A Decade of Growth, Grit, and Groundbreaking Wins
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Employees First Labor Law
1 S Fair Oaks Avenue
Suite 200
Pasadena, CA 91105
Inside Employees First Labor Law’s Rise as a Premier Force in Employment and Workers’ Compensation Law
"We’re constantly pushing to get new laws created. Employees First Labor Law is a bold, fast-growing plaintiffs’ firm with a mission to protect California’s workers. We are a powerhouse built on leadership, culture, and purpose. We’re not just winning cases; we’re shaping the future of employee rights and workplace justice in California,” says Jonathan LaCour, CEO and Managing Partner of Employees First Labor Law.
The attorneys and staff of Employees First Labor Law are not intimidated by entering highly-challenging areas in which the law is not clear. In fact, they have developed a strong track record of success with such cases. They have published opinions and earned multiple appellate victories in areas in which the law must be established or clarified through winning trials and appellate victories. For example, they recently faced a motion to compel arbitration submitted at the time of trial, where the court ruled that the arbitration agreement, even if found valid, would have been waived given that they had invoked the litigation machinery and had gone through the entirety of the case. Their goal was to create additional law that demonstrates that once a case begins and the firms begin discovery in earnest, an opposing side cannot then file a motion to compel arbitration at a later date after they had used the discovery process to their benefit.
“We envision EFLL as more than a law firm. We’re building a platform for advocacy—one that shapes public policy, influences corporate accountability, and raises the standard for how workers are treated across the country,” LaCour says.
The firm, founded in October 2016, employs nine attorneys and 30 support staff.
“The EFLL team is incredible. They did amazing on my case and defended myself and many others that were in terrible situations. They were professional, caring, showed concern and answered all my questions, walking me through the case with intention. My life is honestly changed as a result of working with them and having the BEST attorneys. I am forever grateful.” —Nicole B.
Lisa Noveck − Partner, Jonathan LaCour − CEO & Managing Partner, and Rony Barsoum − Senior Partner
Expanding By Building Leaders
LaCour says, “Leadership at EFLL has evolved from being positional to being purpose-driven. Our philosophy is that leadership isn’t about titles—it’s about influence, accountability, and alignment. We’ve built a culture where everyone, from senior partners to new associates, understands that they have the power to lead through their actions and ownership.”
That philosophy is exemplified by the firm’s expansion of its leadership structure with Partner Lisa Noveck heading the Employment Law Division and Senior Partner Rony Barsoum leading Workers’ Compensation.
Noveck has been with the firm from the beginning, playing a pivotal part of their growth as part of the senior management team. She is the firm’s first appellate attorney and handles all appellate matters. “She’s a legal rock star,” LaCour says.
Workers’ compensation is closely related to employment law, so the incorporation of Barsoum’s successful workers’ compensation practice was a savvy move for EFLL. Attorneys and law firms are often faced with a lot of crossovers. People who are injured or discriminated against at work often get fired. The partnership allows the firm to serve customers for each issue as opposed to just one area. If someone is injured at work, EFLL can handle that issue in-house while coordinating with their employment law attorneys at the same time, something most firms are not equipped to handle.
LaCour says, “It’s not very common to have two such teams operating at a very high level at a single firm, but what happened is we had two very successful firms that essentially ended up merging to the benefit of all our clients.” The new program has achieved a series of major victories reflecting the firm’s depth, collaboration, and unwavering commitment to justice. Their employment law and workers’ compensation teams have secured millions in settlements and verdicts on behalf of California workers—from complex wage and hour cases to catastrophic workplace injury claims.
A recent Workers’ Compensation division victory, led by Barsoum, secured a $1.2 million settlement for a man who suffered a stroke on the job. “This was a hard-fought case. The insurance carriers denied liability based on conflicting medical evidence, and it took multiple depositions—including persuading several doctors to change their opinions on causation—before they finally accepted responsibility,” Barsoum says. The result not only delivered justice for the client but also underscored EFLL’s tenacity in litigating complex medical causation cases.
The Employment Law division has achieved equally remarkable results, including multiple seven-figure settlements in whistleblower retaliation and FEHA discrimination matters.
These victories reflect the firm’s ability to handle high-stakes litigation while maintaining empathy and precision for every client. LaCour says, “Our success is defined by resilience and preparation. We’re proud to be a firm that fights for those who’ve been ignored, underestimated, or denied—and we win because we never stop believing in their cases.”
Noveck says, “We’re intentional about building balance. A healthy, engaged team produces better work—and that translates directly into better results for our clients.”
Lisa Noveck, Partner and Rony Barsoum, Senior Partner
Back to School
As an aggressive Managing Partner, LaCour realized that in addition to becoming a lead attorney, he was also now the CEO of a large and rapidly growing business. He saw a real need to expand his leadership capabilities by expanding his knowledge and experience on the business side of managing a law firm. He went through the executive studies program at Stanford Graduate School of Business. The program is a year-long advanced executive education designed to help shape executives into leaders. It also helps identify effective ways to build a team, make that team better, and to grow and maintain a successful business. Much of the focus is on case management to ensure that clients are led successfully from the beginning through the completion of their cases.
LaCour says one of the major benefits of the program is its emphasis on management of people—how to find them, incentivize, encourage, and give them the space needed to grow professionally and as a person. “Part of being an effective executive leader for the company is identifying ways to make your team better. You can’t just flip a switch and hire a bunch of different people. You have to work with the team to create a better squad that not only performs well, but that grows and increases in its abilities to serve the client.”
Becoming More Accountable
Through their “Shifting from Reactive to Proactive Case Management” project, the firm introduced DARCI accountability frameworks, 100-Day Change Plans, and Energy Zone assessments to increase clarity, efficiency, and collaboration. These tools have improved case outcomes, reduced bottlenecks, and strengthened communication across departments.
DARCI was implemented to identify and clarify roles, decision-making, and ownership within teams and it has proven particularly successful. DARCI is an acronym. D refers to the decision maker in the organization. A is accountability, the person who is ultimately accountable for success or failure. R, for responsible, refers to the people who actually do the work and get things done. C is a reference to the people conducting research, crafting memorandums, attending hearings, and consultants. Those are people who input strategy or expertise into it. “I” represents the informed. Those are the stakeholders. DARCI is a way of ensuring that the team is effective, allowing for high-level execution across the system.
Great People Equal a Great Firm
LaCour’s management philosophy is to hire the best quality people and give them enough leeway, with guidance, to execute at a high level. And with enough incentive to retain them for long-term success. “We say we have built a culture where excellence is expected, but empathy is required, and that’s not some marketing slogan. We don’t just fight for workers’ rights in the courtroom; we practice those same values within our own walls. Everyone here has a genuine sense of ownership. Our people don’t just complete tasks, they lead them.”
The EFLL focus on quality people continues to pay off for the firm and its clients. The firm is currently handling several high-impact cases that showcase its depth across employment and workers’ compensation law. One stands out for its novelty and potential influence on the broader legal landscape.
Barsoum is representing a registered nurse who became 100 percent disabled after contracting COVID-19 on the job. “It’s one of the most interesting and challenging cases I’ve handled. COVID is still a relatively new type of injury in the workers’ compensation arena, and the medical and legal complexities surrounding causation and disability are still developing. It will be fascinating to see how this case helps shape the law going forward,” he says. The case underscores EFLL’s commitment to taking on cutting-edge and precedent-setting matters that push the boundaries of existing workers’ rights protections. Under Barsoum’s leadership, the firm continues to build a reputation for successfully litigating complex, medically intensive cases that others might shy away from.
“There’s an opportunity for growth here that just doesn’t exist in other firms,” LaCour says. “Everybody wants to be successful, make a good amount of money, and have that level of growth. We represent that for many of them, for all of our employees, when a lot of other firms don’t. Our goal is to give everybody a life-changing result. That’s really our goal. Going back to management style, we try to get the best people, give them the tools that they need to be successful, and incentivize them to do really well.”
The firm celebrates wins together, invests in professional development, and encourages open communication across departments. The result is a workplace that thrives on purpose, empowerment, and pride, and where every team member understands that their contribution directly impacts clients’ lives and the firm’s broader mission of justice.
Lisa Noveck − Partner, Jonathan LaCour − CEO & Managing Partner, and Rony Barsoum − Senior Partner
The First Decade is Just the Beginning
LaCour says, “Adaptability has been at the core of EFLL’s continued success. The legal landscape is changing faster than ever, and we’ve made it a priority to evolve just as quickly—not reactively, but strategically.”
The firm has become one of California’s premier employee-rights law firms, but it has plans for significant growth in services and physical locations across California and Washington state.
One of the most common complaints clients have about law firms is a lack of two-way communication, a challenge EFLL has and continues to address through greater transparency, speed, and personal connection. They have invested in technology-driven systems providing clients with real-time access to their cases, automated communication, and streamlined collaboration between departments.
On the litigation side, the firm is deepening its focus on high-value employment cases, wage-hour class actions, and catastrophic workplace injuries, while exploring emerging practice areas tied to AI monitoring, workplace privacy, and evolving labor regulations. Internally, EFLL is investing in leadership pipelines, mentorship programs, and professional development initiatives to cultivate the next generation of top trial lawyers and negotiators. Noveck and Barsoum are spearheading initiatives to build attorney training academies, ensuring EFLL’s culture of excellence and empathy scales as the firm grows. The firm has also adapted to shifts within the profession itself, including remote collaboration, the integration of AI tools, and greater emphasis on attorney well-being.
“Clients today expect clarity and immediacy. They want to feel informed and empowered at every stage. We’ve embraced technology that strengthens those relationships while allowing our attorneys to focus on strategy and advocacy—where we add the most value,” says Noveck.
LaCour says, “Our growth has been intentional. We’ve invested heavily in people, systems, and innovation to create a culture of excellence—one where every client feels heard, every case is handled with precision, and every team member has the opportunity to thrive. The key message we want to convey is this: success at EFLL is not measured by verdicts alone, but by the lives we change and the standards we raise. What started as a passion to fight for fairness has become a movement for accountability, empowerment, and sustained excellence in California labor law.”
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