California Employment Lawyers Association
Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles
Orange County Bar Association
American Association for Justice
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Tamara S. Freeze

tf@workplacejustice.com
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Phone: 949-378-9794
Fax: 949-266-9388

400 Spectrum Center Dr #560
Irvine, California 92618

Super Lawyers - 50 Women Super Lawyers - Up and Coming 100

Tamara S. Freeze is a founding shareholder of Workplace Justice Advocates, Professional Law Corporation, where she exclusively represents employees in employment-related matters, such as discrimination, harassment, disability accommodation, wage and hour disputes, whistleblower retaliation, employment litigation and appeals.

After earning her undergraduate degree from UCLA, Ms. Freeze attended University of California Berkeley School of Law, where she focused mainly on employment law and litigation, and worked as a summer associate at Skadden Arps Slate Meager & Flom, LLP. After graduation, Ms. Freeze worked for a prominent employment defense law firms Littler Mendelson, P.C. and Bryan Cave, LLP. In 2009, Ms. Freeze opened her own practice, focusing exclusively on employee rights.

In 2017 and 2020, the Daily Journal named Ms. Freeze to its list of the top 75 Labor and Employment Attorneys, a rare honor reserved for only most exceptional employment lawyers in California. Ms. Freeze has also been recognized as the Rising Star by California Super Lawyers Magazine every year since 2012, an honor reserved for no more than 2.5 percent of the lawyers in the state. Ms. Freeze has been featured in the Los Angeles Daily Journal, on radio stations and various media. In addition Ms. Freeze was recently named as one of the Top 50 Up-and-Coming Women Lawyers in Southern California and Top 100 Up-and-Coming Southern California Lawyers by Super Lawyers Magazine.

In her very first jury trial, Tamara obtained a $1,377,000.00 discrimination verdict on behalf of her client, Huron Mayo, in a complex disability discrimination, retaliation and CFRA case - prevailing on all five (5) causes of action against defendant Community Development Commission of the County of Los Angeles.

In June 2015, Tamara tried another employment discrimination case on behalf of a disabled school custodian and was able to obtain a $550,000.00 jury verdict for her client. The award was one of the largest discrimination verdicts in San Bernardino County for 2015.

In April 2017, Tamara obtained a historic $25.1M Whistleblower Jury Verdict on behalf of her client, Steven Babyak, who was unlawfully terminated after he came forward to upper management with complaints of illegal kickbacks and FDA policy violations. The unanimous verdict is believed to be one of the largest single-plaintiff whistleblower awards in California legal history. She became a 2017 CAALA Trial Attorney of the Year Finalist for her trial work on this case.

In November 2023, Tamara and her co-counsel obtained a $112,000 Equal Pay Act verdict on behalf of a female database administrator who was paid less than her male colleagues. Tamara was able to prove that her female client did substantially similar work as compared to other computer engineers. Tamara spent five years fighting for justice, mastering highly complex computer science terms in the process. Tamara and her co-counsel were awarded more than $1 million in attorney's fees and expenses for their work on the case.

In March 2024, Tamara obtained another whistleblower retaliation verdict in the amount of $800,000 on behalf of her client, a school safety officer, who was wrongfully fired by Redlands Unified School District. The jury was unanimous.

Ms. Freeze has a purple belt in Brazilian jiu jitsu and enjoys a good chess game.

Education

J.D., University of California Berkeley School of Law, 2005

B.A., University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), 2000

Jurisdictions Admitted to Practice State Bar of California, 2005
All District Courts of California, 2005/2008
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, 2005
The Supreme Court of the United States, 2012
Professional & Bar Association Memberships

California Employment Lawyers Association (CELA)
Member Since: 2008
CELA Trial College Presenter and Trainer (2017-2019)

Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles (CAALA)
2017 Trial Lawyer of the Year Finalist
2018 Annual Convention Presenter
2019 Plaintiff Trial Academy Graduate

The American Association of Justice (AAJ)
2018 Harvard Law School Trial College Graduate

Orange County Bar Association (OCBA)
Member Since: 2008

Orange County Korean Bar Association (OCKABA)
Past Board Member

Legal Honors / Awards

Top 50 Up-and-Coming Women Southern California Lawyers, 2016-2019

The Rising Star, California Super Lawyers Magazine, 2012-2019

The Daily Journal, Top 75 California Labor and Employment Attorneys, 2017, 2020

Top 100 Up-and-Coming Southern California Lawyers, 2019

Notable Cases
Notable Appellate Decisions
Notable Settlements
Speaking Engagements

Trying Whistleblower Retaliation Cases, American Bar Association Labor & Employment Annual Conference, Washington, D.C.
November 11, 2022

The Ethical Consequences of Lawyers Engaging in Prohibited Harassment, Discrimination or Retaliation, Women in Trial Travel Summit, Tuscany, Italy
October 2022

Opening Statements, Women in Trial Travel Summit, Punta Mita, Mexico
April 2022

The Game Of Drones: Winning Your Case In Discovery, Consumer Attorneys of California, Maui, HI
December 1, 2021

Opening Statements, CAALA, Las Vegas
September 2021

Dopamine Clicks: Lawyers' Addiction to Social Media, CAALA
May 7, 2021

Using Video Depositions at Trial, CAALA, Virtual Presentation
October 2020

Client Reviews
★★★★★
I just wanted to take a moment to say thank you for all of the hard work and dedication that led to yesterday's outcome. I really truly appreciate all that you have done over the last two years. The good guys prevailed!!! You really do provide a valuable service to the world in protecting the rights of good people who have been harmed. And it's always nice when we can make money while also doing good in the world. Rick