TAMARA S. FREEZE
KELLY Y. CHEN
J.D. University of California, Berkeley
B.A. University of California, Los Angeles
Bar Admissions
California
Membership/Professional Associations
American Bar Association
Los Angeles County Bar Association/Orange County Bar Association
National Employment Lawyers’ Association
California Employment Lawyers’ Association
Experience
Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom, LLP (Los Angeles)
Littler Mendelson, P.C. (San Francisco)
Jeffer Mangels Butler & Marmaro, LLP (Los Angeles)
Bryan Cave LLP (Irvine)
Tamara S. Freeze is a graduate of University of California, Berkeley (Boalt Hall) School of Law and is highly experienced in labor and employment matters as well as general civil litigation, including contract disputes, intellectual property, education law, constitutional law, class action, civil rights, human rights and sports and entertainment law. Before opening her own practice, she worked for several big law firms in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Orange County. Ms. Freeze is comfortable litigating cases and representing clients throughout California.
Ms. Freeze has substantial experience representing clients in discrimination and harassment disputes, wrongful discharge, breach of contract, unfair labor practice charges, and for unpaid compensation and benefits. Ms. Freeze frequently advises employees on the hiring and termination, the enforcement of company policies and practices, labor-management relations, wage and hour compliance, alternative dispute resolution, international employment law issues, trade secrets, severance negotiations and class action strategy. She has experience vigorously defending employee rights, educating drafting employment and settlement agreements, independently supervising cases, calculating settlement ranges and managing litigation.
As part of her practice, Ms. Freeze represents employees in state and federal courts throughout California, as well as in administrative proceedings, such as EEOC or DFEH. She is familiar with human resources procedures, business programs for employee recruitment, processing, orientation, performance evaluation systems, and employee counseling.
Publications
Ms. Freeze is also an author of several publications, such as “Evaluating Eligibility for FMLA Leave: Federal Case Law Underscores the Need for Informed Decision Making,” The Labor Lawyer, August 2006; Whitepaper “Strategic Initiatives for Countering the Class Action Epidemic,” May 2006, and a co-author, 2006 “Equity Compensation,” The National Employer.
Medical Leave of Absence:
“Evaluating Eligibility for FMLA Leave: Federal Case Law Underscores the Need for Informed Decision Making,”
The Labor Lawyer, August 2006
Class Action:
“Strategic Initiatives for Countering the Class Action Epidemic,”
Littler Mendelson Whitepaper, May 2006
Speaking Engagements
Ms. Freeze’s speaking engagements include: Career Builders 2007 at the Crystal Cathedral, Women in Business Expo 2007, and South Bay For You Women's Network.
Awards and Nominations
In 2008, Ms. Freeze was nominated for Los Angeles Business Journal “Women Who Make a Difference” Award. In 2007, she received a National Association of Female Executives (NAFE) Best Blog Award for her blog “Managing Your Employees.” Ms. Freeze’s other awards include: the Prosser Prize in Local Government Law (2003), the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Award (2003), Kurnitz Creative Writing Award (1st place, 2000), and University of Oxford Young Enterprise Award (1996).
Background
Ms. Freeze is fluent inRussian. Ms. Freeze attended UCLA for her undergraduate studies and received her Bachelor’s degree, Magna Cum Laude. At UC Berkeley School of Law, Ms. Freeze excelled as a student and article editor of Berkeley Journal of Employment and Labor Law. Prior to law school, Ms. Freeze worked for UCLA Athletics Department, was a private chess coach and a professional mathematics expert for the Los Angeles Unified School District.
Sports Ms. Freeze is a Certified Chess Coach by the United States Chess Federation (USCF) and has a blue belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ). Ms. Freeze’s BJJ accomplishments include: 3rd Place at U.S. Open, 2008, 1st Place at Texas Gracie Open, 2008; 3d Place at Pan American Jiu Jitsu Championship 2009; 3d Place at New York Open 2009; 2d Place at Grappler’s Quest 2009 and 1st Place at 2d American Cup 2009. She occasionally volunteers as a referee at various grappling/submission tournaments. In 2008-2009, Ms. Freeze’s was featured in the Gracie Magazine on several occasions.
We are associated with
Law Offices of Kelly Y. Chen www.kellychenlaw.com
KELLY Y. CHEN
Education
J.D. University of California, Hastings
M.A. University of California, Santa Barbara
B.A. University of California, Irvine
Bar Admissions
California
Membership/Professional Associations
American Bar Association
California Employment Lawyers Association (CELA)
Consumer Attorneys of California (CAOC)
Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles (CAALA)
National Employment Lawyers Association (NELA)
Los Angeles County Bar Association (LACBA)
Experience
Law Offices of Eric Castelblanco
Ms. Chen graduated from University of California Hastings College of the Law. While in law school, Ms. Chen was a member of Hastings Civil Justice Clinic. She earned the Witkin Award for Academic Excellence and the CALI Excellence for the Future Award for her work at Civil Justice Clinic (Individual Representation). She was a recipient of California Employment Lawyers Association’s (CELA’s) Diversity Scholarship. In addition to a law degree, Ms. Chen has a M.A. degree in Psychology from University of California at Santa Barbara where she was a Ph.D. candidate. Prior to attending graduate school, Ms. Chen received a B.A. degree in Psychology from University of California at Irvine with honors and she was an esteemed recipient of the Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP) Fellowship.
Ms. Chen currently works as an Of Counsel at the Law Offices of Eric E. Castelblanco, a public interest firm that serves primarily the underserved Latino community. Before her admission to the California Bar, she worked as a law clerk at the firm. During the first two years of law school, Ms. Chen worked in-house for an insurance company headquartered in San Francisco handling transactional and compliance matters.
Ms. Chen is passionate about representing the traditionally underserved populations, including: low-wage workers, immigrant employees, and the LGBT workforce. She is fluent in Mandarin and Taiwanese.