Mike Olsen

About Mike Olsen

I represent and counsel employers on federal and California discrimination & leave laws, as well as trade secrets/NDAs, and wage & hour issues. I defend employers against claims of harassment and discrimination on the basis of race, age, gender, national origin, disability, and sexual orientation, as well as claims of retaliation, misclassification of employees, and alleged violations of the California Labor Code & FLSA.During law school, I served as a law clerk for the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles where I assisted indigent veterans. I was also an extern to U.S. District Court Judge Thelton E. Henderson in the Northern District of California. I also served as law student extern in the United States Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California. While at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, I defended claims against the United States including employment discrimination and FTCA claims; I also worked to prosecute False Claims Act cases. I was also a research assistant at the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law, where I assisted in the marriage cases before the United States Courts of Appeals. I have successfully obtained dismissals of numerous claims at the pleadings stage in state and federal courts, as well as administrative agencies, brought under state wage and hour law, as well as state and federal anti-discrimination law. I have successfully defended against numerous claims before the DLSE, and obtained complete dismissals of charges/complaints of discrimination before the EEOC & DFEH. I have won summary judgment in numerous wage and hour matters in arbitration. I am also an active pro bono attorney. I have assisted with several adoptions of foster children, represented a parent at two-day bench trial under the Hague Convention on the International Aspects of Child Abduction, assisted with briefing in an amicus before the U.S. Supreme Court on DACA in which the Court upheld the program, and assisted in class-wide litigation obtaining immigration relief for over a thousand immigrant juveniles in California.I have been recognized by Best Lawyers in America,\"Ones to Watch\" for Labor & Employment - Management, 2021, as well as Lawyers of Distinction. I have been published in the Daily Journal on employer responses to COVID-19, in WestLaw’s Practical Law, & in my own law journal article on the ADA which has been cited by several federal district courts throughout the U.S.**The postings on this site are my own and do not reflect or represent the positions, strategies, views or opinions of my law firm or my law firm colleagues.

Experience

1. Senior Associate Attorney

   Seyfarth Shaw LLP

   Jul 2025 — Present · Los Angeles, CA, US

Education

• California State University, Fresno

  Bachelor of Arts (BA), Psychology, Philosophy

  2003 — 2007

• Quantic School of Business and Technology

  Master of Business Administration, Business Administration and Management

• University of California, College of the Law, San Francisco (formerly UC Hastings)

  Doctor of Law (JD), Law

  2012 — 2015

• University of California, Los Angeles - School of Law

  Doctor of Law (J.D.), Law

  2014 — 2015

• San Francisco State University

  Master of Arts (MA), Philosophy

  2008 — 2010

Skills

• Leadership
• Contract Law
• Editing
• Commercial Litigation
• Copy Editing
• Aerospace Industries
• Public Speaking
• Class Actions
• Motions
• Employment Discrimination
• Research
• Legal Writing
• Litigation
• Community Outreach
• Lexisnexis
• Breach of Contract
• Legal Assistance
• Legal Issues
• Civil Litigation
• Proofreading
• Healthcare Industry
• Legal Research
• Legal Advice
• Lexis
• Westlaw
• Academic Publishing
• Employment Law