Our People

Elizabeth Tom Arce

Associate, Los Angeles

310.981.2000
earce@lcwlegal.com

Elizabeth is an experienced litigator who is licensed to practice law in California and New York. Her background includes litigating labor and employment cases in both state and federal court, as well as before administrative agencies including the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing.  Elizabeth has successfully represented employers in various employment matters ranging from single plaintiff lawsuits to wage and hour class and collective actions.  Her litigation experience includes numerous successful summary judgment motions, defeating class certification, and decertifying collective actions.  Elizabeth's litigation practice also includes preparation of appellate briefs in both state and federal appellate courts.     

In addition to her litigation practice, Elizabeth also provides advice and counseling to employers on a wide array of labor and employment matters including leave rights, discipline and termination, and anti-discrimination, harassment and disability laws.  Elizabeth also drafts and revises employer policies and employee handbooks.

Elizabeth is a contributing author to the firm's California Public Agency Labor & Employment Blog and co-authored Chapter 4 (Leaves of Absence) of the California Public Sector Employment Law book, State Bar of California/LexisNexis (2011).

Prior to joining Liebert Cassidy Whitmore, Elizabeth was a litigator in the Los Angeles office of an international law firm where she represented businesses of all sizes in employment and commercial litigation matters.

Representative Matters

Litigation

  • Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs, et al. v. County of Los Angeles, et al. (2012) - Handled a Fair Labor Standards Act collective/class action case where the U.S. District Court granted a County law enforcement employer's summary judgment motion. The lawsuit involved the "donning and doffing" claims of approximately 3,000 deputy sheriffs in two different, yet consolidated, collective action lawsuits filed against the County and its Sheriff (collectively "the County"). The district court also granted the County's motion to decertify the remaining "off-the-clock" work claims. The district court's rulings effectively ended two large collective/class action lawsuits after several years of litigation.

Publications

Presentations

Education

  • JD, St. John's University School of Law, Jamaica, New York
  • BA, University of Southern California
To Contact Liebert Cassidy Whitmore:
Los Angeles 310.981.2000 | Fresno 559.256.7800 | San Francisco 415.512.3000 | San Diego 619.481.5900 info@lcwlegal.com
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