Lonny Zilberman has been practicing employment law for over 28 years and is a partner in the firm’s Employment Law Practice Group. Lonny works with employers to find practical, cost-effective strategies to their workplace problems. Lonny is an expert storyteller. Every organization has a story to tell: the value created for customers; the contributions made to communities; the opportunities created for employees. If an employer is not telling their story well, then an adversary will tell a different story. Old litigation strategies employed by many attorneys no longer plot a predictable path forward. Lonny has expertise in understanding how to best position his clients to limit liability and obtaining better outcomes in employment matters.

Lonny does not apply a cookie-cutter approach and his ultimate goal is to keep clients out of courtrooms. Lonny looks at each matter individually, creating road maps – rooted in strategic and creative insight that enable clients to best achieve their desired result. Lonny’s philosophy is to try to advise people to do what they really want to do. This usually leads to a common-sense approach to problem solving, taking into account business realities. He has broad experience resolving potentially explosive employment law issues before they escalate or hit the news. Clients rely on Lonny’s creative strategies to solve complex employment matters, both in class actions and individual plaintiff claims. He advises clients on a broad range of issues from hiring, managing employees and termination; drafting and analyzing employment and non-compete agreements; developing personnel policies; conducting internal sexual harassment, whistleblower and misconduct investigations; management trainings; and defending claims before administrative agencies.

Lonny has an active litigation practice, with cases in federal and state courts, in private mediation and arbitration proceedings, and before state administrative agencies. Lonny also practices in the area of alternative dispute resolution, specifically as a neutral mediator to facilitate parties to resolve their disputes in the area of employment law. As a mediator, Lonny is an expert in his ability to communicate and help each side understand how they are seen by the other. This approach is not just designed to have the parties consider jury appeal and legal risk in a courtroom, but also helps individuals appreciate each side’s perspective and the reasoning behind their settlement positions in the negotiation.

In 2021, recognizing his professional and civic accomplishments, Lonny was named to The San Diego Metropolitan Magazine’s Men of Influence in Law. Fourteen years earlier, in 2007, Lonny was named by the same publication to its annual list of “Top 40 under 40”. In 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2013, Lonny was honored as one of San Diego’s Top 10 Employment Lawyers by the San Diego Daily Transcript. Since 2010, Lonny was also recognized as a San Diego Super Lawyer, an honor bestowed on only the top 5% of attorneys, as selected by his peers. Lonny was selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America (2020-2023). He also received Martindale-Hubbell’s highest peer rating (AV “Preeminent”) for legal ability and ethical standards for the last 14 years in a row. Lonny earned his J.D. degree at Santa Clara University School of Law (1995) where he was Order of the Barristers. He received his B.A. degree, in political science and international relations from the University of California, Santa Barbara (1990). Lonny is fluent in Russian.