Fisher Phillips Adds Five Attorneys in Southern California

Fisher Phillips, one of the country’s preeminent labor and employment law firms representing employers, announces the addition of five associate attorneys in Irvine and Los Angeles. Kelsey Wong Javier joins in Irvine and Areen Babajanian, Rodrigo Dryjanski, Christopher Gelpi and Victoria Shin join in the firm’s Los Angeles office. Fisher Phillips recently announced growth across Southern California with the arrival of four attorneys in Irvine and four attorneys in San Diego, and plans to continue growing its labor and employment service offerings across the firm’s six offices in the state.

Javier represents employers and management in a variety of employment law matters including discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wrongful termination, wage and hour litigation, and other employment-related claims in state and federal court. Prior to joining Fisher Phillips, she was an associate at a national law firm where represented a broad range of employers, from small businesses to national corporations, during all phases of employment litigation from inception to resolution. Javier earned her J.D. from Loyola Law School and her B.A. from the University of California, San Diego.

Babajanian is a seasoned litigator with extensive experience representing clients in wage and hour litigation, class and collective actions, and Private Attorney General Act (PAGA) claims. He has a keen understanding of plaintiffs’ side tactics, having represented employee litigants for the greater part of his career. At Fisher Phillips, Babajanian will leverage this know-how to effectively advocate on behalf of management. He earned his J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and his Certificate in Business Economics and Public Policy from the Wharton School, as well as his B.A., summa cum laude, from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Dryjanski represents employers in discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wrongful discharge, and wage and hour matters. He also has experience representing management in union grievances involving discharge and contract disputes and advises employers on day-to-day employment-related issues. Dryjanski’s fluency in Spanish allows him to better assist his clients in the native tongue of a great portion of Southern California’s workforce. Beyond employment disputes, he conducts training sessions and workshops on employment law topics such as sexual harassment (in English and Spanish), workplace investigations, and wage and hour compliance. Dryjanski earned his J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law and his B.S. from the University of California, Riverside.

Gelpi represents clients in employment litigation matters involving allegations of harassment, discrimination, retaliation, wrongful termination, wage and hour violations, unfair competition and restrictive covenants. He joins from a national law firm where he defended employers in numerous wage and hour class action lawsuits, in litigation related to worker classification issues and employment benefits under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), and in Private Attorney General Act lawsuits involving allegations of misclassification, unpaid wages, improper meal and rest periods, and improper use of the tip credit. Gelpi earned his J.D. from Seton Hall University School of Law and his B.A. from Fordham University.

Shin is an experienced litigator who defends employers against single-plaintiff matters concerning retaliation, discrimination, harassment, wrongful termination, and failure to provide reasonable accommodation. She also defends employers against wage and hour claims regarding meal and rest breaks, overtime, inaccurate wage statements, as well as representative actions under the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA). Shin earned her J.D. from The University of California, Hastings College of Law and her B.A. from The University of California, Berkeley.