Ann is a Partner in the Costa Mesa and Los Angeles offices of Lewis Brisbois and a member of the Labor and Employment Practice. She primarily handles single-plaintiff, wage and hour class action, and PAGA litigation. 

Although Ann’s practice currently focuses on litigation, throughout her more than 25 years representing California employers she also has significant experience assisting her clients with prelitigation and advice and counsel matters, including extensive wage and hour audits, and administrative claims before the DFEH/California Civil Rights Department, DLSE, EEOC, NLRB and DOL. Her substantive experience is especially deep in the wage and hour area, though she has broad experience litigating the gamut of both common law and statutory employment claims, including discrimination, harassment, retaliation, and wrongful termination claims, as well as related tort and business claims, including breach of contract and misappropriate of trade secrets. Ann also has extensive experience handling employment appeals, primarily before the California Courts of Appeal and California Supreme Court, as well as advising her colleagues on California and out-of-state appellate matters. Her appellate work experience dates to when she externed for the Honorable David G. Sills, the late Presiding Justice of the California Court of Appeal, Fourth District, Division Three, while in law school.

Ann’s client base has been broad and diverse, from startups and other small businesses to Fortune 500 companies, including construction, delivery services, food and hospitality, healthcare, logistics, manufacturing, retail, payroll/staffing, public schools, and telecommunications. To develop the most effective defense strategy for each case, Ann carefully tailors her representation of each client to its individual needs and circumstances, by understanding and effectively addressing the unique business realities, challenges, and goals of the client and its industry.

Prior to joining Lewis Brisbois, Ann practiced in both labor and employment boutiques as well as in labor and employment departments of other large, reputable national and international firms.

Highlights

• Obtained reversal by the California Supreme Court of published decision denying writ relief on attorney client privilege issue in overtime class action. (Costco Wholesale Corp. v. Superior Court (2009) 47 Cal.4th 725.)
• Obtained reversal of order denying motion to compel arbitration in wage and hour class action. 
• Drafted successful sanctions motion leading to plaintiffs’ voluntary dismissal of several claims in wage and hour class action. Obtained affirmance of order denying class certification in this and other cases. 
• Won every trial court motion and two consecutive appeals in anti-SLAPP case and obtained rare court order declaring appellants vexatious litigants.
• Drafted successful summary judgment brief concerning lawfulness of employer’s commission chargeback policies. Dismissal affirmed on appeal in published decision (Steinhebel v. Los Angeles Times Communications, LLC (2005) 126 Cal.App.4th 696), based on same defense arguments.   
• Obtained affirmance of defense judgment following jury trial in Public Safety Officers Procedural Bill of Rights Act (POBRA) employment case. 
• Obtained affirmance of defense judgment dismissing on preemption (LMRA) grounds employee’s state law action challenging his suspension. 
• Obtained affirmance of employer’s arbitration award.
• Drafted multiple amicus briefs for defendants in Reynolds v. Bement (2005) 36 Cal.4th 1075.
• Obtained dismissal of NLRB Unfair Labor Practices charge alleging employer unilaterally changed terms and conditions of employment under service contract.
• Drafted brief for high-profile client in highly contentious employment arbitration that successfully defeated complainant’s post-hearing request for reinstatement.
• Performed multi-state audit of exempt/non-exempt status of over 200 positions for national health care company.
• Obtained reversal of judgments of dismissal in consolidated summary judgment appeals in wrongful termination/disability discrimination cases. (In first and only employment appeal brought on behalf of plaintiff employees.)

Published Opinions

Publications

Professional Presentations

• Qushair, Ann H., “The Business of Appeals: Cost-Effective and Creative Strategies for Competing in Today’s Legal Marketplace,” Appellate Issues, ABA’s Council of Appellate Lawyers (Winter 2015)
• “What Would You Do? A Roundtable on Appellate Ethics” (2012)
• “Building an Appellate Practice in the 21st Century” (2011)
• “Basic Wage and Hour Law” (National Business Institute Seminar - Wage and Hour Law – Feb. 1998)

Admissions

• State Bar Admissions
  • California
• United States District Courts
  • United States District Court for the Central District of California
  • United States District Court for the Eastern District of California
  • United States District Court for the Northern District of California
  • United States District Court for the Southern District of California
• United States Courts of Appeals
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

Associations

• Los Angeles County Bar Association: Labor & Employment Section, Appellate Courts Section
  • Executive Committee Member (2013 – 2015)
  • Networking & Events Committee Chair (2010 – 2014)
• American Bar Association’s Council of Appellate Lawyers 
  • Southern California Chair (2014 – 2017)
  • Executive Board Member (2011 – 2015)
  • Appellate Judges Education Institute’s Summit Planning Committee Member (2011 – 2015; 2017)

Education

Cornell Law School

Juris Doctor, 1994

University of California, Irvine

Bachelor of Arts, cum laude Political Science, cum laude French, 1991