Justin F. Marquez, Esq. is a Senior Partner of Employment Class Actions and Complex Litigation at Wilshire Law Firm. A steadfast advocate for consumers and employees in litigation, Justin specializes in wage and hour claims, consumer protection, data breach, whistleblowers actions concerning false claims and SEC matters, qui tam claims, and more.
Justin holds countless landmark victories on behalf of his clients, and his extensive work, including in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, has been instrumental in positively shaping the law to better protect the rights of employees and consumers. A high-stakes litigation expert who practices at the forefront of consumer advocacy, Justin has upheld the rights of corporate misconduct victims against some of the world’s largest corporations. As lead counsel, he prevailed against Bank of America in a nationally covered case by winning class certification on behalf of thousands of employees for California Labor Code violations defeating appellate review of the court’s order certifying the class, defeating summary judgement, and defeating a motion to dismiss.
Justin’s persistent, client-first approach to his work and practice has earned him countless victories on behalf of his clients. In 2020, he recovered over $10 million in lost wages for workers alone, and as part of a consumer class action team, Justin recovered millions of dollars for defrauded real estate investors and consumers with fraudulent residential mortgages.
His expert and strategic practice has earned him the praise and recognition of his peers. Mr. Marquez was selected to the list of Southern California Rising Stars by Super Lawyers from 2017 to 2020, and in 2016 to 2020, he was selected to the National Trial Lawyers: Top 40 Under 40. Justin Marquez is a leader in data privacy and consumer protection class actions, and this has earned him a 10.0 Superb Rating from Avvo for his diligent work on cases related to employment, wrongful termination, consumer protection, and privacy law.
Justin serves on the Board of Directors of the Consumer Attorneys of California (CAOC), an organization that represents the interests of 39 million Californians by holding wrongdoers accountable. Passionate about protecting the public from greedy businesses, Justin was the only attorney in 2018 to appear on each of the following Top Verdict lists: Top 20 Civil Rights Violation Verdicts, Top 20 Labor & Employment Settlements, and Top 50 Class Action Settlements.
Attorney FAQ
What types of cases do you typically handle?
Justin Marquez handles Class Actions (Consumer, Data Breach, and Employment), Wrongful Termination, Qui Tam Claims, and Appellate Law cases.
Can you discuss one case that you have handled at Wilshire Law Firm that really stands out to you?
As lead counsel, Justin prevailed against Bank of America by winning class certification on behalf of thousands of employees for California Labor Code violations, defeating appellate review of the court’s order certifying the class, defeating summary judgment, and defeating a motion to dismiss.
What law school did you attend?
Justin received his J.D. from Notre Dame Law School.
Education
- J.D., Notre Dame Law School
- B.A. magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, and College Honors, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
- From 2001-2002, Mr. Marquez received a scholarship to study abroad at Tokyo University’s AIKOM Program.
Admissions
- United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
- State Bar of California
- US District Court for the Southern District of California
- US District Court for the Central District of California
- US District Court for the Eastern District of California
- US District Court for the Northern District of California
Awards & Leadership Roles
- 2017-2020 Super Lawyers Southern California Rising Stars
- 2016-2020 The National Trial Lawyers: Top 40 under 40
- 2018 TopVerdict.com, Top 20 Civil Rights Violation Verdicts in California
- 2018 TopVerdict.com, Top 20 Labor & Employment Settlements in California
- 2018 TopVerdict.com, Top 50 Class Action Settlements in California
- 2017 TopVerdict.com, Top 20 Labor & Employment Settlements in California
- 2017 TopVerdict.com, Top 50 Class Action Settlements in California
- 2017 TopVerdict.com, Top 50 Settlements in California
- Mentor Committee Member, California Employment Lawyers Association (CELA)
- Wage and Hour Committee Member, California Employment Lawyers Association (CELA)
- Board of Directors, Consumer Attorneys of California (CAOC)
- Diversity Committee Member, Consumer Attorneys of California (CAOC)
- Member, American Association for Justice (AAJ)
- Avvo 10.0 Superb Rating since 2015 (Employment, Wrongful Termination, Consumer Protection, and Privacy Law)
- “Simplifying Manageability.” 2019 California Employment Lawyers Association 16th Annual Advanced Wage and Hour Seminar
Notable Settlements/Cases
- As lead counsel, Mr. Marquez prevailed against Bank of America by winning class certification on behalf of thousands of employees for California Labor Code violations, defeating appellate review of the court’s order certifying the class, defeating summary judgment, and defeating a motion to dismiss. Frausto v. Bank of America, N.A., 334 F.R.D. 192 (N.D. Cal. 2019), 2020 WL 1290302 (9th Cir. Feb. 27, 2020), 2019 WL 5626640 (N.D. Cal. Oct. 31, 2019), 2018 W.L. 3659251 (N.D. Cal. Aug. 2, 2018). The class certification decision received national coverage on Law360, Bloomberg, and Reuters.
- ABM Industries Overtime Cases, 19 Cal.App.5th 277 (2017) was a wage and hour class action for over 40,000 class members. Mr. Marquez penned the class certification and expert briefs for the case, which focused on off-the-clock, meal period, split shift, and reimbursement claims.
- In Yocupicio v. PAE Group, LLC, 795 F.3d 1057 (9th Cir. 2015), Mr. Marquez won an important decision under the Class Action Fairness Act (CAFA), which held that non-class claims cannot be used to determine CAFA’s “amount in controversy” requirement. Mr. Marquez’s winning argument can be viewed on YouTube, and his work on this case has been cited by leading publications such as Wright & Miller’s Federal Practice and Procedure and Newberg on Class Actions.
- Mr. Marquez recovered over $10 million dollars in lost wages on behalf of workers in 2020.
- As part of a consumer class action team, Mr. Marquez recovered millions of dollars for defrauded real estate investors and consumers with fraudulent residential mortgages.
- Mr. Marquez has false claims (qui tam) litigation experience, having represented multiple clients.
