Leila Sokkar Narvid is the managing partner of the San Francisco office and a partner in the Employment Law Group. Leila represents employers in all areas of labor and employment law. She has extensive experience in various employment litigation matters, including wage-and-hour violations, discrimination, sexual harassment, wrongful termination, retaliation, defamation and other employment-related torts, and disability accommodation.
Leila has substantial class and collective action experience and has successfully defended national employers in actions involving allegations of wage-and-hour violations under federal and state law. She also defends businesses accused of engaging in trade secret misappropriation and acts of unfair competition and provides counsel on employee mobility issues.
In addition to her experience with employment matters, Leila has handled a wide range of general business litigation for companies, including cases involving contract disputes, business torts, fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, partnership and LLC disputes, and unfair competition/unfair business practices. Leila also offers advice and counseling on FCRA-related issues, including drafting FCRA and state background check disclosure and authorization forms and counseling employers when taking an adverse action against an applicant or employee based on a consumer report. She regularly defends businesses in FCRA class actions, including successfully defeating motions for class certification at an early stage and resolving lawsuits on favorable terms for her clients. Her practice includes representing clients in California and New York state and federal courts, as well as in alternative dispute resolution process. Clients come to Leila for her courtroom experience and her practical, creative and efficient resolution of all types of business disputes.
Leila is a regular columnist for Healthcare Risk Management and has authored several articles on employment matters for The Recorder and the Daily Journal. She has taught trial advocacy at the University of California, Hastings College of Law, and has been a guest lecturer at Golden Gate University School of Law. She is a dynamic speaker on the Rooney and Mansfield Rules, the #MeToo movement, and other timely employment law topics.
Leila is on the Board of Directors of Behavioral Intervention Association, a non-profit organization that provides early intervention services for young children with autism spectrum disorders. She is also the Chair of the Firm's Diversity & Inclusion Committee.
Before joining Payne & Fears LLP, Leila was an associate at Sideman & Bancroft LLP. She represented shareholders in corporate squeeze-out lawsuits and handled contractual, partnership and intra-corporate disputes, unfair competition and legal malpractice litigation matters.
