Daniel F. Fears

He represents companies in all aspects of employment law and related civil litigation, including employment law class actions, wrongful termination litigation and preventive advice, traditional labor law advice, litigation and National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) proceedings, employment and housing discrimination, labor-management relations and arbitrations, civil rights, trade secrets, and other employment law litigation.

Dan serves as litigation counsel for Fortune 500 companies in class action and multi-plaintiff litigation, and represents employers in aerospace, national defense, retail, construction, entertainment, banking, hospitality, healthcare, housing, and other industries.

Dan has been named as one of the Top 100 Most Powerful Employment Lawyers in the United States by Human Resource Magazine, and was named to the OC 500 by the Orange County Business Journal, a list of prominent and influential business leaders in Orange County. 

He frequently lectures and writes on various employment matters, including wrongful termination, employment discrimination, employee privacy issues and labor relations matters. He co-authored the book Avoiding Wrongful Termination: The Management Guide to Minimizing the Risks Posed by the Evolution of Wrongful Termination Law, published by American Somerset, Inc., and Employee Discharge & Documentation, published by Lorman Education Services.

Dan is a Founding Member of the Orange County Bar Foundation, Society of Fellows (now Project Youth OCBF) and a Founding Circle of Justice Member of Asian Americans Advancing Justice (AAAJ) – Orange County. 

Before founding Payne & Fears, Dan was a partner in the employment law department at Paul Hastings LLP.