Jack S. Sholkoff

Jack has practiced employment law for more than three decades. He is the office managing shareholder of the Los Angeles office and also serves as the co-chair of the firm’s Appellate Practice Group, responsible for managing, organizing and leading the firm’s appellate practice.

Jack is one of only approximately three hundred lawyers in the State of California certified as a legal specialist in Appellate Law by the State Bar of California, Department of Legal Specialization. In his appellate practice, Jack handles a wide variety of matters, including motions for post-trial relief in the trial court, as well as appeals and writs. As both an appellate specialist and an experienced employment lawyer, Jack is uniquely adept at handling complex employment matters in both the appellate arena and in the lower courts.

Jack was part of the team that successfully defended religious freedom and the ministerial exception under the First Amendment before the United States Supreme Court in Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrissey-Berru, 140 S.Ct. 2049 (2020). The High Court’s decision provides clear guidance to religious institutions seeking the freedom to choose their religious teachers.

Jack was also lead counsel in Areso v. CarMax, Inc., (2011) 195 Cal.App.4th 996, which established new law regarding the definition of a sales commission in California. He also obtained a significant reversal of a District Court decision denying enforcement of an arbitration agreement between an employer and employee in Poublon v. C.H. Robinson Company, (9th Cir. 2017) 846 F.3d 1251. The Ninth Circuit in Poublon harmonized the law of arbitration contracts in favor of employers. Jack has also obtained writ relief for employers, as well as other favorable opinions regarding employment issues.

In addition to his appellate work, Jack continues to handle all facets of employment law, providing general counseling as well as conducting administrative hearings, arbitrations, and trials. Jack represents both large and smaller employers in a variety of matters, including complicated contractual, wrongful termination, discrimination, harassment, wage and hour, employee leave cases, trade secret and employee mobility issues. In recent years, Jack has also been on the forefront of preparing and enforcing arbitration agreements. For example, in Grabowski v. C.H. Robinson, Inc., (S.D.Cal.2011) 817 F.Supp.2d 1159, Jack was lead counsel in one of the first cases in California to obtain Court enforcement of a class action waiver in an arbitration agreement, thus effectively ending the class action claim against the employer. Jack has enforced similar class action waiver provisions in other cases, and often provides advice and counsel for employers seeking to reduce the threat of class actions by using enforceable arbitration agreements. He has also arbitrated numerous cases on behalf of employers.

Jack is acutely aware that employers need a practical approach to managing employment law issues, and emphasizes a preventative approach. He recognizes that by helping employers adopt “best practices” for handling employee related issues, employers will reduce unnecessary expense, avoid employee related problems, and have additional time and resources to focus upon the goals underlying their businesses.

Jack has also served as a contributing editor to the Employment Law Strategist, as well as writing contributions to various other newsletters. He is a member of the Labor and Employment Law and Appellate Law sections of the California State Bar.

Jack graduated from Tufts University with a Bachelor of Arts degree magna cum laude in History in 1986, and received his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Southern California in 1989, where he served as Executive Editor of Articles to the Computer/Law Journal and to the journal Major Tax Planning.

Jack is married and has two children. He has served as President of Kadima Day School, and on the executive board of Temple Aliyah. An avid runner, he has run three marathons. He is also a passionate and award-winning baker, having won First Place/Blue Ribbon in the Biscotti Competition at the Los Angeles County Fair. Jack also holds an amateur radio Amateur Extra class license, call sign KN6YTE.