Biography
Shirish Gupta, a full time neutral at JAMS, has substantial experience resolving employment disputes, including wage & hour, discrimination and retaliation. He began his mediation career resolving employment disputes statewide with the California Department of Fair Employment & Housing. Shirish has years of experience both as a neutral and as an employment practitioner.
With the rare qualification of having represented both employers and employees in litigation, along with his first chair employment arbitration experience, Shirish’s style encourages a calm, low-stress atmosphere in his mediations and arbitrations.
Shirish has a high resolution rate and is sought out by Silicon Valley startups, as well as Fortune 500 companies. In 2014, The Recorder conducted an extensive survey of Bay Area Attorneys and named Shirish the Best Independent Mediator.
Shirish is an Adjunct Professor at UC Hastings, where he teaches Negotiation.
Representative Employment Mediations
- Misclassification/ Wage & Hour
- PAGA claims and putative meal/rest break class arbitration involving national transportation and logistics company
- PAGA claims by clerical assistant, temporary office worker and front desk coordinator against a national staffing agency and its local franchisee
- PAGA claim by counter sales clerk against national tool rental company
- Wage & hour dispute brought by employees of a startup against their dissolved employer and its alleged successor-in-interest
- Retaliation case involving a retail sales clerk alleging termination as retaliation for reporting wage/hour violation
- Wage & hour case involving a retail sales clerk claiming missed meal/rest breaks over a two month period
- Restaurant workers alleging that they were not given meal/rest breaks
- Sous chef claiming that he was misclassified as exempt and should have qualified for overtime
- Delivery drivers and stock-room workers alleging failure to pay overtime or give meal/rest breaks
- Heavy equipment driver claiming that he was not paid a prevailing wage for the portion of time worked on a government contract
- Undocumented immigrant working as a dishwasher/cook claiming unpaid overtime, meal/rest breaks
- Undocumented immigrant working as a nursing home orderly claiming failure to pay minimum wage and overtime or provide meal/rest breaks
- HR recruiters claiming that they were not compensated for all meal/rest breaks missed
- Claims against a staffing agency for failure to pay missed meal/rest breaks
- Discrimination/wrongful termination
- Wrongful termination dispute between Master craftsman and an artisanal furniture company
- Racial discrimination case between an Army Lieutenant and his superior office
- Disability discrimination matter involving a public entity clerk and claims of nearly $1M in emotional distress damage
- Wrongful termination dispute between a supermarket employee and a national chain
- Pre-suit pregnancy discrimination claim alleging that a new mother was instructed to pump in a toilet stall
- Pre-suit sexual orientation discrimination claim by a gay assistant harbormaster
- Pre-suit age discrimination claim by deli manager against a prominent supermarket chain
- Pre-suit age discrimination claim by cashier against a local supermarket
- Racial discrimination claim against a prominent doctor’s group by a female African-American medical technician
- Developmentally disabled dishwasher claiming he was wrongly terminated and inadequately supervised
- Female corrections officers claiming that they were being subjected to gender harassment and pornography at work
- Unionized delivery driver alleging sexual harassment and disability discrimination
- Driver fired for gross insubordination for taking pictures on company property claiming retaliation for opposing harassment
- Minority police officers claiming that the police chief refused to promote them based on race
- Other employment matters
- Shareholder dispute at an employee-owned closely held company
- Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) case brought by prospective employee against employer for rescinding offer based on an alleged false credit report
- Claim that a former employer is refusing to honor the terms of a severance agreement
- Government agency claiming that former senior officer converted over $100k of equipment for personal use
- Claim against employer for physical assault and wrongful imprisonment
Completed Virtual ADR training conducted by the JAMS Institute, the training arm of JAMS.
- Honors and Awards
- Honoree, Northern California ADR Faculty Conference, Center for Negotiation and Dispute (CNDR), 2020
- ALM Media and Martindale-Hubbell, Northern California Top Rated Lawyer, 2019
- Best Independent Mediator, The Recorder, 2014
- Northern California Super Lawyer, 2013-Present
- South Asian Bar Association of North America's Cornerstone Award, 2015
- Coach of the Year – Foster City AYSO, 2014
- Southern California's Top Rated Lawyers, 2012-2013
- Super Lawyers Bay Area Rising Star in ADR, 2010-2012
- National Asian Pacific American Bar Assoc.'s (NAPABA) Best Under 40 Award, 2007
- Memberships/Professional Activities
- State Bar of California: Council of Sections Co-Chair (2015-2016); Solo and Small Firm Section Chair (2013-2014)
- South Asian Bar Association of Northern California President, 2006-2008
- San Francisco Bay Area Intellectual Property Inn of Court Barrister, 2003-Present
- California Minority Corporate Counsel Program Member, 2009-Present
- National Asian Pacific American Bar Association, Alternate Regional Governor, 2008-2010
- American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin Ethics and Grievances Committee Advisor, 2010-2011
- South Asian Bar Association of North America: Board Member (2006-2007); National Convention Co-chair (2007: San Francisco)
- U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and the Federal Circuit
- U.S. District Courts for the Northern, Central, Southern, and Eastern Districts of California
- Authored Articles
- "Expedite your Settlement Using Bracketing," Law.com, January 13, 2017; "Mediations Need A Plan of Action," Daily Journal, October 16, 2015; Common Negotiating Mistakes," Flashpoint Mediation, February 2015; "Common Attorney Fee Disputes & Solutions," Flashpoint Mediation, January 2015; "Crafting a Solid Attorney-Client Fee Agreement," Flashpoint Mediation, Jan 2015; and "Mediation Statements," Flashpoint Mediation, June 2014
- Speaking Engagements
- Northern District Practice Program: Mediation, Settlement Conference, and Case Management (2018: San Jose); PLI Negotiation Skills (2016-2019: San Francisco); Ten Ways to Win for Your Client at Mediation (2018: Oakland); Negotiating via Text (2018: San Francisco); Learning from Experience: Making Arbitration Work (2018: San Francisco); Effective Negotiation and Settlement Strategies (2015: San Francisco); Anatomy of an Arbitration (2015: San Diego); Ethics in Arbitration Agreements, Fee Agreements, Joint and Successive Representation (2015: San Mateo); Carden Academy Commencement Keynote Address (2014: San Jose); Arbitrating a FRAND License for a Standards Essential Patent (2014: Redwood City); To Post or Not: The Social Media Ethical Dilemma (2014: Oakland, Riverside); ADA and Accessibility Risk Management for Law Firms (2013: Long Beach); Thinking on Your Feet at a Mediation (2012: Long Beach, Philadelphia, Ventura); Mock Mediation: A Behind the Scenes Look at a Mediation (2011: Long Beach); NASABA Idol - Interactive Workshop Focusing on Negotiation Strategies in Mediation (2010: Boston); New Initiatives in ADR in India (2006: Menlo Park); Mediation in Intellectual Property Matters in the U.S. (2005: New Delhi); Hot Topics in Trademark Law (2012: Monterey); Implications of Recent Patent Case Law (2012: San Jose)
- ADR Profile
- "The Next Generation of Neutrals," ADR Profile, Bloomberg BNA, August 13, 2016
- "Teaching Talent," ADR Profile, Daily Journal, July 8, 2016
- Principal, Flashpoint Mediation (San Mateo, Sacramento, and Irvine, CA), 2010-2015
- Principal, Flashpoint Law (San Mateo and Irvine, CA), 2008-2015
- Senior Litigation Associate, Mayer Brown (Palo Alto, CA), 2002-2008
- Litigation Associate, Howard Rice Nemerovski Canady Falk & Rabkin (now Arnold & Porter) (San Francisco, CA), 1999-2001
- J.D., University of Chicago Law School
- B.A., magna cum laude, Double Major: Economics and Legal Studies, UC Berkeley
Counsel Comments
- “Shirish was extremely effective as a mediator. It was readily apparent that Shirish thoroughly enjoyed his role as the mediator. He remained undaunted in the face of the occasional emotional outbursts of the parties. I contribute the reason the parties eventually settled this highly contested dispute to Shirish's unrelenting patience and understanding, as well as his ability to empathize with each party.”
- “From the outset, I was impressed by Mr. Gupta’s professionalism and intuitive ability to navigate the parties’ conflicting views and positions. Shirish is fair, unbiased and I felt I could trust him.”
- “Shirish was personable, made efforts to put people at ease, and was empathetic without losing efficiency.”
- “On the eve of trial, the parties remained substantially apart. Mr. Gupta demonstrated patience in helping both sides understand not only the strengths, but also the weaknesses in their respective positions.”
- “Shirish is a thorough and thoughtful mediator.”
- “I thought Shirish did a good job of trying to understand the technology and bridge the gap between the parties. I also felt that he was good at trying to bring the parties together without being too pushy.”
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