Joanne Alnajjar Buser

Savvy litigation counsel for employment matters and unique actions brought against universities

Joanne Buser is a seasoned litigator who advises employers in a variety of industries, including banking, consumer products/retail and higher education. Her practice includes:

• Employment law counseling
• Employment litigation
• Investigations of employee complaints
• Higher education litigation

Joanne prides herself on providing timely, practical advice to employers concerning employee disputes of all kinds, and she works to help clients find creative solutions to common challenges and ways to leverage litigation to an employer’s advantage. In the university space, she brings deep knowledge of the laws and regulations governing higher education and an excellent track record of defeating student lawsuits, including writ petitions and appeals.

As the San Diego office managing partner, Joanne takes pride in promoting a colorful office culture that fosters fun, authenticity and inclusivity.

• Defending employers against charges of discrimination, harassment, retaliation, and wage and hour violations.
• Litigating single plaintiff, PAGA and class action employment cases, representing employers in state and federal courts, arbitration and administrative agencies.
• Counseling employers about their employment practices, agreements, handbooks and compliance obligations.
• Representing universities in lawsuits and appeals brought by faculty, staff and students, including writ actions challenging disciplinary decisions and lawsuits raising First Amendment and common law claims for fraud, breach of contract and the like.

Litigation – Employment

• Prevailed in five-day arbitration regarding two former employees’ claims of FEHA sexual harassment, discrimination and retaliation, and defeated corresponding motion to vacate the employer’s award.
• Obtained significant adjudications of FEHA and Labor Code whistleblower retaliation claims, which resulted in favorable settlement for bank.

Litigation – Higher Education

• Successfully obtained an anti-SLAPP dismissal and motion to dismiss a complaint filed by a former graduate student in federal court, obtaining a significant attorneys' fees award.
• Successfully opposed multiple appeals of the denial of writ petitions challenging student dismissals for academic misconduct and other misconduct, including sexual assault.
• Obtained defense verdict in jury trial for public university on claims of harassment and failure to prevent harassment.

• Successfully obtained terminating sanctions and opposed appeal of law student’s dismissal for failing to meet academic requirements.
• Obtained dismissal of a former student’s lawsuit, with prejudice, on behalf of a private university in federal court based on alleged RICO Act violations, breach of contract and intentional infliction of emotional distress, among other claims.
• Obtained summary judgment on a university faculty member’s claims of FEHA gender discrimination, harassment and retaliation. 
• Obtained summary judgment for a university on Title IX sexual assault claims and obtained judgment for costs on behalf of the university, which was affirmed on appeal.

PAGA and Class Action Litigation

• Obtained two favorable PAGA settlements for a large pharmaceutical company.
• Obtained favorable PAGA settlement for a large inventory counting company, with corresponding dismissal of class action and individual arbitrations.
• Obtained favorable class action settlement for private university.
• Obtained a waiver of costs in a class action wage and hour settlement for a large biotech company.

Investigations

• Authored investigative report of a disability accommodation and harassment claim as independent counsel for city council.
• Authored significant sexual assault investigation reports as independent counsel for employer.
• Authored whistleblower retaliation investigation report as independent counsel for county employer.
• Authored sexual harassment and gender discrimination investigation report as independent counsel for county employer.