1 Hour MCLE

Chris Knudsen has specialized in representing public entities in employment matters since 1998.  He has handled all aspects of public employment matters, including administrative proceedings before the State Personnel Board, representing state agencies at trial, and appellate advocacy.  He has also conducted dozens of workplace investigations for numerous state agencies.  Chris enjoys employment cases because they are factually complex and the law is always evolving allowing creative approaches to the litigation.  Some of his most fulfilling work involves working with clients before a lawsuit to attempt to resolve employment issues without litigation.  
 
Chris received his law degree from UCLA and his undergraduate degree from the University of Washington.  After graduating from law school, he worked first at Sidley & Austin and then Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison before coming to the Attorney General’s Office in 1998.  He loves his job with the Office.  He has served as the Senior Assistant of the Employment Law Section since 2015.  During this presentation, Chris will be providing his personal views from the perspective of a public employment attorney.  He does not speak for the Office of the Attorney General.   
 
Outside of the office, Chris enjoys walking around Carlsbad with his German Shepherd.  Chris also enjoys racquetball, creative writing, and paddle boarding.  

Wendy Musell is Of Counsel to Levy Vinick Burrell and Hyams and a founding partner of Law Offices of Wendy Musell. Ms. Musell is committed to representing employees in public and private employment and protecting their civil rights. Ms. Musell is a recognized leader in California representing employees and their interests. She has dedicated her career to representing employees since 1999 in wage theft, discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wrongful termination, and whistleblower actions. She has extensive experience representing employees in state and federal court. 
 
Ms. Musell was named in 2020 and 2021 as a Top 75 Labor and Employment Lawyer in California by the Daily Journal. In 2019, she was named as a Top 100 Women Attorneys in California. Ms. Musell was recognized as a Super Lawyer from 2018-2021. She has also been named in 2019-2021 as a top 100 national trial attorney by National Trial Lawyers. Since 2016, she was named among the top ten percent of attorneys in the United States, according to “Lawyers of Distinction,” which is published bi-annually in USA Today and the New York Times. She was also named as a member of the Top 500 Plaintiff’s employment in the nation by LawDragon in 2019-2021.
 
Ms. Musell served from 2018-2019 as the President of the California Employment Lawyers Association (CELA) and current Board member. CELA is a statewide organization of over 1,200 California attorneys who devote the major portion of their practices to representing employees in individual employment cases and class actions. Ms. Musell is also a member of the Fellows of the American Bar Foundation (ABF).  Ms. Musell has also served as an Adjunct Law Professor for the University of San Francisco School of Law teaching an employment law clinical course.
 
Ms. Musell has also spoken on numerous occasions regarding employment discrimination, federal employees, disability rights and other employment related topics and received multiple awards for her representation on behalf of workers.

Beth W. Mora of Mora Employment Law is dedicated to representing victimized employees. She is a passionate and accomplished advocate for those facing a wide range of employment law issues. Beth’s commitment to social justice and volunteerism is deeply rooted in her personal values. Due to her advocacy, Beth is often invited to speak, has published numerous articles as well as has been quoted in legal journals, including Bloomberg Law, Daily Journal, and Law 360 on issues impacting employees and the legal community. From the courthouse to the boardroom, Beth is a committed advocate for her clients and community.