What We Do

The Kizirian Law Firm strives to provide the best possible legal representation to its clients. Through creative thinking, hard work, years of experience, and specialized expertise, we are able to secure favorable outcomes for our clients. Our practice is focused upon California employment and consumer law, though we take other matters on a case-by-case basis.

For most cases we work on a contingency fee basis — this means you never have to write a check to the Kizirian Law Firm for your lawsuit.

We use a number of tools at our disposal to vigorously pursue your claims:

Class Actions

With a class action suit, the person who files the lawsuit pursues claims not just for themselves, but on behalf of everyone else who is in a similar situation, i.e. the ‘class.’ Class action suits can be used with both employment and consumer cases. The primary advantage of a class action suit is that they make it feasible to pursue smaller claims.

If an employer is making an employee work several minutes off-the-clock here and there, or if a business periodically sends you junk text messages, there might not be enough in damages for any one person to pursue a lawsuit. But with a class action, those claims are combined and the matter becomes much larger. The client, for their role as a named plaintiff and class representative, is typically given an enhancement award by the court, above and beyond their individual share of the recovery, should there be a positive outcome for the class.

Suits Brought Under California's Private Attorneys General Act

Suits brought under California’s Private Attorneys General Act (“PAGA”) function much like class actions. Instead of bringing suit on behalf of themselves and a class of similarly situated individuals, the client in a PAGA action brings suit on behalf of the State of California. Like a class action, a PAGA action is pursued on behalf of a large group of individuals. A PAGA action may only be used for a wage and hour employment lawsuit and cannot be used in the consumer setting.

The primary advantage of a PAGA action is that this type of lawsuit can get around the arbitration agreements that increasing numbers of employers are using to keep their employees from pursuing claims in court. Arbitration agreements typically require an employee to forgo the possibility of proceeding on a class-wide basis. Arbitration agreements, however, cannot be used to stop a PAGA action from moving forward in a court of law as a representative suit, which in many ways functions like a class action.

Arbitrations

Arbitration agreements are used by employers to keep employee claims out of court. Businesses that provide services, such as telecommunications companies and banks, also regularly use arbitration agreements to keep their customers from suing them in court over disputes. Essentially, arbitration agreements require employees and consumers to go before a private judge instead of through the public court system. Arbitration agreements often come with a class action waiver whereby the employee or consumer is required to proceed on an individual basis only.

Just because you may have signed an arbitration agreement does not mean you cannot pursue your claim. The Kizirian Law Firm’s founder, Armand R. Kizirian, has pursued numerous claims in arbitration proceedings and is well versed in the requirements and peculiarities of that forum. Indeed, while the Kizirian Law Firm generally prefers to pursue client claims in a court of law, one advantage of arbitration is that the client’s claim is likely to reach a resolution sooner than it otherwise would. If you believe you may be subject to an arbitration agreement, we encourage you to get in touch with us today to discuss your recourse.

Contingency Fee Agreements Mean You Never Have to Write a Check to the Kizirian Law Firm

With almost all of our cases, we work on a contingency fee basis. This means that you do not pay anything out of pocket while the suit is pending and we advance all costs. If and when we are able to secure a judgment or a settlement for your suit, our fees come out from this amount.

On the employment side, we pursue both individual and class action lawsuits on behalf of our clients. We pursue claims for unpaid wages, missed meal and rest breaks, unpaid overtime, and a variety of other wage and hour claims. We also bring suit for wrongful termination, discrimination, and harassment. Learn more here about our employment law services. If you are having an issue with your employer, we encourage you to get in touch so that we may discuss your options.

On the consumer side of our practice, we represent individuals who have been subject to unfair business practices or false advertising, have purchased faulty or defective products, or have had their personal information released through data breaches. We also represent people and businesses who receive junk calls, texts, faxes, and individuals subject to unconscionably high interest rate loans. Learn more here about our consumer law services. If you believe you may have need of an attorney, we encourage you to get in touch today.