About Perry Smith

Perry Smith, who has been practicing employment law exclusively since he began practicing law, was named one of Southern California’s best young employment lawyers in the 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008 Southern California Super Lawyers – Rising Stars Editions. This honor is only provided to the top 2.5 percent of attorneys under 40 or practicing 10 years or less.  Perry is in his eighth year of practice. For detailed information about these honors, click here.  

Perry is a partner in the law firm of Barritt Smith LLP and has obtained high dollar results for employees in wrongful termination, retaliation, unpaid wages, discrimination and other kinds of cases against employers. These results have often been obtained as settlements without significant litigation. However, when necessary, Perry will take a case all the way through the jury trial process. Perry has obtained substantial jury verdicts in trials involving wrongful termination and unpaid wages.

Perry has a distinguished academic background, having received his law degree, cum laude, from the University of Georgia School of Law, which is consistently ranked as one of the top 35 law schools in the country. In law school, Perry obtained a scholarship for ranking in the top ten percent of his first year class and was selected, based on his academic performance and writing skills, to serve as Articles Editor of the Georgia Law Review, the University's most respected legal publication.

Perry has appeared on NPR's popular "Marketplace" program as a special guest to provide expertise regarding employment law issues. Perry has lectured on employment law subjects including wrongful termination, discrimination and harassment, employee privacy issues and wage and hour law, among other topics. Perry has also written articles on employment law issues for various publications. The blog discusses all aspects of wrongful termination law in California.

Perry is experienced in representing employers, which has assisted him greatly in his representation of employees. Perry started his career at the firm of Payne & Fears LLP in Irvine, California, where he represented major employers in labor and employment litigation.

In addition to his law practice, Perry is a mediator of employment-related disputes and has served on the Alternative Dispute Resolution panel of the Los Angeles County Superior Court. For more information about Perry's mediation practice see smithmediation.com.

In his off time, Perry enjoys spending time with his wife and dog and writing songs. Recently, Perry's song "You Believed in Me" made it into the top 10 songs in the "American Idol" songwriter competition, which had tens of thousands of entries.