Desai Law Firm, P.C.
Aashish Y. Desai
Aashish Y. Desai is a distinguished class action attorney who has dedicated his career to advocating for employee and consumer rights across the United States. He has successfully recovered hundreds of millions of dollars through class and collective action settlements, representing clients in matters related to wage and hour disputes, consumer fraud, and various civil rights violations.
In a landmark case in 2011, Mr. Desai persuaded Judge Carter to reverse a tentative ruling, establishing that piece-rate compensation that does not "separately pay" for non-productive time is in violation of California law, as seen in Cardenas v. McLane Foodservice Inc., 796 F.Supp.2d 1246 (C.D. Cal. 2011). This case resulted in a $5.5 million settlement and was one of the first to establish liability within the transportation industry, paving the way for extensive litigation throughout California based on its "separate compensation" theory.
Mr. Desai was also a key member of the litigation team that secured a record-setting $852 million settlement for a group of women who alleged that Dr. George Tindall, a campus gynecologist, sexually assaulted them during examinations in the case of Jane Doe v. USC, Case No. BC705677 (LASC March 25, 2021).
With over twenty-eight (28) years of experience, Mr. Desai has tried eight complex cases to verdict. Notably, he successfully tried Aguirre v. Genesis Logistics, 8:12-cv-00687 (C.D. Cal. 2017), a PAGA action for 665 truck drivers, resulting in a bench victory, a $7 million global settlement, and a feature story in the Los Angeles Daily Journal (Oct. 1, 2017).
Dedicated to safeguarding the rights of consumers and employees, Mr. Desai has argued nine cases before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and five before the California Court of Appeals. He has contributed an amicus brief and made an appearance—though not argued—before the U.S. Supreme Court in Christopher v. Smith Kline, 567 U.S. 142 (2012), which clarified that the Fair Labor Standards Act's outside salesperson exemption applies to pharmaceutical representatives. More recently, he played a pivotal role in establishing an exemption from forced arbitration under the Federal Arbitration Act for transportation workers engaged in "interstate commerce" in Carmona v. Domino’s Pizza, LLC, 21 F.4th 627 (9th Cir. 2021), cert granted, 13 F.4th 1135 (9th Cir. 2023), cert denied (April 22, 2024). Additionally, he serves as co-lead counsel in the case that saved PAGA from federal preemption under the FAA -- Adolph v. Uber Technologies Inc., 14 Cal.5th 1104 (2023) (California Supreme Court allowing PAGA representative standing following Viking River).
From 2004 to 2006, Mr. Desai served as an Adjunct Professor at Chapman University School of Law, where he taught legal research and writing. He is the co-author of two prominent wage and hour practice manuals: "The Fair Labor Standards Act" (Kerns, BNA 2013-present) and "California Wage and Hour Law and Litigation" (CEB 2010-present). He also completed a judicial externship for Judge Frances Maloney at the Fifth District Court of Appeals in Texas in 1995. Mr. Desai has authored numerous legal articles for respected journals and magazines, and he recently published a legal novel based on the true story of a group of truck drivers who file a PAGA class action eventually tried in federal court, titled "A Class Action" (A. Desai, 2021) (Kindle, Audible, and Amazon).
During his time in law school, Mr. Desai received the prestigious American Jurisprudence Book Award for achieving the highest distinction (first in class) in Contracts, Torts, and Civil Procedure. He was also honored twice with the W.W. Watkins Advocacy Award in recognition of his exceptional oral advocacy skills. Additionally, he served as a teaching assistant to the distinguished (late) Professor Mixon in Property Law and assisted another professor in the area of Constitutional Law.
Experience
Mr. Desai has worked on both sides of the fence, initially with a prominent defense firm and then with a boutique class action group. He served as an Adjunct Professor for two years at Chapman University School of Law, teaching Legal Research and Writing (2004-2006). He also worked as a judicial extern to the Honorable Frances Maloney at the Fifth District Court of Appeals in Texas in 1995.
As the Managing Partner at Desai Law Firm, he primarily handles class and collective actions involving:
Court Admissions
Bar Admissions
Education
Additional Achievements
Aashish Desai has recently co-authored an update to the "California Wage and Hour Law and Litigation" book, published by Continuing Education of the Bar (CEB) from 2010 to the present.
Since 2005, Mr. Desai has been recognized by his peers as a “Super Lawyer” by Thomson Reuters. He holds a perfect 10/10 rating from the online legal referral service AVVO and has been honored as one of the top five employment lawyers by Orange County Metro Magazine in both 2010 and 2012.
Mr. Desai is frequently invited to speak at legal seminars on a variety of topics and has been quoted or interviewed in prestigious publications such as the Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Daily Journal, Law360, and the Orange County Register.
In addition to his professional endeavors, Mr. Desai has dedicated his spare time to coaching youth sports, primarily focusing on his son’s teams. His coaching experience includes 8 years with AYSO Soccer, 4 years with Ladera Ranch Flag Football, and 4 years with National Junior Basketball.
A passionate musician, Mr. Desai performed in several working bands (funk, college rock) in Austin, TX during his college years and later attended the prestigious Musician's Institute in Hollywood to study guitar in 1992. Forty-two (42) years since he started, he continues to play lead guitar and sing with various bands in the Southern California region, specializing in classic rock, 80s and 90s hits, as well as current pop cover songs.
Adrianne De Castro
Adrianne De Castro is a Senior Associate at Desai Law Firm, P.C. in Orange County. Since graduating from law school in 2005, Ms. De Castro has devoted her legal career to advocating for workers and consumers. For the last two decades, she has built an expertise in litigating employment and consumer class actions on behalf of workers and consumers. Ms. De Castro has litigated employment discrimination cases for workers discriminated on account of age, pregnancy, disability, and gender. She also has experience litigating sexual harassment, wrongful termination, and retaliation cases. With the Desai Law Firm, her practice has focused mostly on wage and hour class actions. Ms. De Castro has helped to successfully resolve numerous cases on behalf of employees at various stages of the litigation process, including pre-litigation negotiations and settlement just weeks before trial.
In the last few years, Ms. De Castro’s practice has been devoted to wage and hour class actions and Private Attorney General Act (“PAGA”) actions on behalf of truck-drivers and drivers, leading to published decisions advancing the rights of drivers in the state of California. See Cardenas v. McLane Foodservice, Inc., 796 F. Supp. 2d 1246 (C.D. Cal. 2011) (granting truck drivers’ motion for summary judgment of pre and post-shift claims under California Labor Code where employer paid with piece rate wages and denying defendant’s motion for preemption under FAAAA); Shook v. Indian River Transport Co., 2014 U.S. District LEXIS 174395 (E.D. Cal. Dec 14, 2014)(holding that the FAAAA does not preempt wage claims for intrastate or interstate truck drivers); Aguirre, et al. v. Genesis Logistics, SACV 12-00687 JVS (C.D. Cal. Dec. 30, 2013 (awarding PAGA judgment in California for $500,000 for paystub violations); Carmona v. Domino’s Pizza, LLC, 2020 WL 7979174 (C.D. Cal. Dec. 9, 2020)(establishing an exemption from forced arbitration under the FAA for transportation workers who engage in “interstate commerce.”)
Ms. De Castro is also part of the litigation team in Adolph v. Uber Technologies Inc., No. S274671 (2022), a successful California decision prohibiting arbitration of PAGA claim on behalf of UberEats’ drivers. Ms. De Castro successfully argued the appeal before the California Appellate Court. The case has been accepted for review by the California Supreme Court to determine PAGA representative standing requirements pursuant to the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Viking River.
Prior to joining the Desai Law Firm, P.C., Ms. De Castro was an associate at the law firm of Mower, Carreon, and Desai LLP where she litigated wage and hour and consumer class actions on behalf of restaurant workers, home health care workers, and California consumers. Ms. De Castro has also worked as an associate at the law firm of Rudy, Exelrod, Zieff, & Lowe LLP in San Francisco where she focused on individual employment discrimination cases and wage and hour class actions. Ms. De Castro began her career as the Ruth Chance Law Fellow at Equal Rights Advocates where she spent two years representing low-wage women workers in sexual harassment and discrimination cases.
Ms. De Castro is also a devoted leader in the legal community with her work focused on ensuring diversity and inclusion in the legal profession, and organizing high quality continuing legal education. She is a Board member of the California Employment Lawyers Association (“CELA”), the premier organization in California of employee rights advocates. She is a member of CELA’s Diversity Committee and a member of CELA’s Education Committee, which she chaired for two years. Ms. De Castro is also a Board Member of Legal Aid at Work where she dedicates her time and resources to raising funds for Legal Aid’s service to low-income workers in the Bay Area. She is also a member of the California Lawyers Association – Executive Committee, Labor & Employment Section where she works with plaintiff and defense-side members of the bar to provide professional services and education to California’s employment practitioners. Ms. De Castro has also been a long-time lecturer at the University of California, Irvine, School of Law where she has taught Employment Discrimination for several years. She is also an attorney volunteer at the Workers’ Rights Clinic at Legal Aid Society – Orange County. Ms. De Castro is a 2005 graduate of U.C. Berkeley School of Law, and a 2002 graduate of U.C.L.A.
Professional Associations/Volunteer Activities:
Education
Speaking Engagements
“Managing the Surge in Retaliation Claims after Crawford and Other Key Decisions and Developments,” American Conference Institute’s National Advanced Forum on Employment Discrimination Claims and Class Actions (San Francisco, June 2009).
“PAGA: Nuts and Bolts,” Orange County California Employment Lawyers Association (Costa Mesa, 2012).
“Diversity Leadership Summit: Diversity in the Legal Profession,” California State Bar (April 2015).
“The Trouble with Lawyers: A conversation with Deborah Rhode,” California Employment Lawyers Association Annual Conference (Oakland, September 2015).
“Employment Class Actions,” Workers’ Rights Clinic at the Legal Aid Society of Orange County (Santa Ana, November 2015).
“FLSA Collective Actions,” California Employment Lawyers Association Advanced Wage and Hour Conference (Oakland, April 2017).
“Employment Discrimination Basics,” Workers’ Rights Clinic at the Legal Aid Society of Orange County (Santa Ana, 2016-2019).
“Know Your Venue,” California Employment Lawyers Association Advanced Wage and Hour Conference (Pasadena, May 2019).
Memberships
California Employment Lawyers’ Association 2005-present: Diversity Committee Member; Education Committee, Member & Chair, 2016-present.
California Lawyers’ Association, Labor & Employment Section, Executive Committee.
Orange County Bar Association, Labor & Employment, 2009-present.
Adrianne De Castro
Phone: (949) 614-5830
Fax: (949) 271-4190
Email: [email protected]
Sonia M. Nava
Sonia has worked on complex litigation cases, ranging from employment wage and hour to consumer class actions. Sonia has worked in the legal field for over 13 years. She assists with document review, discovery, trial preparation, and manages the firm’s calendar and office. She is eager to learn new things, has a sharp eye for detail, and is particularly good with clients.
Sonia M. Nava is an Orange County native and studied Communications at Orange Coast College in 2001. After working in the vendor compliance unit of Lexis/Nexis for several years, she attended Kensington College and obtained a Paralegal Certificate in 2010.
Outside of work, she enjoys attending performing arts events, collecting hardcover books, and illustrating and painting. She recently co-founded, OverBooked Book Club and is a member of OCMA.
Active Memberships
Orange County Paralegal Association (OCPA)
National Association of Legal Assistants (NALA)
Sonia Nava
Phone: (949) 614-5830
Fax: (949) 271-4190
Email: [email protected]
Professional Experience
Prior to joining Desai Law Firm, Ms. Nava was a paralegal at Mower, Carreon, and Desai in Irvine, CA.