J. Bernard Alexander III

Phone: 310-394-0888

balexander@amfllp.com

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Bernard Alexander is a trial attorney who prosecutes demanding private and public sector employment litigation. He has tried over fifty cases to verdict, and he has won six- and seven-figure judgments for claims of discrimination, harassment and retaliation based on gender, race, age, sex, sexual orientation and disability.  He has resolved dozens of binding arbitrations and hundreds of mediations with successful results. 

Bernard has earned numerous professional recognitions and honors, including:

He is a past President of the California Employment Lawyers Association (CELA) (2014, 2015). He created the CELA Annual Trial College in 2014. 

Bernard is a frequent speaker on trial, litigation and employment law issues. His litigation skills are enhanced by his insurance background, particularly his experience handling special investigation (“fraud”) claims. He has qualified to testify as an expert witness on insurance claims handling and has lectured extensively on varied coverage and claims issues.

He is currently an executive board member of the National Employment Lawyers Association (NELA), Vice President of the Foundation for Advocacy Inclusion & Resources (FAIR), a non-profit devoted to promoting diversity in the plaintiffs’ employment bar, and a Legal Aid at Work board member. He is also a member of the Labor and Employment Law Section of the Los Angeles County Bar Association (LACBA), Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles (CAALA) and Consumer Attorneys of California (CAOC), and a lifetime member of both the Langston Bar Association and the UCLA Alumni Association.  Bernard was previously an Adjunct Professor at USC Gould School of Law, teaching employment dispute resolution.

Bernard holds degrees from Southwestern University School of Law and the University of California, Los Angeles, in English and Political Science, and is admitted to practice before all of the courts of the State of California, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and the United States District Court for the Central and Southern Districts of California.

Bernard’s Verdicts include the following:

  1. Diaz v Tesla Corporation, USDC Case No. 3:17-cv-06748-WHO: Jury verdict of $136.9 million, in October 2021, for racial harassment, failure to prevent harassment and negligent retention, the largest single plaintiff harassment verdict in US history (with co-counsel Larry Organ). Confidential settlement reached. USDC Judge William H. Orrick.
  2. b. Lewis, Jr. v. Kern County Sheriff, USDC Case No: 1:21−CV−00378−KES-CDB (March 19, 2025): Jury verdict of $30.5 million in wrongful death shooting of unarmed father of seven (with co-counsel Dale Galipo, Toni Jaramilla) USDC Judge Kirk E. Sherriff; Post trial motions pending. 
  3. McCray v WestRock Services, Inc., Case No. 2:21−cv−09853−DMG−RAO: Jury verdict of $9,461,000, in August 2023, for retaliation, disability discrimination and failure to prevent discrimination and retaliation in favor of a 27-year African American employee (with co-counsel Shadie Beranji). District Court Judge Dolly Gee; fee motion pending. Top 100 Cases in California for 2023: No. 44. https://topverdict.com/lists/2023/california
  4. Pierce/Bland v East Bay Municipal Utility District, USDC Case No. 3:21-cv-04325-AGT: Jury verdict of $7,990,000, in June 2023, for retaliation (Section 1983 and FEHA), failure to prevent discrimination and retaliation and constructive discharge, in favor of two women of color employed in the General Counsel’s Office of EBMUD (with co-counsel Bobbi Shukla).  US Magistrate Judge Alex G. Tse; fee motion pending. Top 100 Cases in California for 2023: No. 52. https://topverdict.com/lists/2023/california
  5. Mchaar v FedEx Ground, Santa Clara Superior Court Case No. 20CV366270, for disability discrimination and retaliation of a part-time deaf employee in April 2023 (with co-counsel Bryan Schwartz).  Judge Lori E. Pegg.   Top 100 Cases in California for 2023: No. 91. https://topverdict.com/lists/2023/california
  6. Gallegos v. University of La Verne, Los Angeles Superior Court Case No. 20STCV29478: Jury verdict of $600,000 in March 2023, for retaliation due to taking a protected medical leave where Defendant’s Code of Civil Procedure § 998 Offer to Compromise before trial was for $125,000 (with co-counsel Eric A. Panitz). Judge Kevin C. Brazile. Appeal pending. 
  7. Rios, et. al. v. City of Los Angeles, Case No.: 2:21-cv-05341-RGK-MAA: Jury verdict of $120,000, in a police excessive force case where an African American family of three was stopped at gun point based on a “cold plate” – the vehicle license plate of the vehicle owned by them did not match the DMV issued plate, through no fault of their own (with co-counsel Toni J. Jaramilla). USDC Judge R. Gary Klausner.
  8. Asfall v. Los Angeles Unified School District, Case No. 2:18-cv-00505-CBM (RAOx): Jury verdict of $100,000 in emotional distress damages in a Title IX retaliation case.  USDC Judge Consuelo B. Marshall;; affirmed on appeal.
  9. Carter v. Federal Express, Inc., Los Angeles Superior Court Case No. BC 658923: Jury verdict of $5,317,162, with a remittitur to $3,515,000, in March 2019, for Disability Discrimination – Failure to Accommodate, Failure to Engage in the Interactive Process and Retaliation, in favor of a 25-year employee(with co-counsel Natasha Chesler). Judge Rafael Ongkeko. (https://topverdict.com/lists/2019/california/top-10-civil-rights-verdicts).
  10. Monterroso v. Hydraulics International, Inc., Case No. Case No.: BC654053: Jury verdict of $1,292,063 in April 2019, for California Family Rights Act (CFRA) retaliation and Associational Discrimination – Failure to Accommodate, in favor of a 25-year employee making $19.07 on his date of termination (with co-counsel Hugo Gamez). LASC Judge Maureen Duffy-Lewis.
  11. Kunga v. American Guard Services, Case No. BC657320: Jury verdict of $3,000,000 in July 2018, for discrimination and retaliation under the California Family Rights Act, in favor of a $12 per hour security guard who was denied emergency leave to care for his daughter, then terminated for “job abandonment.” LASC Judge Michael P. Linfield .
  12. Campbell v. Fuse LLC: Arbitration award of $2.038 million in January 2017, in a wrongful termination case. Later, confirmed by LASC Judge Mark Mooney, based on an award of $815 per hour by Michael Latin, Judge Retired.
  13. Flores v. Office Depot, Case No. BC 556173: Jury verdict of $10 million in January 2017, in a CFRA retaliation case (with co-counsel Eric A. Panitz). LASC Judge Daniel S Murphy.
  14. Rivera v. Costco: Jury verdict of $1,686,500 in November 2014 in a disability discrimination, defamation and wrongful termination case.
  15. Flores v. City of Westminster, USDC Case no. 8:11-cv-00278-DOC-RNB: Jury verdict of $3.55 million in March 2014, representing three male Latino police officers in a failure to promote case based on race in Orange County (with MALDEF, Martha Gomez, Matthew Barragan) Esq., ). USDC Judge David O. Carter.
    Salinda v. DirecTV, Case No. BC 475999: Jury verdict of $1,178,628 in 2013 in a disability discrimination case (with co-counsel Supreeta Sampath). LASC Judge Ronald Sohigian.

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