Peter J. Woo

Peter J. Woo is a highly experienced attorney who is the vice chair of the firm’s Employment and Labor practice group, a member of the Leadership Committee of the firm’s Management & Professional Liability practice group and a member of the firm’s Diversity Task Force. Peter is a trusted counsel to his business and corporate clients who have benefited from his vast legal knowledge and experience gained in his litigation, trial, and outside general counsel practice.

Active in Los Angeles and in Asian American legal and business communities nationally, Peter currently serves as general counsel for A-List Magazine, a nonprofit periodical that highlights Asian professional leadership and success in the United States and Canada. He is a volunteer attorney for the Los Angeles County Bar Association Domestic Violence Legal Services Project, assisting with preparing the paperwork necessary to adequately protect survivors of violence and their children, including sexually abused minors and abused elderly persons. While practicing on the east coast, Peter served as an associate board member and volunteer attorney for the Korean American Family Service Center located in Queens, New York, whose mission is to provide services to domestic violence survivors and their families in need.

Peter is a member of the Diversity Task Force, which strives to conceptualize and implement diversity-focused programs and give diversity a voice in our decision-making at the highest level. Goldberg Segalla’s commitment to diversity is strong, sincere, and a critical component of our firm’s mission and culture. The individuals on this task force share the firm’s strong commitment to increasing diversity, and they use their unique experiences and backgrounds to support and advance that goal.

As a law student, Peter gained experience as an extern for the Honorable Maureen A. Tighe of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of the Central District of California, and after graduating, he served as a clerk for the Honorable Alison Y. Tuitt of the New York State Supreme Court, Civil Division, Bronx County. Peter also worked in-house for insurance carriers, successfully handling complex coverage issues and managing litigation and supervising outside counsel on thousands of complex EPL, D&O, and E&O professional liability matters.

Experience Highlights

Employment and Labor

Peter regularly defends clients in complex employment and labor litigation. In his practice, he defends high-level executives and employers against claims including discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wrongful termination, and wage and hour matters (individual, class action, and representative matters) in state, federal, arbitration, and administrative venues. Peter also regularly defends clients against various claims made under the Americans with Disabilities Act and equivalent state-based claims involving public accommodations.

In addition, Peter routinely provides outside employment counseling services on day-to-day employment or other legal issues. He provides preventive and risk management counsel on hiring practices, terminations, workplace investigations, and crafting employee policies. He also regularly facilitates sexual harassment training and materials to executives, managers, and employees under current California and federal law with emphasis on practical solutions.

•Trial counsel on numerous employment and professional liability cases that resolved favorably for client, including obtaining defense verdict on case involving $3M exposure
•Lead counsel who brokered a non-monetary settlement of a shareholder derivative lawsuit by significantly restructuring six major corporate transactions while negotiating employment termination and release of all claims of its chief executive officer
•Obtained dismissal of all wage and hour and breach of contract claims made by employee in an employment and wage action
•Vigorously defended a $3 million employment disability-related lawsuit through summary judgment, which resulted in a nuisance value settlement
•Obtained dismissal of a Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) nationwide federal class action against a major employer after contentious classwide discovery
•Obtained favorable resolution of a highly publicized lawsuit alleging sexual harassment while negotiating separation of employment with executive
•Strategically defended a gender and national origin discrimination case involving a minimum wage employee resulting in a settlement of one week of wages, inclusive of attorney fees
•Vigorously defended two sexual harassment cases brought by a prominent plaintiff’s law firm against the same employer, leading to the plaintiff’s firm withdrawing as counsel and resulting in a de minimis settlement
•Obtained dismissal of claims from law firm partner involving multimillion-dollar claim against national law firm
•Obtained dismissal of numerous administrative complaints filed with the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing involving claims of discrimination and retaliation
•Obtained dismissal of harassment claims in three weeks after assignment of claim
•Obtained dismissal of wage-and-hour matter after negotiating settlement of 4 percent of opening demand

Commercial Litigation, Management and Professional Liability

Peter has significant experience in commercial litigation, particularly in the area of directors and officers (D&O) liability and other professional liability claims. He has defended public, not-for-profit, and private entities in contractual disputes, fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, real estate, legal malpractice, miscellaneous errors and omissions (E&O), insurance agents, technology errors and omissions, corporate waste, and shareholder derivative and direct cases.

•Drafted and negotiated complex revisions to language in an LLC operating agreement in a corporate waste D&O matter
•Defended an insurance brokerage company in a breach of contract E&O action resulting in a non-monetary settlement
•Represented a national chain restaurant in a quiet title action arising from improper land use based on prescriptive easements
•Successfully represented numerous attorneys in legal malpractice litigation involving underlying cases of family law, corporate transactions, commercial litigation, and trusts and estates
•Successfully argued that a legal malpractice case was time-barred by statute of limitations, resulting in counsel withdrawing from representation and case dismissal without payment
•Obtained dismissal of claims with prejudice after court ruled in favor of lack of personal jurisdiction in $5 million multi-jurisdictional and complex legal malpractice litigation
•Obtained dismissal in exchange of waver of costs in legal malpractice case after discussion with the plaintiff’s counsel regarding lack of merit

Honors & Awards

Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Rating: AV Preeminent

Los Angeles Business Journal Leaders in Law, Employment Law nominee, 2019

Community Involvement

•A-List Magazine: General Counsel
•Los Angeles County Bar Association Domestic Violence Legal Services Project: Volunteer Attorney

Training and Certifications

•Associate in Claims (AIC)

Publications & Events

Publications

•“Virus Could Spur Avalanche of Tort and Employment Litigation, ” Courthouse News, March 27, 2020
•“Telecommuting Puts Anti-Harassment Measures in Focus, ” Business Insurance, March 27, 2020
•“Preparing Policies, Internal Comms for Public Health Crises,” (Co-Author), Law360, March 11, 2020

Presentations

•“Stay Tuned with Goldberg Segalla,” New York City Association of Insurance Women CE/CLE, New York, NY, June 12, 2019
•“Ensuring That #METOO is Not You Too: Defending a #MeToo Claim, Including Practical Tips for Clients,” IADC Professional Liability Roundtable, New York, NY, May 30, 2019
•“What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You! - Avoiding Accounting Malpractice and CA Employment Law Update” (Co-Presenter), Korean American CPA Society of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, April 25, 2019
•“Sex, Drugs, and Real Estate” (Co-Presenter), Korean American Real Estate Brokers Association, Los Angeles, CA, April 3, 2019
•“Sex, Drugs, and Claims Management: 2019 Developments on #MeToo and Marijuana in the Workplace,” New York, NY, 2019
•“Construction Law 101: Tools to Manage Risk in Employment, Contracts, Insurance, Bonds, and More,” Los Angeles, CA, 2019
•“Employment and Wage & Hour Issues Today: A Guide on New and Existing Labor Laws in California,” Los Angeles, CA, 2018
•“Employment and Labor Issues Facing the Apparel Industry,” Los Angeles, CA, 2018
•University of Southern California School of Law LL.M. Program, 2018
•“Recent Developments in Employment Law for the Construction Industry,” Los Angeles, CA, 2018
•“Misclassification and Other Labor Issues in the Transportation Industry,” Los Angeles, CA, 2018
•“Recent Developments in Federal and California Employment Law,” Los Angeles, CA, 2017
•Employment and Workers’ Compensation Seminar, Los Angeles, CA, 2017
•“California Fair Claims Settlement Practices Regulations,” Certification, New York City, 2017
•“California Employment and Labor Developments for 2017,” Los Angeles, CA, 2017
•California Fair Claims Settlement Practices Regulations Certification, New York City, 2016
•University of California Los Angeles School of Law LL.M. Program, Los Angeles, CA, 2016

Webinars

•“Coronavirus Risk Forecast: Coverage and Claims Analysis for Toxic Tort, Employment, Workers’ Comp, Cyber, and Insurance Policy Concerns,” (Co-Presenter), Perrin Conferences, March 27, 2020
•“The Current Legal Landscape of Website Accessibility,” (Co-Presenter) Allied World Assurance Company, March 18, 2020
•“California Employment Law Update: 2019 Highlights and What’s Coming in 2020” (Co-Presenter), GS Webinar Series, December 11, 2019
•“How to Identify and Address Employment Law Issues in Workers’ Compensation,” GS Webinar, January 23, 2019
•“Emerging Issues in Technology Liability: Are Policies Other Than Errors & Omissions at Risk,” Webinar, 2017

Recent Insights

EEOC Updates Guidelines to Allow Employers to Administer COVID-19 Testing on Employees

May 6, 2020

Pennsylvania Businesses Directed to Implement Public Health Safety Measures

April 17, 2020

New Jersey Expands Protections of the Family Leave Act and Amends Mini-WARN Act Amid COVID-19 Pandemic

April 16, 2020

New York Changes Election Leave Law Again

April 14, 2020

City of Los Angeles Enacts Modified Supplemental Paid Sick Leave Ordinance and New “Worker Protection Order”

April 9, 2020

NYS EDS Releases New Guidance: “Essential Businesses” Definitions and Waivers

April 9, 2020