William Pao
Wage & Hour and Consumer Class Actions, Personal Injury, Mass Torts and Employment Litigation
William M. Pao represents workers in wage-and-hour and background check class actions, as well as single party wrongful termination claims. When William started practicing law right out of law school, he worked on the defense side advising and defending employers in workplace disputes. After working at several "biglaw" firms, William joined Setareh Law Group in 2017 and the rest is history - in a short span of only 30 months, he has helped settle over thirty class-action cases.
William litigates in both California state and federal courts and leads a team that handles more than a hundred class actions throughout the state. He has obtained summary judgment and significant settlements involving claims under:
- - California and federal wage-and-hour laws and regulations
- - Fair Credit Reporting Act and analagous California laws
- - meal and rest breaks
- - off-the-clock work
- - regular rate of pay calculation
- - misclassification of exempt status
- - rounding of punch time
- - sexual harassment
- - discrimination (race, gender, disability, sexual orientation, religion)
William lives with his dog Rocky, an English bulldog mix, that he adopted. William enjoys reading science fiction and Dungeons & Dragons novels, watching SyFY and National Geographic channels, and playing Path of Exile.
Education
J.D., Loyola Law School, 2001
B.A. Psychology, University of Southern California, 1998
B.A. Humanities (Emphasis in Theatre), University of Southern California, 1998
Bar Admissions
California Courts
U.S. District Court, Central District of California
U.S. District Court, Northern District of California
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California
Personal Interests
California Employment Lawyers Association (CELA)