Brian T.Ashe

Partner

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Brian represents employers in all aspects of labor and employment law.


More About Brian

Brian's main areas of practice are complex litigation, class and collective actions, and counseling. Brian defends employers in wage/hour and PAGA matters, discrimination issues, trade secret cases, and multiparty contract litigation. He counsels clients in various aspects of human resources management, including compliance, independent contractor issues, privacy, and equal employment opportunity. Brian’s counseling practice focuses on prevention and artful business strategy.

Brian has been named one of the leading US lawyers for employment law according to Chambers USA for every year since 2009, credited as "having ‘an almost encyclopedic knowledge’ of labor and employment law, with specific ‘excellence on everything wage and hour related'." Chambers notes that, "clients praise him as 'a strategic and efficient attorney who dispenses sound advice'" whom they turn to "to help us assess the risk with various employment actions in a way that is easy to understand, and he does so in an expeditious manner."

Brian is routinely honored by The Legal 500 as one of America’s leading employment litigation lawyers (Legalese Ltd.). They have honored Brian with this award multiple times throughout the past decade, reporting that his clients describe him as "the most effective labor and employment counsel with whom I have ever had the pleasure of working with" because he "consistently delivers superior results." Brian was recognized in BTI Consulting Group's BTI Client Service All-Stars report and was cited as "absolutely the best at client service" because he is "head and shoulders above the rest … with the most demanding clients." He is recognized as a leader in his field in The Best Lawyers in America (Woodward/White Inc.) (2018-2024) and has been rated as a "star" in Tier 1 of Benchmark Litigation’s survey of the finest employment lawyers in the United States every year since its inception in 2018.

Brian has been listed as one of The Daily Journal’s Top Labor and Employment Lawyers in California based on professional accomplishments and case victories. He has also been awarded the Financial Times "Innovative Lawyer" commendation for his U.S. Supreme Court victory establishing the scope of the Dodd-Frank Act whistleblower law.

Brian has served on Seyfarth’s Partner Board since 2016 and was its Chair for the three years before 2024.  He was a recipient of the firm’s Mike Warner Award for "sacrifice, team work and legal excellence," is the only partner ever to have received Seyfarth’s "Inspirational Leader Award" for his dedication to helping others in need, and received the "Champion of the Year" from Best Buddies International.

  • JD, The George Washington University Law School
    With honors
  • Graduate Studies, Oxford University
    History
  • BA, Boston College
    Cum laude
  • California
  • US Supreme Court
  • US Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
  • US Court of Appeals, DC Circuit
  • US District Court, Central District of California
  • US District Court, Eastern District of California
  • US District Court, Northern District of California
  • US District Court, Southern District of California
  • California Supreme Court
  • California Courts of Appeal