Marcia Guzman

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

1. I am a founding partner of GUZMÁN & TOKAR LLP, a California-based law firm that represents employees in complex employment matters, including class action and representative claims involving wage and hour violations, discrimination, retaliation, and wrongful termination. I have exclusively practiced employment law on behalf of plaintiffs throughout my career.
2. I received my Juris Doctor from Loyola Law School and was admitted to the California Bar in 2014. Since that time, I have successfully represented hundreds of clients in employment litigation across the state, including individual claims and complex matters brought under the California Labor Code, the Fair Employment and Housing Act (“FEHA”), and the Private Attorneys General Act (“PAGA”).
3. I have extensive experience in litigating class and representative actions and have served as lead or co-lead Counsel in numerous wage and hour cases. My firm routinely prosecutes cases involving meal and rest period violations, off-the-clock work, inaccurate wage statements, and waiting time penalties. GUZMÁN & TOKAR LLP is experienced in all stages of litigation, including motion practice, discovery, mediation, and trial.
4. My firm and I have also participated in dozens of mediations and settlement conferences in representative actions, including those with neutral mediators recognized for their expertise in complex employment matters.

QUALIFICATIONS, EXPERIENCE AND ADEQUACY OF PAGA COUNSEL

1. I have a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from California State University, Los Angeles where I graduated cum laude. I graduated, “Who’s Who Among College Students,” and was the founding chapter President of the Feminist Majority Foundation
2. I have a Masters of Public Administration from the University of Southern California (“USC”) where I graduated summa cum laude. Further, at USC I was a Dean’s Merit Scholar and a Housing and Urban Development Work Study and Sustainable Communities Leadership Fellow where I made a commitment to serve marginalized communities.
3. Prior to going to law school, I had a career working for elected officials at the state, county and city level in various capacities. I worked for SEIU 1000 where I advocated for workers’ rights and I further worked as a Judicial Clerk for the Honorable Joseph E. Di Loreto at the Superior Court of Los Angeles, County of Long Beach from 2012 to 2013.
4. I received my Juris Doctorate from Loyola Law School in 2014 where I concentrated in Civil Litigation. During law school I was President of the Loyola Democrats (2013,) Vice President of the Student Animal Legal Defense Fund (2013,) volunteer at the National Institute of Trial Advocacy deposition training (2013) and was social chair of Phi Alpha Delta (2012).
5. I was admitted as a member of the State Bar of California in 2014 and I have been an active member in good standing continuously since then.
6. I am licensed to practice throughout California and in the United States District Court Central District of California.
7. I worked as an independent contractor in 2014 providing services to individuals and attorneys where I handled a variety of cases including employment law cases and workers’ comp cases. During this time, I further worked for Public Counsel working in the Consumer Department providing services to low-income residents.
8. After passing the California Bar Examination, I worked for a private Plaintiffs’ side employment firm- first in prelitigation and then in the litigation department from 2015 to 2017.
9. Currently, I am the Managing Partner of GUZMÁN & TOKAR LLP dba Attorneys for Workers’ Rights since 2018. GUZMÁN & TOKAR LLP represents employees and specializes in employment law. Further, GUZMÁN & TOKAR LLP regularly manages class and PAGA representative actions.
10. I have taught as an adjunct professor at Claremont Graduate College. My role included teaching the basics of employment law, including a section on class and PAGA actions.