Susan W Pangborn

Labor & Employment

Employment Counseling

Employment Litigation & Class Actions

RIFS & Severance Plans

Wage & Hour

Government & Regulatory

Cybersecurity, Privacy & Data Governance

Trade Secrets

Susan Pangborn is Team Leader of the firm's Labor & Employment practice. Susan litigates employment and restrictive covenant disputes and counsels clients on a variety of employment-related issues. She has represented employers in class and collective actions, as well as multi-plaintiff and single-plaintiff litigation. Susan has successfully litigated cases involving the alleged breach of restrictive covenants and misappropriation of trade secrets. She also assists clients in conducting effective workplace investigations of harassment or discrimination complaints and provides appropriate follow-up training.

Susan has defended discrimination and wage-hour claims under federal and state statutes in more than 100 cases before both administrative agencies and courts across the United States. Susan has won jury trials and numerous cases brought in federal and state courts on summary judgment. She also represents employers in arbitrations brought under both collective bargaining agreements and alternative dispute resolution provisions.

In addition, Susan provides practical guidance to employers on employment-related issues, including wage-hour compliance, discrimination issues arising under federal and state statutes, and strategies for handling employee complaints, performance issues, and terminations. She partners with clients to ensure they understand how changes in applicable state and federal laws affect their policies and practices. She has assisted clients in structuring and implementing reorganizations and force reductions affecting employees across several states, and in exploring cost-saving alternatives to reductions-in-force.

Susan also focuses her practice on executive agreements and the area of restrictive covenants. She regularly helps employers protect their investment in their people and intellectual property by ensuring that confidentiality, non-competition, and non-solicitation agreements comply with applicable state laws. She has represented both individuals and companies in litigation involving restrictive covenants including by obtaining and/or defeating motions for temporary restraining orders and preliminary injunctions.

Susan is listed in the 2022 and the 11 years immediately preceding editions of Chambers USA for Labor & Employment. She was recognized in The Best Lawyers in America® for Management Employment Law and Labor and Employment Litigation in 2022 and the four years immediately preceding. Susan was named a Northern California "Super Lawyer" in 2021 and the four years prior for Employment & Labor.

University of Georgia School of Law, J.D., with honors (1987)

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, B.S., Political Science, magna cum laude