JOHN W. HARRIS
John Harris’s career as a civil litigator commenced as a senior trial attorney for the Chief Counsel’s Office of the Internal Revenue Service, where he handled Tax Court litigation matters and criminal prosecutions, working in conjunction with the U.S. Attorney’s Office. He’s a talented litigator who has successfully represented clients to verdict on both sides of the docket in over 500 jury and non-jury trials with a 90% success rate. John has obtained numerous million-dollar settlements and highly favorable verdicts on behalf of his clients.
After entering into private practice, John used his deft advocacy skills to represent clients in numerous complex litigation matters, with a particular emphasis in Title VII civil rights claims, excessive police force cases, wage and hour class actions and other employment law disputes, as well as product liability litigation. John has over 30 years of experience in guiding employers through the intricacies of federal and California state employment laws in order to achieve favorable outcomes at trial or hearing. In addition to litigating, John also takes an active role in his clients' preventative measures by providing extensive advice and counsel services and multi-faceted training in the areas of employment, investigative approaches and other workplace issues. John has handled all aspects of workers compensation litigated claims pre‐litigation resolution, discovery, Labor Code §132 actions, as well as serious and willful misconduct claims.
John has significant experience developing strategies and counseling public and private sector clients on water rights issues as they pertain to the protection of existing rights and the establishment and acquisition of appropriative, riparian and groundwater rights. Specifically, John counsels water users and watermaster districts on Southern California watermaster service issues, including Proposition 218 replenishment assessment litigation. John has represented these clients throughout all stages of civil litigation in state trial and appellate courts.
John has had the opportunity to represent clients from both the private and public sectors, including school districts, cities, and other public agencies, as well as Fortune 300 companies in the retail, general contracting, transportation, and banking industries. John regularly makes representative public presentations on behalf of his clients. He most recently spoke at the Design Build Institute of America 2014 conference, where he lectured on the Best Practices in Subcontracting for Small Business Enterprises.