PARTNER Bios
John C. Fox, Esq., Partner
Mr. Fox represents companies and senior managers and tries cases in state and federal courts throughout the United States. Mr. Fox has extensive trial experience, having spent more than 400 days in trial. Mr. Fox was also lead trial counsel in the first of the five wage-hour class actions known to have been tried in California and was lead trial counsel in what are believed to have been the two largest disability lawsuits in the United States. He is an across-the-board employment lawyer representing management nationwide.
His cases involve:
- wage-hour and employment discrimination class actions
- trade secret claims
- employment contract disputes
- wrongful termination
- corporate investigations
- discrimination law, often including the use of statistics in employment matters
Mr. Fox helps companies nationwide build effective human resources systems. He also provides strategic advice regarding employment practices to help them minimize their legal risk.
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Professional ExperienceMr. Fox was the California Employment Law Expert Witness offering testimony on behalf of the Board of Directors of The Walt Disney Company in the shareholder derivative lawsuit challenging Disney’s estimated $140 million severance package paid to its former President Michael Ovitz. The Court credited Mr. Fox’s testimony in a surprise ruling in favor of Disney.
Mr. Fox also successfully represented American Airlines in 997 separate lawsuits arising in Dallas challenging American’s rejection of Applicants for employment based on over 70 different physical and mental impairments and disabilities. After causing two courts to dismiss these lawsuits in their entirety, Congress subsequently amended the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (the predecessor federal disability lawsuit to the ADA) to cure the deficiencies in the statute Mr. Fox had brought to attention of the federal Courts.
Mr. Fox also successfully represented Zilog, Inc., one of Silicon Valley’s most venerable semi-conductor companies. After first defeating class certification, Mr. Fox defended the remaining 31 separate lawsuits of the named parties collectively seeking $3 Billion for alleged failure to accommodate violations the Plaintiffs brought pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act. The Clerk of the Court described this case as the largest civil action in the history of the federal civil courts in Idaho. The case settled on the eve of trial of the first six of the 31 lawsuits for a confidential amount less than Plaintiff’s attorneys’ fees for their 22 lawyers.
Prior to founding Fox, Wang & Morgan, Mr. Fox was a Partner at Manatt, Phelps & Phillips and at Fenwick & West, LLP and chaired their Employment and Labor Groups for two decades specializing in employment law applicable to high technology companies. Mr. Fox was also previously Executive Assistant to the Director of the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), U.S. Department of Labor, where he was responsible for all enforcement and policy matters. Apart from drafting substantive employment discrimination regulations at OFCCP, Mr. Fox was responsible for OFCCP’s contacts with Congress, other federal agencies, and The White House.
Mr. Fox donates his time, pro bono, as General Counsel, to a battered women’s shelter, Monarch Services, in Watsonville, CA.
Mr. Fox also lectures often and has published widely on a variety of employment law subjects. He is a member of the Advisory Committee to the National Employment Law Institute, and was a member of its Board of Directors for over two decades. He is a past Chair of the Santa Clara County Bar Association Employment Law Committee. He has also served as a member of the Boards of Directors of both The Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose, California and The York School in Monterey, California. Mr. Fox was also the “Navigator” for 2009-2010 for the Sierra Expedition of the Southwest YMCA Adventure Princesses Program.
Mr. Fox writes the OFCCP “Week in Review” Blog about developments among the federal employment law agencies. Mr. Fox has been the Number 1 author in J.D. Supra’s Government Contracts section (includes discrimination law agencies) for the last two years back-to-back from among 165,000 other authors. You may find his latest column at DirectEmployers Association.
- George Washington University Law School, J.D., 1976
- While in law school, The Reporters’ Committee for Freedom of the Press employed Mr. Fox as its Editor-in-Chief of the Press Censorship Newsletter, predecessor to BNA’s Media Law Reporter.
- University of California, Riverside, B.A., Phi Beta Kappa, cum laude, 1973 where he was also the News Editor of the campus newspaper The Highlander.
- Admitted to practice in California and the District of Columbia as well as numerous federal district courts and courts of appeals across the nation and the SCOTUS.
- Member, Advisory Board, National Employment Law Institute
- AV Preeminent (Martindale-Hubbell’s highest rating) since the advent of the “Preeminent” rating, M-H’s highest rating
- Expert Guides: Guide to the World’s Leading Labour and Employment Attorneys, 2013-present
- Northern California Super Lawyers, 2004-present
- Top Attorneys in Northern California, 2010-present
- Who’s Who Legal: California, 2009-present
- Dean L. Broadbent Award for outstanding contribution to the community and for academic excellence, University of California, Riverside, 1973
- Deborah K. Biggers, et al. v. Heller Ehrman, LLP, et al., United States Bankruptcy Court Northern District of California (2008-2010) (we were employment (and then employment bankruptcy) counsel to the world’s 30th largest law firm which shut down after 119 years of business)
- Sleep Train Coordinated Wage and Hour Cases, San Francisco County Superior Court, Complex Division (2007-2020) (broad-based wage-hour exemption and meal and rest period series of inter-related class-action lawsuits)
- Joohak Kim v. Saehan Bank, American Arbitration Association, Los Angeles County (2007) (Bank CEO pension fraud employment case)
- In re The Walt Disney Co. Derivative Litigation, New Castle County, Delaware Court of Chancery (2005) (the case many pundits across the nation described as the most significant case in the nation in 2005)
- Corium Int'l., Inc. v. Shoreh Parandoosh, San Mateo County Superior Court (2003) (termination of recalcitrant inventor and patent holder)
- Susan W. Constantinides v. Symantec Corp., U.S. District Court, E.D. Virginia, Norfolk Division (2002) (ERISA alleged fiduciary duty and benefits denial case brought by widow of deceased manager successfully defended at trial)
- Michael D. Norton v. Andros Inc., et al., San Francisco County Superior Court (2002) (CEO termination, fraud, company valuation and stock option valuation case)
- Mark Hardie v. California Independent System Operator, Los Angeles County Superior Court, Complex Division (1999) (the first Wage-Hour class action tried in California)
- Tsotung Ko, et al. v. Zilog, Inc., U.S. District Court, Idaho (1994) (31 separate but consolidated ADA lawsuits reportedly the largest civil case ever tried in Idaho)
- OFCCP v. Cargill, Inc., consolidated class actions in Arkansas settled on the eve of trial for less than Defendant’s first settlement offer (2015)
- OFCCP v. JBS, Inc., class action failure to hire case in Utah settled after 10 weeks of trial at the close of Plaintiffs’ case for less than 1% of Plaintiff’s claimed damages (2020)
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Jay J. Wang, Partner
Mr. Wang’s practice focuses on employment litigation that includes civil claims involving wrongful termination, harassment, unpaid wages, discrimination, trade secrets and workplace violence claims. He is also involved in counseling his clients as to human resources issues ranging from family leave practices, workplace investigations, and disciplinary write-ups.
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Professional ExperiencePrior to founding Fox, Wang & Morgan P.C., Mr. Wang was an Associate at Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP and at Fisher & Phillips LLP, where his practice focused on both employment advice and litigation. He has also served as counsel in civil insurance defense claims related to professional malpractice claims and product liability. Mr. Wang has authored numerous articles and blogs relating to labor and employment matters. Mr. Wang served as Chairman of the Labor and Employment Section of the Santa Clara County Bar Association. Mr. Wang is also a frequent speaker on labor and employment matters, having been a featured speaker at numerous seminars, podcasts, and conferences, including before the Labor and Employment Section of the California Bar Association, the Labor and Employment Section of the Arizona Bar Association, the National Employment Law Institute, and the California Employer Advisory Council. Mr. Wang previously served as Chairman of the Labor and Employment Section of the Santa Clara County Bar Association.
- Georgetown University Law Center, J.D., 1999.
- Articles Editor, Journal of Legal Ethics, 1998-1999.
- University of California, Los Angeles, B.A., 1995.
- Admitted to practice in California and before all California state and federal courts.
- Member, American Bar Association.
- Member, Santa Clara County Bar Association.
- Member, California Republican Lawyers Association.
- Trustee, Santa Clara County Bar Association Board of Trustees, 2007- 2011.
- Chairman, Labor and Employment Section of the Santa Clara County Bar Association, 2010.
- Vice-Chairman, Labor and Employment Section of the Santa Clara County Bar Association, 2009.
- Chairman, Santa Clara County Bar Association Professionalism Committee, 2008-2009.
- Member, Santa Clara County Bar Association Executive Committee, 2008.
- Member, Executive Committee of the Labor and Employment Section of the Santa Clara County Bar Association.
- “Misclassification of Computer Professionals has Byte,” Council on Education in Management Newsletter, July 2006.
- “A Tribal Solution? Tribal Staffing Companies and Workers' Compensation,” PEO Insider, March 2004.
- “Conflicts of Interest in Successive Representations: Protecting the Rights of Former Clients,” 11 Geo. J. Legal Ethics 275, Winter 1998.
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Alexa L. Morgan, Partner
Alexa Morgan is a founder and Partner of Fox, Wang & Morgan P.C. Her practice focuses on virtually all areas of employment law before both state and federal courts, as well as administrative agencies. She regularly handles employment litigation matters involving complex wage and hour class action issues, workplace discrimination, harassment, and wrongful termination.
Ms. Morgan also regularly counsels employers on various aspects of employment law including hiring decisions, termination decisions, reductions-in-force, employee discipline, personnel policies, medical leave and accommodation issues, and wage and hour matters. She also drafts employment-related polices and agreements, such as employee handbooks, employment agreements, severance agreements, and trade secret/confidentiality agreements. In addition, Ms. Morgan conducts internal workplace misconduct investigations and advises clients on appropriate responses to employee misconduct.
Ms. Morgan’s practice also focuses on counseling federal contractors on compliance with affirmative action laws. Ms. Morgan also assists in the representation of clients before the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) by preparing for desk audits, responding to OFCCP requests for information, defending OFCCP audits, evaluating disparity claims, and defending federal contractors in OFCCP-initiated administrative proceedings.
Ms. Morgan is also active in the pro bono community, having successfully represented clients in employment, guardianship, unlawful detainer, and education-related matters.
Prior to founding Fox, Wang & Morgan, Ms. Morgan was an Associate at Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP and at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP.
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Education- Santa Clara University School of Law, J.D., cum laude, 2004; Order of the Coif
- Editor, Santa Clara Law Review
- University of California, Santa Cruz, B.A., Intensive Legal Studies, 1999
Ms. Morgan is active in the pro bono community, having successfully represented clients in employment, guardianship, unlawful detainer, and education-related matters.
- Admitted to practice in California and before the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
- Member of the National Association of Women Lawyers
- Co-Author, “Where are the Courts Today? Proving and Defending Against an ‘Adverse Impact’ Claim: OFCCP’s New Approach to Employer Selection Systems,” EEO Insight, 2008.
- Co-Author, “Current Issues in D&O Insurance,” Insights, August 2005.
- “Judicial Election Candidates’ Free Speech Rights After Republican Party of Minnesota v. White: Is the Problem Really Solved?” Santa Clara Law Review, 2003
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