $350,000 single-plaintiff settlement for unpaid overtime., 2025
• Secured a $175,000 pre-litigation settlement for whistleblower retaliation., 2025
• Secured a $539,524 judgment in a single-plaintiff case for whistleblower retaliation, unpaid wages, and defamation (among other claims). (Shu v. Summa Franchise Consulting, LLC et al., Orange County Superior Court Case No. 30-2023-01320141-CU-OE-CJC.), 2024
• Secured a $435,000 pre-litigation settlement for age discrimination and unpaid wages claims., 2024
• Secured a $250,000 single-plaintiff, pre-litigation settlement for unpaid overtime, 2023
• Secured a $1,600,000 single-plaintiff settlement for religious discrimination and retaliation under California's Fair Employment and Housing Act., 2023
• Secured a $100,000 pre-litigation settlement for race discrimination under California's Fair Employment and Housing Act, 2023
• Secured a $170,000 pre-litigation settlement for race discrimination and unpaid overtime., 2023
• Secured a $100,000 pre-litigation settlement for unpaid overtime, 2023
• Secured a $750,000 single-plaintiff pre-litigation settlement for unpaid wages and breach of contract, 2022
• Secured a $250,000 single-plaintiff settlement for unpaid overtime, 2022
• Secured a $180,000 single-plaintiff settlement for age discrimination, 2022
• Secured a $150,000 single-plaintiff settlement for unpaid wages, 2022
• Secured a $425,000 single-plaintiff settlement concerning whistleblower retaliation., 2021
• Secured a $350,000 single-plaintiff settlement for whistleblower retaliation, 2021
• Secured a $300,000 single-plaintiff settlement concerning unpaid overtime., 2021
• Secured a $445,731 judgment against plaintiff's former employer for various claims including fraud, unpaid wages, false light. (Rosenberg v. Montage Mortgage, Orange County Superior Court Case No. 30-2016-00873169-CU-CO-CJC), 2021
• Secured a $275,000 single-plaintiff settlement concerning race discrimination under California's Fair Employment and Housing Act, 2021
• Secured a $125,000 single-plaintiff settlement in a misclassification and discrimination case, 2021
• Secured a $117,000 single-plaintiff settlement in an overtime misclassification case, 2021
• Secured a $100,000 single-plaintiff settlement concerning age discrimination under California's Fair Employment and Housing Act, 2021
• Secured a $385,000 single-plaintiff settlement for associational discrimination and misclassification, 2020
• Secured a $225,000 pre-litigation settlement for sexual harassment, 2019
• Rosenberg v. Montage Mortgage et al, Case No. G054886 Successfully opposed motion to compel arbitration subsequently affirmed on appeal. Court opinion, 2018
• Secured a $162,000 pre-litigation settlement for retaliation and unpaid overtime claims, 2018
• Secured a $115,000 settlement for claims based on age discrimination, 2018
• Secured a $600,000 settlement for a single-plaintiff case based on retaliation and race and gender discrimination, 2017
• Secured a $475,000 confidential settlement for a single-plaintiff, wrongful termination/retaliation claim, 2016
• Secured a $300,000 settlement for a single-plaintiff case based on disability discrimination and failure to engage in the interactive process, 2016
• Secured a $125,000 settlement for a single-plaintiff, overtime misclassificaiton case, 2016
• Secured a $325,000 settlement in an age discrimination case, 2015
• Kelly v. Rowland Unified School District (LA Superior Court Case No. KC065425) - Secured a $225,000 settlement in a disability discrimination case two weeks before trial was set to begin, 2014
• Secured a $590,000 settlement in a claim for unpaid commissions, 2013
• Prevailed on claims for illegal record keeping against an employer following a two-week jury trial in Los Angeles Superior Court.  Case number is BC483425, 2013

Pro bono / Community Service

• J. Reuben Clark Law Society
• Volunteer, Supervisor, and Trainer for an international non-governmental organization in Belgium and France
• Chair, International Employment and Labor Law Section – J. Rueben Clark Law Society (2016 to 2022)
• Executive Committee Member – Orange County Bar Association Labor & Employment Section (2012-2016; 2019 to present)
• Education Committee Co-Chair – Orange County Bar Association (2015 to 2016)
• Board of Directors – J. Rueben Clark Law Society (Orange County Chapter) (2015 to 2016)
• Mentor, University of California, Irvine School of Law (2011 to 2013)
• Counselor, Boy Scouts of America (2013 to 2019)
• Pro Bono Attorney, Public Law Center of Orange County (2011 to 2013) 
• Volunteer for local Cub Scouts den (2018 to 2019)

Honors

• Recognized by The National Trial Lawyers as one of Southern California's Top 100 Civil Plaintiff attorneys., Top 100 Civil Plaintiff Attorney, The National Trial Lawyers, 2025
• Super Lawyer, Super Lawyers, 2025
• Super Lawyer, Super Lawyers, 2024
• Rising Star, Rising Star, Super Lawyers, 2023
• Rising Star, Rising Star, Super Lawyers, 2022
• Rising Star, Super Lawyers, 2021
• Perfect 10/10 rating, Avvo
• Recognized, Employment Law360
• Top 40 Under 40 Lawyers, The National Advocates (2015)
• BV-Distinguished, Martindale-Hubbell
• Wiley W. Manuel Award, Pro Bono Legal Services, California State Bar (2013)
• Southern California Rising Star, Labor and Employment Law, Super Lawyers Magazine (2013 to 2021)
• Up-and-Coming 25, Orange County Rising Stars, Super Lawyers Magazine (2019, 2020)
• Up-and-Coming 100, Southern California Rising Stars, Super Lawyers Magazine (2019, 2020)
• Terry G. Jordan-Bychkov (Ph.D.) Paper Award, American Association of Geographers, 2020
• Paul E. Lovingood Award, University of South Carolina, Department of Geography, 2020
• First Place, Graduate Student Paper, Eurasian Specialty Group, American Association of Geographers, 2020
• Secured a fellowship for international research regarding migrants and refugees., Donald J. Puchula Fellowship in International Affairs, Walker Institute at USC, 2018
• Secured a fellowship for completing dissertation regarding migrants and refugees., Bilinksi Fellowship, Russel J. and Dorothy S. Bilinski Education Foundation, 2018
• Named one of California's "Top 40 Under 40" by The National Advocates (a companion organization to The National Trial Lawyers)., Top 40 Under 40, The National Advocates, 2016
• BV-Distinguished, Martindale-Hubbel, 2016
• Named by The National Advocates (a companion organization to The National Trial Lawyers) as one of the "Top 40 Under 40" attorneys in California., Top 40 Under 40, The National Advocates, 2015
• Named after Justice Wiley Manuel who became the first African American Justice of the California Supreme Court in 1977, the Wiley Manuel Award is given by the State Bar of California to recognize attorneys who have provided significant pro bono services.  The award recipient’s efforts to provide legal services to the poor honor the memory of Justice Manuel., Wiley Manuel Pro Bono Award, California State Bar, 2013

Educational Background

• Ph.D., University of South Carolina
• J.D., University of Iowa 
• Brigham Young University, B.S., magna cum laude with University Honors

Scholarly Lectures / Writings

• Served as a speaker presenting the plaintiff perspective on key 2025 developments in California employment law., Featured Speaker, Annual Employment Law Review: Key 2025 Developments, Orange County Bar Association, 2026
• Plenary session speaker at the California Employment Lawyers Association's annual conference about efficiently and ethically using AI in legal practice.  , Plenary Speaker, AI and the Practice of Law: What Law Students Know that You Don't, California Employment Lawyers Association (CELA) Annual Conference, 2025
• Featured speaker at the Orange County Bar Association's annual Labor & Employment Symposium about arbitration promises and pitfalls. , Featured Speaker, Arbitration: You Sure About That?, Orange County Bar Association Labor & Employment Symposium, 2025
• Served as the program chair and moderator for the Orange County Bar Association's annual Jurist Spotlight series featuring Erwin Chemerinsky and John Shu as speakers., Program Chair and Moderator, OCBA Annual Jurist Spotlight: David Souter, Orange County Bar Association, 2025
• Organized the OCBA's annual L&E symposium featuring six separate CLE events. , Organizer, Orange County Bar Association Labor & Employment Symposium, Orange County Bar Association, 2025
• Invited by The Daily Journal to author an article on former NFL player Chris Kluwe’s lawsuit against the Huntington Beach Union High School District. I accepted the invite and concluded that the suit over Kluwe's anti-MAGA speech is legally doomed — hampered by missed procedural steps, sovereign immunity and alienating rhetoric — making him far from the First Amendment hero he claims to be., Author, Chris Kluwe's losing First Amendment Lawsuit isn't the free speech fight we need, The Daily Journal, Law, 2025
• Featured speaker for the Orange County Bar Association's "OCBAR Insights" series discussing legal and practical implications with return to office directives., Featured Speaker, OCBAR Insights: Promises and Pitfalls with Return to Office Directives, Orange County Bar Association, 2025
• Served as a speaker presenting the plaintiff perspective on key 2024 developments in California employment law., Featured Speaker, 2024 in Review: Key Employment Law Developments, Orange County Bar Association, 2025
• Organized the OCBA's annual L&E symposium featuring nine separate CLE events. , Organizer, Orange County Bar Association Labor & Employment Symposium, Orange County Bar Association, 2024
• Served as the program chair and moderator for the Orange County Bar Association's annual Jurist Spotlight series featuring Erwin Chemerinsky and John Shu as speakers., Program Chair and Moderator, OCBA Annual Jurist Spotlight: Justice John Paul Stevens, Orange County Bar Association, 2024
• Plenary session speaker at the Orange County Bar Association's annual Labor & Employment Symposium about efficiently conducting discovery while complying with ethical obligations. , Speaker, Ethically and Efficiently Conducting Discovery, Orange County Bar Association Labor & Employment Symposium, 2024
• Served as the featured plaintiff's perspective speaker regarding key 2023 developments in California law., Featured Speaker, 2023 in Review: Key Employment Law Developments, Orange County Bar Association, 2024
• Taught CLE program addressing common ethical issues attorneys face in employment cases and how to litigate them appropriately., Featured Speaker, Ethical Dangers and Traps in Employment Litigation, Orange County Bar Association Labor & Employment Section, Employment Law Symposium, 2023
• Served as the program chair and moderator for the Orange County Bar Association's annual Jurist Spotlight series featuring Erwin Chemerinsky and John Shu as speakers., Program Chair and Moderator, OCBA Jurist Spotlight: U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., Orange County Bar Association, 2023
• Served as the featured plaintiff's perspective speaker regarding key 2022 developments in California law., Featured Speaker, 2022 in Review: Key Employment Law Developments, Orange County Bar Association, 2023
• Served as a featured speaker regarding developments in California employment law, Featured Speaker, Current Developments in Employment Law, Orange County Bar Association, 2023
• Organized and taught CLE program providing practical insight into ethically engaging indiscovery and how doing so makes the process more efficient., Featured Speaker, Ethically and Efficiently Conducting Discovery, Orange County Bar Association Labor & Employment Law Symposium, 2022
• Writer – Iowa Law Review
• Served as the program chair and moderator for the Orange County Bar Association's Jurist Spotlight series featuring Erwin Chemerinsky and John Shu as speakers., Program Chair and Moderator, OCBA Jurist Spotlight: U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen G. Breyer, Orange County Bar Association, 2022
• Served as the featured plaintiff's perspective speaker regarding key 2021 developments in California employment law., Featured Speaker, 2021 in Review: Key Employment Law Developments, Orange County Bar Association, 2022
• Served as a speaker presenting the plaintiff perspective on key 2021 developments in California employment law, Speaker, OCBA Last Dash: Current Developments in Employment Law, Orange County Bar Association, 2022
• Served as program chair for the Orange County Bar Association's Annual Tribute to a Legal Giant featuring Erwin Chemerinsky and Jennifer Mascott., Program Chair, The Journey And Jurisprudence Of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, Orange County Bar Association, 2021
• Spoke at the Orange County Bar Association's annual Labor & Employment Symposium about how to use discovery more effectively to resolve cases., Speaker, Effectively Using Discovery to Win Your Case, Orange County Bar Association, 2021
• Served as a speaker presenting the plaintiff perspective on key 2020 developments in California employment law, Speaker, 2020 in Review: Key Employment Law Developments, Orange County Bar Association, 2021
• Organized and moderated a CLE presentation concerning FEHA claims when employees have union membership, Organizer and Moderator, FEHA and Labor Law: When Worlds Collide, Orange County Bar Association, Legal, 2021
• Organized and served as a featured panelist regarding employment settlement agreements at the Orange County Bar Association Labor & Employment Section's monthly MCLE lunch, Organizer and Speaker, Carefully Considering FEHA Disability Cases Post Covid-19, Orange County Bar Association, Legal, 2020
• Authored an article examining the message of belonging conveyed to Muslims in France through legal and political pronouncements regarding burkini bans that surfaced in France shortly after a terror attack , Author, Beaches and Muslim belonging in France: liberty, equality, but not the burkini!, cultural geographies, 2020
• The article provides guidance in crafting settlement agreements to make them readily acceptable to all sides, Author, Making the Most of Your Settlement Agreements, Advocate Magazine, Legal, 2019
• Organized and served as a featured panelist regarding employment settlement agreements at the Orange County Bar Association Labor & Employment Section's monthly MCLE lunch, Organizer and Panelist, Employment Case Settlement Agreements: The Tail Wagging the Dog, Orange County Bar Association, 2019
• Invited speaker at the First Tuesday Club of the Midlands in Columbia, South Carolina, regarding gerrymandering and the US Supreme Court, Presenter, Gerrymandering and the Supreme Court, First Tuesday Club of the Midlands, 2019
• This article provides ten cogent tips on working with the court as gleaned from working in Judge Guilford's chambers, appearing in front of him and other judges as an attorney, and then securing Judge Guilford's perspective on these perceptions, Author, Courting the Court: Ten Tips for Improving Your Relationship with Justice, OC Lawyer Magazine, Legal, 2018
• Invited speaker at the American Association of Geographers' Annual Meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana, regarding court cases and gerrymandering, Presenter, Gerrymandering: Mapping Its Legal Progression, American Association of Geographers, American Association Of Geographers, 2018
• Served as a featured panelist regarding employment arbitration agreements at the Orange County Bar Association's annual Employment Law Symposium, Panelist, Attacking and Drafting Effective Arbitration Contracts: Pitfalls and Protocols, Orange County Bar Association, Legal, 2017
• The New York Times, The Gender Gap in the Tech World, 2017
• Invited panelist to discuss legal implication for undocumented migrant workers from Latin America under the Trump administration at the American Association of Geographer's Annual Conference in Boston, Massachusetts, Panelist, Implications of the Trump Administration for Latin American Geography, American Association Of Geographers, 2017
• Presented developments in California employment law from the year 2015, Current Developments in California Employment Law, OCBA Last Dash, Orange County Bar Association, 2016
• Served as a featured presenter at an international conference regarding employees' religious rights in the workplace, Presenter, Religion and the Workplace: Workers' Rights and Accommodations, 2017
• Served as program chair for the Orange County Bar Association's Annual Tribute to a Legal Giant for the third year in a row, Program Chair, The Journey and Jurisprudence of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Orange County Bar Association, 2016
• Served as program chair for the Orange County Bar Association's Annual Tribute to a Legal Giant for the second year in a row, Program Chair, OCBA Annual Tribute to a Legal Giant: Justice Antonin Scalia, Orange County Bar Association, 2015
• Served as one of two panelists discussing developments in California employment law from the year 2014, Panelist, Current Developments in Employment Law, OCBA Last Dash, Orange County Bar Association, 2015
• Served as program chair for the Orange County Bar Association's Annual Tribute to a Legal Giant program, Program Chair, OCBA Annual Tribute to a Legal Giant: Chief Justice Earl Warren, Orange County Bar Association, 2014
• Served as one of two panelists discussing Cochran v. Schwan's, a seminal California court case, and a new sick leave law affecting California employers.  The presentation occurred to approximately 120 attorneys, Panelist, Cochran v. Schwan and Mandatory Paid Sick Time (AB 1522) - Troubles and Opportunities for California Employers, Orange County Bar Association, 2014
• Co-authored an article providing an overview of the primary areas of litigation under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act through an analysis of judicial decisions invoking the statute in 2011.  Journal article citation is: 19 Law & Bus. Rev. Am. 139, Co-Author, The Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act: 2011 Year in Review, Law and Business Review of the Americas, 2013

“Intelligent, committed litigator.”