Michael D. Weil

合伙人

Michael Weil represents employers in a wide range of employment disputes, including complex single- or multi-plaintiff matters asserting claims for wrongful termination, discrimination, harassment, and retaliation as well as class and representative actions asserting multimillion dollars in damages. Michael also regularly handles high stakes noncompete, employee mobility, and trade secrets matters arising from a variety of industries, including life sciences, technology, retail, and financial services, throughout the United States.

Michael has been recognized by Law360 and the Daily Journal for his success in obtaining defense verdicts for many clients. He has consistently obtained favorable outcomes for clients, including in multiple arbitrations following evidentiary hearing, class actions asserting Labor Code violations, and an arbitration asserting breach of sale-of-business noncompete agreements. He has obtained injunctions (or defeated injunction requests) on multiple occasions against former executives and new employers for misappropriation of trade secrets, and he has defeated class certification in class actions asserting Labor Code violations.

Michael regularly advises employers on a variety of employment laws, including wage and hour, leave laws, disability laws, equal employment opportunity statutes, and many more. He frequently speaks at various employment and trade secrets conferences throughout the United States.

Michael is currently leader of the labor and employment practice for the San Francisco and Silicon Valley offices.

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Trade Secrets and Employee Mobility

  • Obtained defense award in a business vs. business arbitration filed by an outside vendor against its client alleging the client breached an agreement to refrain from soliciting the outside vendor’s employees
  • Obtained a defense award after a multiweek arbitration where a former life sciences employer sought to enforce a sale-of-business noncompete against founders of a new life sciences company
  • Following a multi-day evidentiary hearing, secured an injunction against a former retail executive and his new employer based on allegations that the executive and new employer misappropriated trade secrets
  • Following a multiday evidentiary hearing, secured an injunction against a former medical device sales executive and her new medical device employer based on allegations that the former employee and her new employer misappropriated trade secrets
  • Successfully defeated an injunction request by a gaming company against a former employee and his new gaming company employer
  • Obtained a preliminary injunction under the Defend Trade Secrets Act against defendants for misappropriation of biomedical trade secrets
  • Defeated an injunction request against a former sales executive in the consumer products industry

Discrimination, Harassment, and Retaliation

  • Obtained defense award in an arbitration following an evidentiary hearing in which a former executive alleged wrongful termination and failure to promote on the basis of his race and national origin and/or in retaliation for allegedly complaining about discrimination
  • Obtained defense award in an arbitration following an evidentiary hearing in which a former employee alleged wrongful termination on the basis of his disability
  • Obtained defense award in arbitration following an evidentiary hearing in which a former employee alleged wrongful termination on the basis of his race
  • Obtained summary judgment in arbitration in which a former employee alleged wrongful termination on the basis of his race
  • Obtained summary judgment in arbitration in which a former employee alleged the company terminated his employment in retaliation for allegedly complaining about race discrimination

Class Actions

  • Defeated class certification and obtained summary judgment in a class action lawsuit alleging Labor Code violations against retail chain
  • Defeated class certification and obtained an order striking representative action allegation in a class action against a retail pharmacy chain asserting numerous California Labor Code and Private Attorney General Act claims
  • Obtained a defense verdict in a class action alleging that a retail employer violated numerous Labor Code sections through use of an allegedly unlawful employment application; verdict upheld on appeal in a published opinion
  • University of California, Los Angeles School of Law, 2000, J.D., ; editor, UCLA Law Review<
  • University of California, Los Angeles, 1996, B.S., physiological science
  • California

Recognized, Top Labor & Employment Lawyers in California, Daily Journal (2025)

Recommended, Trade Secrets, World IP Review USA Trade Secret Rankings (2024)

MVP, Labor and Employment, Law360 (2022)

Recognized, Leading US Corporate Employment Lawyer, Lawdragon 500 (2022)

Recommended, Labor and Employment, The Legal 500 US (2019, 2020)

Rising Star, Law360 (2014)

Chair, Trade Secrets Committee, American Intellectual Property Law Association (2025–2026)

Vice Chair, Trade Secrets Committee, American Intellectual Property Law Association (2023–2024)

Member, State Bar of California

Member, Association of Business Trial Lawyers