For 75 years, Littler has been a leader in the area of labor and employment law on a national, and recently, international scale.

Bay Area Beginnings

Littler was founded in 1942 in San Francisco by two lawyers with public service backgrounds. Robert Littler had been the Pacific Coast Director of the War Labor Board, and Thomas Coakley was a deputy attorney general for the State of California.

During the 1940s, a substantial part of the firm's practice involved war-related matters on behalf of employers before the War Labor Board and the Salary Stabilization Commission. Over the next two decades, with the growth of Northern California businesses, increasing unionization and the passage of civil rights legislation, the firm developed a reputation for aggressive representation of management interests in a broad range of matters, from traditional labor work to the expanding field of employment law.

With a client base extending across the state of California, the firm added outposts throughout the Golden State-including Fresno, San Jose, Los Angeles, San Diego and Sacramento. In the 1980s, the firm began its move east, with the opening of an office in Baltimore. The firm now has an astounding 53 offices nationwide, with a presence in all but a handful of states. Littler also has expanded abroad. The firm opened its first international office in Caracas, Venezuela, in 2010 and opened two Mexico offices in 2012. In October 2013, Littler combined with Colombian law firm Godoy Córdoba Abogados and Costa Rican law firm BDS Asesores under the name "Littler Global." In December 2013, Littler joined with the leading Puerto Rican law firm Schuster Aguiló. In March 2014, BDS Asesores opened a new office in the Dominican Republic, and in May 2014, expanded into Honduras by combining with ISO-certified Ulloa & Associates. In 2015 Littler continued its global expansion with the addition of an office in Toronto, Canada, four offices in Germany, and an office in Managua, Nicaragua, thus rounding out its Central American regionalization process with a presence now in virtually every Central American country. In October 2016, Littler Global combined with Fromont Briens, adding 170 attorneys in Lyon and Paris, France. In May 2017, London-based GQ Employment Law joined the global platform expanding Littler's European presence.

The firm's ranks have likewise grown significantly. For its first 30 years, Littler had fewer than 10 attorneys. The firm experienced moderate growth in the 1970s, totaling 50 lawyers by the end of that decade. Since that time, the firm has taken growth to another level: it now boasts more than 1,300 attorneys.

Management Only

Littler exclusively represents management, but its clients come in all sizes and industries, from Fortune 500 corporations to mid-sized companies to small, single-office businesses. Airlines, wineries, nonprofit organizations, newspapers, government agencies, healthcare entities, construction companies, and retail chains are just some of the industries that have called on the firm's services.

Littler truly shines with its labor and employment practice, and is constantly recognized for it. In 2016, U.S. News-BestLawyers ranked Littler's employment, labor, and litigation practices as tier 1, named Littler "Law Firm of the Year" in litigation, following a year of winning the same title for its labor law practice. Chambers Global recognized Littler as a Leading Firm in 2016, a new title that followed eleven consecutive years of rankings by Chambers USA as "America's Leading Lawyers for Business."

With an eye on emerging technology, Littler has also branched out from traditional legal counseling and created the Littler Learning Group to provide compliance training materials. The firm offers numerous manuals, videos and workbooks covering a range of employment law issues, such as whistleblowers, arbitration, litigation landmines, diversity and harassment, workplace violence, and general management issues. Additionally, the firm has developed technology driven platforms to change the delivery of legal services, including the Littler CaseSmart platform, Littler X-celerator  ComplianceHR, LaborSmart, and PolicySmart. In 2015, Littler launched its Big Data Initiative, hired the firm's first National Director of Data Analytics and garnered a number of accolades by Financial Times "North America Innovative Lawyers" report, winning the overall compliance and technology category for its joint venture ComplianceHR. The firm also earned a "Client Service Innovator of the Year" in 2016 from LegalTech News and The Recorder. In 2017, the firm was recognized alongside its client, Cabela's Inc., as a 2017 ACC Value Champion by the Association of Corporate Counsel for driving value, while controlling legal spending and producing better results through the Littler CaseSmart platform.

Ongoing
Inclusion Appreciation

Littler has earned several awards for its diversity initiatives and inclusive culture. The firm was awarded the Starbucks Excellence in Diversity & Inclusion award, received a perfect rating of 100 in the 2017 Corporate Equality Index, and received the 2016 Legal Excellence Award from Nationwide. Furthermore, the California Minority Counsel Program awarded Littler the Majority-Owned Law Firm Award and the firm earned the inaugural national Sager Award from the Minority Corporate Counsel Association. Littler was also certified as a "Gold Standard Firm" by the Women in Law Empowerment Forum, and ranked a top law firm by Working Mother magazine.

Service Solutions

Over the past year, Littler has expanded its Service Solutions offerings for clients: 1) Launched the Construction Industry Toolkit, a web-based service helps construction industry employers comply with state and federal labor and employment laws. It is currently available to employers in New York and New Jersey, and more states will be added to the toolkit throughout the year. 2) Expanded its award-winning Littler CaseSmart platform to wage and hour class and collective action litigation. 3) Launched the Franchise Compliance Toolkit, a web-based toolkit designed to help ensure compliance with state and federal laws in the franchisor/franchisee context.

May 2017
No, Not That GQ

Littler added GQ Employment Law, a leading labour and employment law boutique in London, to its global platform. The GQ Employment Law team represents companies based in the U.K., the U.S. and throughout Europe in a variety of industries, including financial services, technology, pharmaceuticals and medical devices, luxury goods, energy, retail and manufacturing. Following Littler's expansion into France, Germany and Canada over the past two years and the continued development of its Latin America practice, the GQ agreement is part of a global growth strategy that includes combining with labor and employment focused firms in key markets through Littler Global.

January 2017
75 Years Young

Littler celebrated the 75th anniversary of its founding. As part of Littler's strategy to serve as a single source provider of employment law counsel for clients, the firm has grown its footprint and attorney ranks both domestically and globally. Through the addition of several lateral groups and high-profile attorneys, as well as opening new offices in key U.S. markets, Littler now operates in 34 states and the District of Columbia. Since establishing its first international location in Caracas, Venezuela, in October 2010, Littler has also expanded rapidly across the globe.

December 2016
How Innovative!

Littler was recognized among the top 25 innovative law firms in the Financial Times North America Innovative Lawyers report for 2016. Littler's Big Data Initiative received the top ranking in the "Data, Analytics & Intelligence" category based on efforts to create data analytics services for clients. Dr. Zev J. Eigen, Littler's Global Director of Data Analytics, was named among the 10 most innovative lawyers in the North American legal sector. The Littler Xmpt Toolkit was listed as "Commended" in the "Use of Technology" category. Additionally, Littler's Workplace Policy Institute earned the same recognition in the "Changing and Influencing Regulation" category.

October 2016
Eurotrip

Littler combined with Fromont Briens, one of the largest labor and employment law firms in Europe. With offices in Paris and Lyon, France, the Fromont Briens team consists of 170 lawyers that focus on all areas of labor and employment law. The combination follows Littler's expansion into Germany and Canada last year, and its development of a labor and employment practice of unparalleled scope across Latin America. Fromont Briens represents multinational companies based in the United States, France and throughout Europe in a wide variety of industries, including energy, technology, retail, manufacturing, financial services, pharmaceuticals and medical devices.