Fisher Phillips Continues Growth in California with Irvine Employment Litigators

IRVINE, CA (November 9, 2020) – Fisher Phillips, one of the country’s preeminent labor and employment law firms representing employers, announces the addition of Kristina Noel Buan and Matthew Burris as associates in the firm’s Irvine office.

Prior to joining Fisher Phillips, Buan was a litigator at a regional firm where she represented a broad range of employers, from small businesses to national companies, in matters involving all areas of labor and employment law. She has litigated in federal and state court on behalf of clients involving a variety of workplace issues, including wage and hour claims, wrongful termination, whistleblower retaliation, and claims brought under FMLA, CFRA, Title IX and Title VII. At Fisher Phillips, Buan will work with the firm’s expansive California Litigation team to implement preventive policies that reduce the likelihood of litigation and provide strategic defensive counsel when litigation is unavoidable.

Buan earned her J.D. from Loyola Law School, Los Angeles and her B.A. from the University of California, Irvine.

Burris joins from a California firm where he was a member of their litigation practice group and represented clients in matters involving labor and employment issues and employee discipline and investigations. He has a unique focus on representing public school districts in California and higher education institutions across the country. At Fisher Phillips, Burris will combine his private practice experience with his public service in the Office of General Counsel for The University of North Texas System and The University of Mississippi to provide preventive counseling services and litigation defense to clients across California. He understands the complexity of the state’s public education system and brings that knowledge to bear when managing litigation claims for his clients.

In addition to his extensive legal practice in the education industry, Burris started his career as a teacher and coach in Texas and Mississippi. Burris earned his J.D., magna cum laude, from The University of Mississippi School of Law and his B.A. with honors from The University of Southern Mississippi.

Buan and Burris join on the heels of several recent new hires in California. Since the beginning of 2020, 18 lawyers have joined the firm’s offices in Irvine, Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Francisco and San Diego. Fisher Phillips recently celebrated 30 years of growth in Southern California by opening a Woodland Hills office, its sixth office in the state.