Employment Discrimination Archives - Eisenberg & Baum, LLP

Colton Wakefield

May 23, 2023/ Associate Employment Discrimination

Colton Wakefield is an associate in the Eisenberg & Baum, LLP, where he focuses his practice on federal and state anti-discrimination cases in in the Employment Discrimination Department and Law Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing.

During law school, Mr. Wakefield interned for the New York City Law Department in the Environmental Law Division. He also interned for Lincoln Square Legal Services, Inc. providing transactional legal work for organizations seeking to promote community economic developments. Mr. Wakefield was a recipient of the Archibald R. Murray Public Service Award, and he served as a Notes and Articles Editor for Fordham’s Urban Law Journal.

Mr. Wakefield received his J.D. and graduated cum laude from Fordham University School of Law. He received his B.A. in Sociology from Texas Tech University and holds degrees in American Sign Language and American Sign Language Interpreting.

Reyna Lubin

October 20, 2020/ Partner Deaf Law Center, Employment Discrimination, Sexual Abuse

Reyna Lubin is a powerful advocate of justice and is dedicated to standing up for her client’s rights. She is a highly sought-after trial attorney and has successfully tried a broad range of discrimination matters throughout the nation’s state and federal courts. She represents individuals and non-profits injured by wrongful conduct. Her areas of practice include employment law, disability discrimination, sexual abuse, and fair housing matters.

Reyna has successfully obtained numerous favorable outcomes and verdicts for her clients. Her recent successes includes obtaining multiple six-figure settlements for clients subject to unlawful discrimination, retaliation, and termination by their employers; successfully defending summary judgment motions in federal court for clients who were subject to sexual harassment by their employer, obtaining a verdict in favor of a deaf client who was wrongfully discriminated against by a national career fair; obtaining multiple verdicts in favor of fair housing organizations against assisted living facilities for wrongfully discriminating against disabled individuals; and obtaining dozens of public consent decrees that seek to ensure equal housing for all.

Before joining the firm, Reyna was an Assistant District Attorney at the Kings County District Attorney’s Office. At the DAs office, Ms. Lubin handled over 2,000 cases involving intimate partner violence, including crimes of murder, sexual assault, firearm possession, unlawful dissemination of intimate images, and numerous other offenses. She earned her degrees from Louisiana State University. In law school, she inducted to the Wex Malone American Inn of Court for her exceptional trial advocacy skills. In college, she was a Division I student-athlete on the women’s soccer team

Reyna is a regular speaker on issues relating to sexual harassment and fair housing matters.

Toni Jaramilla, Esq.

April 23, 2015/ Of Counsel Employment Discrimination

Toni Jaramilla, of counsel to Litigation Practice Group of Eisenberg & Baum, LLP, believes in creating positive social change through dedicated and compassionate advocacy for the rights of workers. Since 1994, she has been practicing exclusively employment law, and has litigated hundreds of cases of discrimination, harassment, wrongful termination, and unpaid overtime wages resulting in millions of dollars in settlements and verdicts. She represents individuals from all walks of life, from minimum wage workers to executives and professionals from a wide variety of industries and fields. She has taken numerous cases to trial in both state and federal courts as well as in arbitration. She has successfully argued before the California Court of Appeals.

Ms. Jaramilla was the past Chair of the California Employment Lawyers Association (CELA) from 2011-2013, California’s largest and strongest employee rights advocate group. She is a past Chair of CELA’s Diversity Committee which establishes scholarships and fellowships to encourage women and those of multi-cultural backgrounds to practice employment law. Early in her career in 1998, Ms. Jaramilla was selected to serve on the Executive Board of the California State Bar, Labor and Employment Law Section. She then served as its Chair in 2004-2005 and is currently an Advisor. During her tenure with the State Bar L&E section, she established a Diversity/Educational grant program that secured thousands of dollars to help fund educational programs on employment law rights. This grant program continues to exist today and helps many local bar organizations.
Ms. Jaramilla was the 2010 recipient of CELA’s “Joe Posner Award” which is a distinguished recognition given once a year to one individual who exemplifies the inspiring and admirable qualities found in Joe Posner, the late co-founder of CELA. Those qualities have been recognized as: the

tireless commitment to the betterment of the plight of workers and the expansion of their rights; selfless services to the employee rights’ community; promotion of collegiality amongst the employment bar; unwavering efforts to further the education of his/her colleagues, opposing counsel and the judiciary.

Through a vote by her peers, Ms. Jaramilla was selected and featured as a Southern California “Rising Star” for 2004 given to top attorneys under the age of 40 and, consistently in the following years to the present, was nominated and featured as a “Super Lawyer” in the Los Angeles Magazine and Law & Politics Magazine. Ms. Jaramilla’s peers have also voted her to be included each year from 2006 through 2013 in “The Best Lawyers in America” and she was profiled in the Los Angeles Times in a tribute to “Women Leaders in the Law” in 2009, and “Top Women Lawyers” in 2011 through 2013. In addition, Ms. Jaramilla was one of a select few U.S. employment law attorneys invited to speak before delegates of the Human Rights Commission of Korea during its efforts to expand Korea’s own anti-discrimination laws.

Since college and throughout her legal career, she has devoted extensive pro bono time outreaching and serving under-represented communities. She served as President of the Philippine American Bar Association (1998) and is currently an Advisor. She was front-page profiled in the Los Angeles Daily Journal’s article titled “Bar President is Feisty Advocate” (October 6, 1998), and was featured again on September 9, 2002 for her successful advocacy on behalf of discrimination victims. Certain of her high profile cases were featured in the media through the years. Ms. Jaramilla’s fight for workers extends beyond the cases she litigates. She has been recognized by local leaders and council members for her “outstanding, hardworking, and dedicated leadership in the Los Angeles community.”

Ms. Jaramilla is a frequent speaker for California statewide and local bar organizations as well as community groups and radio shows on the topics of labor and employment law, diversity in the legal profession, litigation, and trials. She mentors many law students and new lawyers on how to be successful lawyers and compassionate advocates.

Litigation Percentage

100% of Practice Devoted to Litigation

Representative Cases

Bellardine, Jennifer v. Apple One Employment Services (C.A. 2nd, B127234, June 15, 1999)
Carrillo, Elo v. U.C. Regents (UCLA), 1997 W.L. 913107 (Cal. App. 2 Dist. 1997)

Classes/Seminars

Frequent Speaker, Various Issues in Employment & Labor Law

Honors and Awards

U.S. Congressional Resolution Honoring Toni J. Jaramilla For Her Community Service Work, Jan. 21, 2000
California State Board of Equalization Resolution Recognizing Her “Outstanding, Hardworking & Dedicated Leadership in the Los Angeles Community,” 1998
Southern California “Rising Star,” Los Angeles Magazine, 2004
Super Lawyer, Featured, Los Angeles Magazine, 2005
The Best Lawyers in America, Featured, 2006
The Best Lawyers in America, Featured, Los Angeles Times, 2007
Best Lawyers, Featured Los Angeles Times, 2009
Super Lawyers, Featured Los Angeles Magazine, 2009
Women Leaders in the Law, Featured Los Angeles Times, 2009
CELA’s “Joe Posner Award,” 2010
Southern California “Rising Star,” 2004
“Super Lawyer” Los Angeles Magazine and Law & Politics Magazine
The Best Lawyers in America, 2006 – 2013
Los Angeles Times, “Women Leaders in the Law,” 2009
Top Women Lawyers, 2011 – 2013
Chair of CELA, Women Making a Difference Award – Nominee, Los Angeles Business Journal, 2011 – 2013
Alumni of the Year – Distinguished Service Award, 2013
The Los Angeles Daily Journal’s Article Titled “Bar President is Feisty Advocate”, October 6, 1998

Professional Associations and Memberships

California State Bar – Past Chair, Labor and Employment Section, Advisor – Past Chair – Diversity Outreach Subcommittee
California State Bar, Diversity Pipeline Task Force
California Employment Lawyers Association, Board Member – Diversity Outreach, Chair
Philippine American Bar Association, Past President, Past Chair of Board
American Bar Association – Labor & Employment Section
Beverly Hills Bar Association
Los Angeles County Bar Association – Labor & Employment Section
California Employment Lawyers Association (CELA), Board member, Chair
California State Bar, Labor and Employment Law Section, Executive Board, Advisor
Philippine American Bar Association, Advisor

Past Employment Positions

CELA’s Diversity Committee, Past Chair
California State Bar, Labor and Employment Law Section, Chair, 2004 – 2005
Philippine American Bar Association, President, 1998

Pro Bono Activities

Outstanding, Hardworking, and Dedicated Leadership in the Los Angeles Community

Eric M. Baum, Esq.

April 13, 2015/ Co-Founding Partner, Co-Managing Partner Artist Rights, Employment Discrimination, Personal Injury, Sexual Abuse

Eric M. Baum is a co-founding and co-managing partner of Eisenberg & Baum, LLP, where he is the head of the firm’s Litigation Practice Group. Mr. Baum has extensive experience litigating sexual harassment and discrimination claims. He has conducted hundreds of trials, mediations and arbitrations. Mr. Baum also litigates cases with the Law Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing, prosecuting discrimination cases in State and Federal Courts.

Mr. Baum is admitted to practice in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and the District of Columbia as well as in the United States District Courts for the Southern District, Eastern and Northern Districts of New York. He is routinely admitted Pro Hac Vice in State and Federal Courts around the Country.

Mr. Baum holds a Bachelor of Science from Syracuse University and a Juris Doctorate from Widener Law School, where he was a member of the Trial Advocacy Honor Society.