Holger G.Besch
Partner
Labor & Employment
hbesch@seyfarth.com
Holger maintains a broad class action and single plaintiff litigation practice representing public and private employers in both unionized and non-unionized work environments.
More About Holger
Holger's class action experience includes numerous cases filed under state and federal anti-discrimination laws and under state and federal wage and hour laws. His single-plaintiff experiences have included multiple lawsuits in federal and California state courts defending against claims of wrongful termination, violations of leave laws, employment discrimination, retaliation, privacy, and sexual and other forms of harassment.
An accomplished appellate advocate and trial attorney, Holger has handled cases through verdict, including before a jury, as well as at the appellate level. He has been an advocate and presented oral argument before the California Court of Appeal and the California Supreme Court. His trial experience includes matters in the Superior Court as well as before various administrative agencies. Additionally, he has represented employers in a variety of trial proceedings before the Regions of the National Labor Relations Board and on review before the Board.
In addition to litigation experience, Holger maintains a multifaceted counseling practice advising on employee discipline, termination and wage and hour issues. He has maintained a particular emphasis on advice concerning reductions in force, the federal WARN Act, the California Mini-WARN Act, and corporate transactions.
An accomplished appellate advocate and trial attorney, Holger has handled cases through verdict, including before a jury, as well as at the appellate level. He has been an advocate and presented oral argument before the California Court of Appeal and the California Supreme Court. His trial experience includes matters in the Superior Court as well as before various administrative agencies. Additionally, he has represented employers in a variety of trial proceedings before the Regions of the National Labor Relations Board and on review before the Board.
In addition to litigation experience, Holger maintains a multifaceted counseling practice advising on employee discipline, termination and wage and hour issues. He has maintained a particular emphasis on advice concerning reductions in force, the federal WARN Act, the California Mini-WARN Act, and corporate transactions.
- JD, University of California, Los Angeles School of Law
- BA, Amherst College
Magna cum laude
- California
Related Services
- Class & Collective Actions
- Complex Discrimination Litigation
- Discipline & Performance Management
- Employment
- Employment Litigation
- Independent Worker Strategies
- Labor Management Relations
- Pay Equity
- Reductions in Force & Business Restructuring
- Wage Hour Class & Collective Actions
- Wage Hour Private Equity Due Diligence
- Transactional Risk Insurance
- Trial
Related Key Industries
Related News & Insights
-
Firm News
08/15/2024
220 Seyfarth Attorneys Chosen as Leaders in Their Fields by Best Lawyers in America 2025
-
Recognition
08/17/2023
210 Seyfarth Attorneys Chosen as Leaders in Their Fields by Best Lawyers in America 2024
-
Blog Post
Jul 10, 2023
The Art of Defending (or Lodging) a Failure to Accommodate Claim: A Lesson on The Rehabilitation Act
-
Sponsored Events
Nov 16, 2022
Seyfarth and ACC Southern California In-Person Panel: The Art of Performance Management, Employee Discipline, and Employee Separations
- Listed in Best Lawyers in America (Woodward/White Inc.) for Labor Law - Management (2013-2025); Litigation - Labor and Employment (2013-2025)
- California Bar Association
- Los Angeles County Bar Association
- American Bar Association
- Co-Author, “Short-Term Layoffs Require Advance Notice Under California WARN,” One Minute Memo, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (December 6, 2017)
- Chapter Contributor, Sexual Harassment in Employment Law, 2011 Edition (2011)
- Co-Author, “Hidden Cameras in the Workplace: Hernandez v. Hillsides and the Permissible Scope of Employee Surveillance,” California Labor and Employment Law Review (January 2010)
- Chapter Monitor, Employment Discrimination Law, 2009 Cumulative Supplement (2009)
- Co-Author, “California’s Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act,” Los Angeles Lawyer (September 2003)
- Contributing Editor, The Developing Labor Law, 2001 Cumulative Supplement (2001)
- Co-Author, “Higher Standards: A Number of New Amendments Make California's Employment Laws Even Stricter,” Los Angeles Daily Journal California Law Business Supplement (April 24, 2000)
- "Arbitration: New Federal Legislation and California Update," National Wage and Hour Litigation Practice Group Meeting, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (March 16, 2022)
- "Declaration Campaigns: Whether, When, and How," National Wage and Hour Litigation Practice Group Meeting, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (May 19, 2021)
- Seyfarth Shaw Breakfast Briefings: presenter on wage and hour issues.
- PIHRA Legal Updates: presented labor and employment legal updates to the Professionals in Human Resources Association (PIHRA).
- Los Angeles County Bar Association Panel Lecturer (Privacy): presentation on employee surveillance issues following the California Supreme Court’s ruling in Hernandez v. Hillsides.
- Los Angeles County Bar Association Panel Lecturer (Multi-Employer Issues): presented the employer’s perspective on alter ego, single employer, and joint employer liability issues.
- World Trade Committee for the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation
- German-American Business Association
- Board member, Inner City Law Center
- Union Station of Pasadena (Personnel Committee, Board of Directors)
- Immediate past president, Amherst College Alumni Association of Southern California
Languages
- German and French
Holger maintains a broad class action and single plaintiff litigation practice representing public and private employers in both unionized and non-unionized work environments.
More About Holger
Holger's class action experience includes numerous cases filed under state and federal anti-discrimination laws and under state and federal wage and hour laws. His single-plaintiff experiences have included multiple lawsuits in federal and California state courts defending against claims of wrongful termination, violations of leave laws, employment discrimination, retaliation, privacy, and sexual and other forms of harassment.
An accomplished appellate advocate and trial attorney, Holger has handled cases through verdict, including before a jury, as well as at the appellate level. He has been an advocate and presented oral argument before the California Court of Appeal and the California Supreme Court. His trial experience includes matters in the Superior Court as well as before various administrative agencies. Additionally, he has represented employers in a variety of trial proceedings before the Regions of the National Labor Relations Board and on review before the Board.
In addition to litigation experience, Holger maintains a multifaceted counseling practice advising on employee discipline, termination and wage and hour issues. He has maintained a particular emphasis on advice concerning reductions in force, the federal WARN Act, the California Mini-WARN Act, and corporate transactions.
An accomplished appellate advocate and trial attorney, Holger has handled cases through verdict, including before a jury, as well as at the appellate level. He has been an advocate and presented oral argument before the California Court of Appeal and the California Supreme Court. His trial experience includes matters in the Superior Court as well as before various administrative agencies. Additionally, he has represented employers in a variety of trial proceedings before the Regions of the National Labor Relations Board and on review before the Board.
In addition to litigation experience, Holger maintains a multifaceted counseling practice advising on employee discipline, termination and wage and hour issues. He has maintained a particular emphasis on advice concerning reductions in force, the federal WARN Act, the California Mini-WARN Act, and corporate transactions.
- JD, University of California, Los Angeles School of Law
- BA, Amherst College
Magna cum laude
- California
Related Services
- Class & Collective Actions
- Complex Discrimination Litigation
- Discipline & Performance Management
- Employment
- Employment Litigation
- Independent Worker Strategies
- Labor Management Relations
- Pay Equity
- Reductions in Force & Business Restructuring
- Wage Hour Class & Collective Actions
- Wage Hour Private Equity Due Diligence
- Transactional Risk Insurance
- Trial
Related Key Industries
Related News & Insights
-
Firm News
08/15/2024
220 Seyfarth Attorneys Chosen as Leaders in Their Fields by Best Lawyers in America 2025
-
Recognition
08/17/2023
210 Seyfarth Attorneys Chosen as Leaders in Their Fields by Best Lawyers in America 2024
-
Blog Post
Jul 10, 2023
The Art of Defending (or Lodging) a Failure to Accommodate Claim: A Lesson on The Rehabilitation Act
-
Sponsored Events
Nov 16, 2022
Seyfarth and ACC Southern California In-Person Panel: The Art of Performance Management, Employee Discipline, and Employee Separations
- Listed in Best Lawyers in America (Woodward/White Inc.) for Labor Law - Management (2013-2025); Litigation - Labor and Employment (2013-2025)
- California Bar Association
- Los Angeles County Bar Association
- American Bar Association
- Co-Author, “Short-Term Layoffs Require Advance Notice Under California WARN,” One Minute Memo, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (December 6, 2017)
- Chapter Contributor, Sexual Harassment in Employment Law, 2011 Edition (2011)
- Co-Author, “Hidden Cameras in the Workplace: Hernandez v. Hillsides and the Permissible Scope of Employee Surveillance,” California Labor and Employment Law Review (January 2010)
- Chapter Monitor, Employment Discrimination Law, 2009 Cumulative Supplement (2009)
- Co-Author, “California’s Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act,” Los Angeles Lawyer (September 2003)
- Contributing Editor, The Developing Labor Law, 2001 Cumulative Supplement (2001)
- Co-Author, “Higher Standards: A Number of New Amendments Make California's Employment Laws Even Stricter,” Los Angeles Daily Journal California Law Business Supplement (April 24, 2000)
- "Arbitration: New Federal Legislation and California Update," National Wage and Hour Litigation Practice Group Meeting, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (March 16, 2022)
- "Declaration Campaigns: Whether, When, and How," National Wage and Hour Litigation Practice Group Meeting, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (May 19, 2021)
- Seyfarth Shaw Breakfast Briefings: presenter on wage and hour issues.
- PIHRA Legal Updates: presented labor and employment legal updates to the Professionals in Human Resources Association (PIHRA).
- Los Angeles County Bar Association Panel Lecturer (Privacy): presentation on employee surveillance issues following the California Supreme Court’s ruling in Hernandez v. Hillsides.
- Los Angeles County Bar Association Panel Lecturer (Multi-Employer Issues): presented the employer’s perspective on alter ego, single employer, and joint employer liability issues.
- World Trade Committee for the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation
- German-American Business Association
- Board member, Inner City Law Center
- Union Station of Pasadena (Personnel Committee, Board of Directors)
- Immediate past president, Amherst College Alumni Association of Southern California
Languages
- German and French