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  • Esra A. Hudson
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Esra A. Hudson

Hudson_Esra_New2018-Bio-Template-730-x-730

Partner

Employment and Labor
Contact
  • ehudson@manatt.com
  • Phone: 310.312.4381
  • Download vCard
  • Los Angeles
Bar Admissions
  • California

Education
  • University of California Los Angeles School of Law, J.D., 1999
    Member and Symposium Editor, UCLA Law Review

    University of Wisconsin-Madison, B.A., with distinction, 1991

Services
  • Class Actions
  • Digital Media Litigation
  • Employment and Labor
  • Litigation
  • Manatt for Entrepreneurs
Industries
  • Hospitality and Leisure

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  • Profile
  • Experience
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Honors & Awards
  • Memberships
  • Publications
Profile

Profile

Esra Hudson is the leader of Manatt’s employment and labor practice.

Esra focuses her practice on all aspects of employment law and related litigation. Her practice is client centered and cutting edge. She has saved clients hundreds of millions of dollars in high-stakes cases by developing creative and effective litigation strategies. Esra has particular experience handling Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) representative actions and class action defense. She also represents companies in state and federal courts, defending claims of discrimination, harassment, whistleblowing, wrongful discharge and related tort claims, breach of contract, trade secrets, unfair competition, and all other employment-related matters. Esra has represented employers in proceedings before state and federal agencies, including the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing, the California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement and the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. She has also successfully defended broad-ranging classification audits by the California Employment Development Department. Esra’s litigation practice also includes extensive experience in alternative dispute resolution, including managing and trying dozens of simultaneous arbitration matters following the enforcement of class action waivers in arbitration agreements.

In addition to her litigation practice, Esra is a trusted advisor to her clients on a variety of employment, personnel management and operational issues. She has expertise in crisis management and media relations, including in sensitive matters involving executives and high-profile individuals. Esra also provides a wide array of management training on a variety of employment-related subjects, including sexual harassment and discrimination prevention. She develops employment manuals and policies, as well as executive employment and severance agreements.

Esra provides services for companies in a diverse group of industries, including entertainment, financial services, healthcare, transportation, insurance, manufacturing, the service industry and nonprofits.

Experience

Experience

  • Secured a unanimous jury verdict on behalf of the Los Angeles Clippers basketball team in a wrongful termination, harassment and discrimination lawsuit brought against the team and its top executives by former General Manager Elgin Baylor.
  • Defeated the certification of a 1,000-employee class action suit in an off-the-clock overtime and meal and rest break case for a specialty finance provider.
  • Represented one of the largest health plans in California as plaintiff in a highly publicized action against a former senior-level employee who misappropriated confidential and privileged information.
  • Defended a major entertainment company against an employee who alleged age and sexual orientation discrimination; achieved full voluntary dismissal of the case with prejudice following the plaintiff’s deposition.
  • Developed a creative defense strategy for a national insurance company in a statewide class misclassification wage-and-hour action on behalf of thousands of insurance agents, resulting in full dismissal and no liability.
  • Secured an important victory that reduced liability by millions of dollars for a specialty finance provider in a PAGA representative action.
  • Obtained summary judgment for a major entertainment company in a wrongful termination case brought by an alleged whistleblower. The judgment was later upheld on appeal.
  • Defeated various crucial discovery challenges and ultimately secured dismissal on a successful motion for summary judgment for a large medical facility in a whistleblower wrongful termination action.
  • Represented a major entertainment company in two mediations of claims brought by former employees. The final settlements were less than the severance offers provided to the employees at the time of their separation.
  • Successfully resolved a complex trade secret misappropriation case involving allegations of destruction of evidence, obtaining a substantial settlement for the client.
  • Represented a mortgage lender in a trial of a pregnancy discrimination/wrongful termination case and obtained a full defense verdict on seven claims.
  • During jury trial, obtained full dismissal of plaintiff’s national origin discrimination/wrongful termination case in a motion for judgment of nonsuit.
  • In federal court, obtained full dismissal of sexual harassment/wrongful termination claims against a national bank on the first day of trial as a terminating sanction for plaintiff’s discovery misconduct.
  • In private arbitration, obtained full dismissal of assault/battery and wrongful termination claims against a textile machinery company as a terminating sanction for discovery abuses and evidence tampering by plaintiff and his counsel.
  • Settled a multimillion-dollar class action for a large healthcare provider for pennies on the dollar.
  • Secured plaintiff’s voluntary dismissal of all claims against the client for a waiver of costs only in a sexual harassment/wrongful termination case.
  • Obtained dismissal of numerous contract, fraud, harassment, discrimination, wrongful termination and other employment claims on summary judgment.
  • Represented the petitioner in Hairston v. Office of Personnel Management, 318 F.3d 1127 (Fed. Cir. 2003), a pro bono case that created new law in the area of federal employee benefits. ​
Speaking Engagements

Speaking Engagements

Speaker, “Employees Returning to the Office: A Legal Lens & COVID-19 Resources,” Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce Health Care Council, October 13, 2021.

Speaker, "Work and Weed: What Lawyers Need to Know About Cannabis in the Workplace," California Lawyers Association Webinar, September 3, 2020.

Speaker, "Return to Workplace Webinar Series: Legal and Regulatory Considerations,” ABD Insurance and Financial Services, June 11, 2020.

Speaker, "2012 Entertainment Labor Law Symposium," Los Angeles County Bar Association, February 9, 2012.

Honors & Awards

Honors & Awards

The Legal 500 United States’ Leading Lawyer for Labor and Employment Disputes (Including Collective Actions): Defense, 2022

Chambers USA Top-Ranked Attorney, Labor & Employment (California), 2022

The Best Lawyers in America, 2022–2023

500 Leading U.S. Corporate Employment Lawyers, Lawdragon, 2020–2022

Voted a Southern California “Rising Star” by Super Lawyers magazine, 2007–2009

Memberships

Memberships

Admitted to practice in California; admitted to practice before the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada, and the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals

Board of Directors, California Women’s Law Center

Board of Trustees, Laurence School, 2008–2014

Member, American Bar Association

Member, Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles

Provides pro bono adoption services for Public Counsel and Alliance for Children’s Rights

Publications

Publications

Co-author, “What artists, influencers and brands need to know,” Daily Journal, September 26, 2022.

Quoted, “Vaccine Exemption Bids for Health-Care Workers to Spark Lawsuits,” Bloomberg Law, November 30, 2021.

Quoted, “California’s Workplace COVID-19 Standards Require Strict Protocols,” SHRM, January 8, 2021.

Co-author, “Families First Coronavirus Response Act: Two New Forms of Job-Protected Paid Leave To Be Enacted,” Westlaw Journal Employment, March 24, 2020.

Quoted, “California Adds Resources for Employers and Workers Affected by Coronavirus,” SHRM, March 23, 2020.

Quoted, “Many Employers Must Offer Paid Leave Under Coronavirus Relief Law,” SHRM, March 19, 2020.

Co-author, “Coronavirus: Top 10 issues for employers,” Daily Journal, March 13, 2020.

Co-author, "Avoiding Social Networking Land Mines for Employers," Inside Counsel, November 4, 2010.

Esra in the News

  • 08.18.22

    86 Manatt Attorneys Named to 2023 Best Lawyers Guide

    Eighty-six Manatt attorneys have been named to the 2023 edition of Best Lawyers in America, which recognizes the nation’s leading lawyers each ...

  • 08.14.22

    Manatt Represents ETIC in Strategic Acquisition by Lido Advisors

    A Manatt team led by Mergers and Acquisitions and Capital Markets Partner and Leader Thomas Poletti and Financial Services Leader Craig Miller ...

  • 08.12.22

    Hudson and Kelly Named to Lawdragon Leading Corporate Employment ...

    Manatt Employment and Labor Leader Esra Hudson and Partner Deborah Kelly were named to Lawdragon ’s 2022 Leading Corporate Employment ...

  • 06.08.22

    Manatt Recognized Again as a Leading Law Firm by The Legal 500 in ...

    Manatt has once again been recognized as one of the country’s top law firms in The Legal 500 United States 2022 guide, which highlights ...

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Esra's Articles

  • 09.26.22

    What Artists, Influencers and Brands Need to Know

    Manatt Partner Esra Hudson and Associates Mackenzie Pearson and Ryan Patterson wrote a column for the Daily Journal about the impact that ...



  • 03.13.20

    Coronavirus: Top 10 issues for employers

    Manatt employment and labor practice leader Esra Hudson and associate Michael Olsen authored an article for Daily Journal offering guidance for ...



  • 04.23.18

    California Employers Not Required to ‘Police’ Meal Breaks

    Why it matters As employers are not required to “police” whether or not workers take meal breaks, a California appellate panel ...



  • 04.23.18

    SEC Awards Whistleblower Record Amount, Uses ‘Safe Harbor’

    Why it matters Continuing its recent streak of notable whistleblower awards, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced more than ...



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Esra's Newsletters

  • 06.15.22

    Supreme Court Delivers a PAGA Win to Employers

    Today, the United States Supreme Court issued its long-awaited decision in Viking River Cruises, Inc. v. Moriana, Case No. 20-1573, regarding ...

  • 04.25.22

    Cal/OSHA Issues Revised COVID-19 Workplace Rules

    On Thursday, April 21, 2022, the Standards Board of the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health adopted streamlined COVID-19 ...

  • 01.26.22

    California on Track to Bring Back COVID-19 Sick Leave Pay

    Governor Gavin Newsom and legislative leaders announced they had reached an agreement to restore California’s requirement that businesses ...

  • 01.26.22

    OSHA Withdraws COVID-19 Vaccinate-or-Test ETS—Now What?

    On January 25, 2022, OSHA announced its decision to withdraw the vaccination, testing and face covering emergency temporary standard issued on ...

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Esra's Events and Webinars

  • 02.07.23

    How to Navigate the Regulatory Trend to Ban and Criminalize ...

    On the heels of the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) January 5, 2023 proposed rule banning noncompetes, Manatt’s antitrust and ...



  • 04.27.22

    Health Care Litigation Trends to Watch in 2022…and Beyond

    Health care is facing a tidal wave of change—from enforcement actions around CARES Act funding to employment issues in a post-COVID workplace ...



  • 11.17.21

    Vexed by the Vax: Understanding the Current State of Vaccine Science ...

    As the number of discussions on returning to the office in a post-pandemic world increases, so does the number of questions about vaccine ...



  • 10.13.21

    Hudson to Speak at LA Chamber of Commerce Health Care Council Event

    Esra Hudson, leader of Manatt’s employment and labor practice, will speak at a virtual event hosted by the Health Care Council of the Los ...



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