Dana D.Howells
Senior Counsel
Labor & Employment
dhowells@seyfarth.com
Dana is a navigator of California employment laws, providing holistic advice and experiential insights.
More About Dana
California is tough territory for employers. Experienced locals who speak the language and navigate the danger zones are essential for employers. As a repository of quick answers and creative, practical solutions, Dana is a leading resource for her clients and the firm's national employment practice groups.
Dana—one of the firm's "Gurus of the Golden State"—has 30-plus years of practicing labor and employment law in California at an elite level. She brings breadth and depth across subject matter areas from onboarding to termination and everything in between including pay equity and compensation, incentive structure, internal investigations, privacy, reasonable accommodations, leave administration, performance management, wage and hour, handbooks and policies, employee relations, discrimination, layoffs and reductions, WARN laws, and workplace violence.
As a former in-house counsel for a multinational firm, she has a uniquely practical grasp of how legal advice can impact multiple aspects of doing business. She understands intersections between employment law and employee benefits, corporate governance, insurance/risk management, workers' compensation, and immigration. She served as a longtime officer and is past chair of the Los Angeles County Bar Association's Labor and Employment Section, one of the largest and most active associations of labor and employment specialists—union, plaintiff, management and neutrals.
Starting out as a litigator trying cases, obtaining restraining orders and arguing appeals, Dana later turned her more argumentative "superpowers" to proactive advice and counsel—though she still investigates, negotiates, mediates, and advocates as needed. Lessons learned from litigation (admissibility of evidence and burdens of proof, for example) now provide essential insight for advising companies facing complex situations and choices.
Dana leverages technology by creating search indices that put answers and updates at her fingertips. She creates resources for clients, including train-the-trainer materials, work flows, primers, form sets, user guides and more. She provides hotline-style advice and counsel for clients needing immediate answers, as well as due diligence and issue-spotting for mergers, acquisitions, restructuring and downsizing. Dana loves to be a go-to "helpdesk" and sounding board when clients or other Seyfarth attorneys call for a quick sanity check or strategizing.
Dana is proud to work for Seyfarth's amazing, top-notch roster of clients and see them grow ever more successful. She feels their pain and savors their victories.
Dana—one of the firm's "Gurus of the Golden State"—has 30-plus years of practicing labor and employment law in California at an elite level. She brings breadth and depth across subject matter areas from onboarding to termination and everything in between including pay equity and compensation, incentive structure, internal investigations, privacy, reasonable accommodations, leave administration, performance management, wage and hour, handbooks and policies, employee relations, discrimination, layoffs and reductions, WARN laws, and workplace violence.
As a former in-house counsel for a multinational firm, she has a uniquely practical grasp of how legal advice can impact multiple aspects of doing business. She understands intersections between employment law and employee benefits, corporate governance, insurance/risk management, workers' compensation, and immigration. She served as a longtime officer and is past chair of the Los Angeles County Bar Association's Labor and Employment Section, one of the largest and most active associations of labor and employment specialists—union, plaintiff, management and neutrals.
Starting out as a litigator trying cases, obtaining restraining orders and arguing appeals, Dana later turned her more argumentative "superpowers" to proactive advice and counsel—though she still investigates, negotiates, mediates, and advocates as needed. Lessons learned from litigation (admissibility of evidence and burdens of proof, for example) now provide essential insight for advising companies facing complex situations and choices.
Dana leverages technology by creating search indices that put answers and updates at her fingertips. She creates resources for clients, including train-the-trainer materials, work flows, primers, form sets, user guides and more. She provides hotline-style advice and counsel for clients needing immediate answers, as well as due diligence and issue-spotting for mergers, acquisitions, restructuring and downsizing. Dana loves to be a go-to "helpdesk" and sounding board when clients or other Seyfarth attorneys call for a quick sanity check or strategizing.
Dana is proud to work for Seyfarth's amazing, top-notch roster of clients and see them grow ever more successful. She feels their pain and savors their victories.
- JD, UCLA School of Law
Order of the Coif
UCLA Law Review
Moot Court finals
Eleanor Klein Award (top woman graduate) - BA, University of Texas, Austin
HistoryWith highest honors and special honors (4.0 GPA)
Phi Beta Kappa
Ferguson Prize (top History graduate)
Debate
Certifications
- Certified Health Care Institute (HCI) professional, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (2022)
- California
- US Supreme Court
- US Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
- US District Court, Central District of California
- US District Court, Eastern District of California
- US District Court, Northern District of California
- US District Court, Southern District of California
- Advised global pharma company on California WARN matters since 2012.
- Set up compliance systems for global retailers, auto manufacturers, and a major newspaper for California Transparency in Supply Chain Act (anti-human trafficking law).
- Created complete reasonable accommodations training materials and form set for a national bank.
- Created nationwide paid parental leave polices for a variety of clients.
- Created hotlines for manufacturing, financial services, and retail and oil drilling.
- Conducted pay equity reviews for advertising and health care industry.
Related News & Insights
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Firm News
08/15/2024
220 Seyfarth Attorneys Chosen as Leaders in Their Fields by Best Lawyers in America 2025
-
Attorney Publication
Dec 14, 2023
Now Available! International Employment Lawyer’s Guide to Restructuring a Cross-Border Workforce
-
Recognition
08/17/2023
210 Seyfarth Attorneys Chosen as Leaders in Their Fields by Best Lawyers in America 2024
-
Recognition
Aug 18, 2022
Seyfarth Attorneys Named in The Best Lawyers in America 2023
- Listed in Best Lawyers in America (Woodward/White Inc.) for Employment Law - Management (2021-2025)
- 2007 President's Volunteer Service Award, Council on Service and Civic Participation
- Rated AV preeminent in Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Ratings, 2019
- Law Clerk, Hon. Harry Pregerson, US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
- Intern, US District Court, Central District of California
- Los Angeles County Bar Association (executive committee, Labor and Employment Law Section, 1996-present; chair, Labor and Employment Law Section, 2010-2011; Amicus Brief Committee, 2010-2011; Outstanding Jurist Committee, 2010)
- State Bar of California, Labor and Employment Law Section
- Co-Author, "2020 Census: The Whereabouts of Paid Sick and Personal Leave Laws & State Gatekeepers," Legal Update, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (January 12, 2021)
- Co-Author, "Paid Sick Leave for Federal Contractors Final Rule—Prognosis and Practical Challenges," Management Alert, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (October 13, 2016)
- Co-Author, “DOL Publishes Final Rule on Federal Contractor Paid Sick Leave Requirements,” Management Alert, Seyfarth LLP (September 29, 2016)
- Author, "L.A. Gets Sick—Paid Sick Leave Coming as Soon as July 1, 2016," One Minute Memo, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (June 6, 2016)
- Co-Author, "Los Angeles Votes to Enact Paid Sick Leave Policy," One Minute Memo, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (April 26, 2016)
- Co-Author, “Seyfarth Submits Comments to U.S. DOL Regarding Proposed Regulations Establishing Paid Sick Leave for Federal Contractors,” Management Alert, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (April 15, 2016)
- Author, “Smart (and Legal) Maternity/Paternity/Parental Leave Policies,” Benefits Magazine (March 2016)
- Contributing author, California Peculiarities Blog, available at: www.calpeculiarities.com
- "New California FEHA Regs Effective 4/1/16: Update Policies & Training Now," Webinar, presented by Seyfarth Shaw LLP (March 30, 2016)
- “California Legislative Update 2014” Firm Webinar (November 13, 2014)
- “How to Avoid Common Pitfalls When Using Criminal Background Checks,” Firm Webinar (November 12, 2014)
- “Ten Traps for Unwary Employers 2013,” The Entrepreneurship Institute, The President’s Forum, Southern California (April 24, 2013)
- “2013 California Labor & Employment Legislative and Regulatory Update” Firm Webinar (January 23, 2013)
- “California Recordkeeping Requirements: Practical Strategies to Ensure Compliance and Protect Your Organization,” Center for Competitive Management Webinar (October 18, 2011)
- “Planning International Relocations: Legal and Practical Considerations for U.S. Employers,” Los Angeles County Bar Association, International Law Section (June 21, 2011)
- “Health Care and the Cost,” The Entrepreneurship Institute, The President’s Forum, Southern California (April 7, 2011)
- “For Your Benefit: 2011 Benefits Law Developments for Employment Law Practitioners,” Los Angeles County Bar Association Labor and Employment Law 2011 Symposium (March 31, 2011)
- “The Reasonable Accommodation Dialogue: What You Need to Do and Say,” Webinar (February 24, 2011)
- “Privacy in the Workplace: A Need-to-Know Checklist for California Employers” (November 18, 2010)
- “Into the Future, The Next Decade of Employment Law,” 2010 Advance Labor and Employment Law Conference for In-house Counsel (social media panel) (November 10, 2010)
- “I Spy: an Update on Surveillance, Monitoring and Rights of Privacy,” Employers Roundtable of Southern California (November 4, 2010)
- “Avoiding the Pitfalls of Social Media in the Working Place,” Breakfast Briefing Series (October 13, 21 and 26, 2010)
- “What Labor and Employment Lawyers Need to Know about Healthcare Reform,” Webinar (July 2010)
- Homeboy Industries, supporter
- Goodwill Industries, board member (2013)
- Para Los Niños, Inner City Arts Center, Western Justice Center, Taking the Reins, pro bono services
Dana is a navigator of California employment laws, providing holistic advice and experiential insights.
More About Dana
California is tough territory for employers. Experienced locals who speak the language and navigate the danger zones are essential for employers. As a repository of quick answers and creative, practical solutions, Dana is a leading resource for her clients and the firm's national employment practice groups.
Dana—one of the firm's "Gurus of the Golden State"—has 30-plus years of practicing labor and employment law in California at an elite level. She brings breadth and depth across subject matter areas from onboarding to termination and everything in between including pay equity and compensation, incentive structure, internal investigations, privacy, reasonable accommodations, leave administration, performance management, wage and hour, handbooks and policies, employee relations, discrimination, layoffs and reductions, WARN laws, and workplace violence.
As a former in-house counsel for a multinational firm, she has a uniquely practical grasp of how legal advice can impact multiple aspects of doing business. She understands intersections between employment law and employee benefits, corporate governance, insurance/risk management, workers' compensation, and immigration. She served as a longtime officer and is past chair of the Los Angeles County Bar Association's Labor and Employment Section, one of the largest and most active associations of labor and employment specialists—union, plaintiff, management and neutrals.
Starting out as a litigator trying cases, obtaining restraining orders and arguing appeals, Dana later turned her more argumentative "superpowers" to proactive advice and counsel—though she still investigates, negotiates, mediates, and advocates as needed. Lessons learned from litigation (admissibility of evidence and burdens of proof, for example) now provide essential insight for advising companies facing complex situations and choices.
Dana leverages technology by creating search indices that put answers and updates at her fingertips. She creates resources for clients, including train-the-trainer materials, work flows, primers, form sets, user guides and more. She provides hotline-style advice and counsel for clients needing immediate answers, as well as due diligence and issue-spotting for mergers, acquisitions, restructuring and downsizing. Dana loves to be a go-to "helpdesk" and sounding board when clients or other Seyfarth attorneys call for a quick sanity check or strategizing.
Dana is proud to work for Seyfarth's amazing, top-notch roster of clients and see them grow ever more successful. She feels their pain and savors their victories.
Dana—one of the firm's "Gurus of the Golden State"—has 30-plus years of practicing labor and employment law in California at an elite level. She brings breadth and depth across subject matter areas from onboarding to termination and everything in between including pay equity and compensation, incentive structure, internal investigations, privacy, reasonable accommodations, leave administration, performance management, wage and hour, handbooks and policies, employee relations, discrimination, layoffs and reductions, WARN laws, and workplace violence.
As a former in-house counsel for a multinational firm, she has a uniquely practical grasp of how legal advice can impact multiple aspects of doing business. She understands intersections between employment law and employee benefits, corporate governance, insurance/risk management, workers' compensation, and immigration. She served as a longtime officer and is past chair of the Los Angeles County Bar Association's Labor and Employment Section, one of the largest and most active associations of labor and employment specialists—union, plaintiff, management and neutrals.
Starting out as a litigator trying cases, obtaining restraining orders and arguing appeals, Dana later turned her more argumentative "superpowers" to proactive advice and counsel—though she still investigates, negotiates, mediates, and advocates as needed. Lessons learned from litigation (admissibility of evidence and burdens of proof, for example) now provide essential insight for advising companies facing complex situations and choices.
Dana leverages technology by creating search indices that put answers and updates at her fingertips. She creates resources for clients, including train-the-trainer materials, work flows, primers, form sets, user guides and more. She provides hotline-style advice and counsel for clients needing immediate answers, as well as due diligence and issue-spotting for mergers, acquisitions, restructuring and downsizing. Dana loves to be a go-to "helpdesk" and sounding board when clients or other Seyfarth attorneys call for a quick sanity check or strategizing.
Dana is proud to work for Seyfarth's amazing, top-notch roster of clients and see them grow ever more successful. She feels their pain and savors their victories.
- JD, UCLA School of Law
Order of the Coif
UCLA Law Review
Moot Court finals
Eleanor Klein Award (top woman graduate) - BA, University of Texas, Austin
HistoryWith highest honors and special honors (4.0 GPA)
Phi Beta Kappa
Ferguson Prize (top History graduate)
Debate
Certifications
- Certified Health Care Institute (HCI) professional, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (2022)
- California
- US Supreme Court
- US Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
- US District Court, Central District of California
- US District Court, Eastern District of California
- US District Court, Northern District of California
- US District Court, Southern District of California
- Advised global pharma company on California WARN matters since 2012.
- Set up compliance systems for global retailers, auto manufacturers, and a major newspaper for California Transparency in Supply Chain Act (anti-human trafficking law).
- Created complete reasonable accommodations training materials and form set for a national bank.
- Created nationwide paid parental leave polices for a variety of clients.
- Created hotlines for manufacturing, financial services, and retail and oil drilling.
- Conducted pay equity reviews for advertising and health care industry.
Related News & Insights
-
Firm News
08/15/2024
220 Seyfarth Attorneys Chosen as Leaders in Their Fields by Best Lawyers in America 2025
-
Attorney Publication
Dec 14, 2023
Now Available! International Employment Lawyer’s Guide to Restructuring a Cross-Border Workforce
-
Recognition
08/17/2023
210 Seyfarth Attorneys Chosen as Leaders in Their Fields by Best Lawyers in America 2024
-
Recognition
Aug 18, 2022
Seyfarth Attorneys Named in The Best Lawyers in America 2023
- Listed in Best Lawyers in America (Woodward/White Inc.) for Employment Law - Management (2021-2025)
- 2007 President's Volunteer Service Award, Council on Service and Civic Participation
- Rated AV preeminent in Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Ratings, 2019
- Law Clerk, Hon. Harry Pregerson, US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
- Intern, US District Court, Central District of California
- Los Angeles County Bar Association (executive committee, Labor and Employment Law Section, 1996-present; chair, Labor and Employment Law Section, 2010-2011; Amicus Brief Committee, 2010-2011; Outstanding Jurist Committee, 2010)
- State Bar of California, Labor and Employment Law Section
- Co-Author, "2020 Census: The Whereabouts of Paid Sick and Personal Leave Laws & State Gatekeepers," Legal Update, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (January 12, 2021)
- Co-Author, "Paid Sick Leave for Federal Contractors Final Rule—Prognosis and Practical Challenges," Management Alert, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (October 13, 2016)
- Co-Author, “DOL Publishes Final Rule on Federal Contractor Paid Sick Leave Requirements,” Management Alert, Seyfarth LLP (September 29, 2016)
- Author, "L.A. Gets Sick—Paid Sick Leave Coming as Soon as July 1, 2016," One Minute Memo, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (June 6, 2016)
- Co-Author, "Los Angeles Votes to Enact Paid Sick Leave Policy," One Minute Memo, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (April 26, 2016)
- Co-Author, “Seyfarth Submits Comments to U.S. DOL Regarding Proposed Regulations Establishing Paid Sick Leave for Federal Contractors,” Management Alert, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (April 15, 2016)
- Author, “Smart (and Legal) Maternity/Paternity/Parental Leave Policies,” Benefits Magazine (March 2016)
- Contributing author, California Peculiarities Blog, available at: www.calpeculiarities.com
- "New California FEHA Regs Effective 4/1/16: Update Policies & Training Now," Webinar, presented by Seyfarth Shaw LLP (March 30, 2016)
- “California Legislative Update 2014” Firm Webinar (November 13, 2014)
- “How to Avoid Common Pitfalls When Using Criminal Background Checks,” Firm Webinar (November 12, 2014)
- “Ten Traps for Unwary Employers 2013,” The Entrepreneurship Institute, The President’s Forum, Southern California (April 24, 2013)
- “2013 California Labor & Employment Legislative and Regulatory Update” Firm Webinar (January 23, 2013)
- “California Recordkeeping Requirements: Practical Strategies to Ensure Compliance and Protect Your Organization,” Center for Competitive Management Webinar (October 18, 2011)
- “Planning International Relocations: Legal and Practical Considerations for U.S. Employers,” Los Angeles County Bar Association, International Law Section (June 21, 2011)
- “Health Care and the Cost,” The Entrepreneurship Institute, The President’s Forum, Southern California (April 7, 2011)
- “For Your Benefit: 2011 Benefits Law Developments for Employment Law Practitioners,” Los Angeles County Bar Association Labor and Employment Law 2011 Symposium (March 31, 2011)
- “The Reasonable Accommodation Dialogue: What You Need to Do and Say,” Webinar (February 24, 2011)
- “Privacy in the Workplace: A Need-to-Know Checklist for California Employers” (November 18, 2010)
- “Into the Future, The Next Decade of Employment Law,” 2010 Advance Labor and Employment Law Conference for In-house Counsel (social media panel) (November 10, 2010)
- “I Spy: an Update on Surveillance, Monitoring and Rights of Privacy,” Employers Roundtable of Southern California (November 4, 2010)
- “Avoiding the Pitfalls of Social Media in the Working Place,” Breakfast Briefing Series (October 13, 21 and 26, 2010)
- “What Labor and Employment Lawyers Need to Know about Healthcare Reform,” Webinar (July 2010)
- Homeboy Industries, supporter
- Goodwill Industries, board member (2013)
- Para Los Niños, Inner City Arts Center, Western Justice Center, Taking the Reins, pro bono services