Dennis Childs is a partner in the Employment & Labor practice group and a member of the Cooley Litigation department. He joined the Firm in 2000 and is resident in the San Diego and Los Angeles offices.
Mr. Childs' practice is devoted to representing a wide range of industries in employment law. He has over 30 years experience representing employers and management, with an emphasis on civil litigation in federal and state court involving wrongful termination, discrimination and harassment, disability claims, trade secrets and unfair competition, ERISA, union-management issues, defamation, privacy and class action wage and hour claims. He also represents employers before numerous federal and state agencies.
Dennis counsels employers regarding all aspects of the employment relationship requiring day-to-day and strategic attention, including terminations and discipline, employment contracts, trade secret and intellectual property protection, executive compensation, reductions-in-force and associated compensation and severance issues, privacy and free speech issues, recruitment, hiring, collective bargaining and employment policies and practices. Key areas of focus include:
Executive acquisition and separation strategies
Executive employment agreements
Employee mobility, including non-competition and related trade secret issues
Counseling on employee discipline and terminations
Design and development of employment arbitration agreements and programs
Corporate governance issues
Overtime exemption and independent contractor classification
Internal investigations
Reductions in force and WARN Act compliance
Dennis is regularly named among the best in his fields of practice by various publications, including; Southern California Super Lawyers (Labor & Employment); the San Diego Daily Transcript "Top San Diego County Attorneys" (Employment & Labor); and San Diego Magazine (Top Lawyers). Dennis frequently addresses human resources executives, general counsel and in-house counsel in a variety of forums, including Cooley's annual HR Network series. Dennis serves as counsel to the Semper Fi Wounded Warrior Fund on a pro bono basis.
