Hunter Pyle
Principal
Phone: 510.444.4400
Fax: 510.444.4410
505 14th Street
Suite 600
Oakland, California 94612
Hunter Pyle was born in Alaska, and grew up with a single mom who taught school for a living. He worked his way through college at the University of Colorado, where he graduated summa cum laude.
Mr. Pyle graduated from Boalt Hall School of Law (now called Berkeley Law) in 1997. In 2007 he was named “one to watch” in the Daily Journal’s “Top Northern California Law Firms.” In 2009 and 2010, he was recognized as a “Rising Star” by Super Lawyers. This award is limited to the top 2.5 percent of lawyers under 40 in California. Every year since 2011 he has been recognized as a “Super Lawyer.” This designation is limited to the top 5 percent of attorneys in California. In 2014, Mr. Pyle joined both the Million Dollar Advocates Forum and the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum of the Top Trial Lawyers in America. Membership in those organizations is limited to attorneys who have won million and multi-million dollar verdicts and settlements. There are over 4000 members throughout the country. Fewer than 1% of U.S. lawyers are members.
In addition to practicing law full time, Mr. Pyle is a Lecturer at Berkeley Law School, where he has taught the Employment Law course to second and third year law students. In 2018, he designed and taught an advanced seminar at Berkeley Law covering California Wage and Hour Law. He has also been a faculty member of the Stanford Law School Trial Advocacy Workshop for several years.
Mr. Pyle is also the primary contributor to www.workersrightsblog.com. Additionally, he is a co-author along with Catha Worthman of “Civil Penalties Under the California Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA),” Employment Damages and Remedies (CEB 2014). Mr. Pyle is also the updating editor for the Employee and Union Member Guide to Labor Law (West), Chapter 2 (“Opposing Discriminatory Discharges”).
Mr. Pyle handles all types of employment litigation, including class actions, jury trials, wage claims, and unemployment insurance hearings. He has represented clients in wrongful termination/discrimination cases against such entities as Chevron, Georgia-Pacific, and the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans).
Mr. Pyle has served as the Chair of the Alameda County Bar Association Labor and Employment Committee. He has also served as the President of the Bay Area Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild; and the Vice-Chair of the Alameda County Bar Association Trial Practice section. In 2002, in his spare time, Mr. Pyle was the Outreach Director for Just Cause Oakland, which successfully passed Measure EE (providing that tenants may not be evicted without just cause). He is a member or past member of the National Lawyers Guild, the California Employment Lawyers Association, the Consumer Attorneys of California, the American Association for Justice, and the American Inn of Court.
Mr. Pyle regularly speaks at and organizes seminars for other attorneys. In recent years, these seminars have included jury selection, trial victories, and cross examination; as well as advanced seminars regarding class actions featuring the judges and research attorneys from Alameda and Contra Costa counties.
Mr. Pyle is admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of the United States and all federal and state courts in the State of California.
- Spring 2018: Bridgeport PAGA Seminar, San Francisco, CA
- Fall 2018: Class Actions and PAGA Claims, Bernard Witkin Law Librar
- November 2018: Faculty, Stanford Law School Trial Advocacy Workshop
Recent Publications
- “Civil Penalties Under the California Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA)”, Employment Damages and Remedies (CEB 2014)
- “AT&T v. Concepcion: It Ain’t Over”, American Association for Justice Employment Rights Newsletter, Fall 2011,
- Employee and Union Member Guide to Labor Law (West), Chapter 2 (“Opposing Discriminatory Discharges”)
- 2015 Recent Trends and Cases in Wage & Hour Litigation
Recent Appellate Cases
- Connor v. First Student, Inc., S229428 (August 20, 2018)
Watch oral argument before the California Supreme Court.
Read the opinion. - Castro, et al., v. ABM Industries, Inc., 9th Cir. 2015, Case No. 15-16627
Watch oral argument
Verdicts and Settlements
- Jury Verdict: $4,681,968.90 (Zuniga v. Carroll Fulmer Logistics Corporation, Alameda County Case No. RG10496445). This case settled after verdict for $5.2 million.
- Arbitration Award/Settlement in single plaintiff case: $840,000
- Settlement: $3,000,000 in Wage and Hour lawsuit.
- Settlement: $2,000,000 in Wage and Hour lawsuit.
- Settlement: $1,512,500 in single plaintiff case
- Settlement: $1,000,000 in single plaintiff case after three days of trial
- Settlement: $1,000,000 for 20 misclassified administrative employees.
- Settlement: $1,000,000 in Wage and Hour lawsuit.
Client Testimonials