PRACTICE AREAS

Discrimination and Harassment

Investigations

Litigation and Trials

Leave and Accommodation

Handbooks and Policies

Wage and Hour

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OVERVIEW

Christina G. Cordoza advises and represents employers in broad range of employment law matters, including:

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• Day to day advice and counseling, including issues related to leaves of absence, disability, complaints and investigations, training, hiring, performance issues and discipline, and separation of employment

• Discrimination and harassment claims, including claims based on race, religion, national origin, sex, and disability

• The development, implementation, and application of multistate employment documents, agreements, and communications, including offer letters, policies, handbooks, separation agreements, reduction in force documents, and interactive process/leave of absence templates

• Drafting of key contracts such as master service agreements, bonus plans, commission plans and independent contractor agreements

• Wage and hour issues, including claims involving minimum wage obligations, overtime wage compensation obligations, the regular rate, classification of employees as overtime exempt, and meal and rest break issues

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As a former in-house employment lawyer and general counsel at a number of different companies, involving a broad range of industries (biotech, healthcare, retail, tech, and food manufacturing), Christina has the ability to leverage her experience to advise clients on employment-related risk while balancing business realities in an ever-changing legal landscape. She knows how to collaborate with clients to understand their goals and thinks strategically and practically to realize those goals. Her advice is not limited to what the law permits or requires – she also considers company culture, financial implications, public relations, employee morale, and how her clients can make legal/HR operations more efficient and drive value. She designs and offers up real-world solutions to workplace issues before they become litigation matters. However, when litigation does occur, she represents clients in administrative complaint proceedings, arbitration, mediation and in court. Her background also includes designing contingent worker programs, international law, and agency claims of all types.

 

While in law school, Christina served as a judicial intern for Federal Judge William Orrick, Jr.

 

Professional and Community Affiliations

     Member, California Bar Association
     Member, Contra Costa Bar Association
     Board Member, Employment Section, Contra Costa Bar Association, 2025
     Member, National Association of Women Lawyers
     Member, Association of Corporate Counsel
     Member, Coalition for Battered Women
     Member, Labor & Employment Section, American Bar Association
     Member, Women Attorneys Affinity Group, American Bar Association
     Member, National Retail Federation, Retail Industry Leaders Association, 2012-2016

 

Education
J.D., University of California College of the Law, San Francisco (formerly Hastings), B.A., University of California, Berkeley,

 

Bar Admissions
California

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Courts
U.S. Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit
U.S. District Court, Northern District of California

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Publications & Press
Littler Kicks Off New Year With the Elevation of 28 Attorneys to Shareholder

Press Release
January 3, 2025

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Dear Littler: Are there limits to cell phone expense reimbursement?
Dear Littler
December 11, 2024

 

Pro Bono Week Podcast – Nonpartisan Election Activities
Littler Podcast
October 22, 2024

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Off Track
ABA Journal
February 2, 2009

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Deaf Justice?: Battered Women Unjustly Imprisoned Prior to the Enactment of Evidence Code Section 1107
Golden Gate University Law Review
January 1994

 

Note: The Constitutionality of All Male Clubs
Hastings Constitutional Law Quarterly
1989

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Events & Speaking Engagements

Hiring in the Wild West: Navigating California’s Employment Frontier
March 13, 2025

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Panelist, Managing Teams in Modern Era
Health & Fitness Conference

March 13, 2025

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2025 California Breakfast Briefing Series - Walnut Creek

Walnut Creek, CA

January 14, 2025

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Walnut Creek Fall 2024 Breakfast Briefing

Walnut Creek, CA

October 1, 2024

 

Political Expression in the Workplace
Breakfast Briefing

October 1, 2024

 

California Employment Law Update: What’s in Store for 2024
Walnut Creek, CA

January 2024

 

Workplace Risk Challenges
Staffing Industry Analysts Annual Conference
October 26, 2023

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Employment Law Fundamentals ABA Labor & Employment Law Section July 25, 2023
New California Laws and Cases Affecting Employers – Littler’s California Legislative Employment Law Update
Walnut Creek, CA

February 23, 2023

 

Panelist, Retail Roundtable on Wage and Hour and Workplace Violence
The 2016 Littler Executive Employer® Conference

May 2016

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Panelist, Retailers Breakfast Briefing
The 2015 Littler Executive Employer® Conference

May 2015

 

California Litigation “Hot Spots”
Retail Industry Leaders Association, Retail Law 2014

October 16, 2014

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California Wage and Hour Developments

The 2013 Littler Executive Employer® Conference

May 2013

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Books & Book Chapters

Four Explore the World, A Ninth Month Journey Around the World, Blurb Books, Christina Cordoza, Dan Judge, Grayson Judge and Abigail Judge, 2008