Morris J. Baller

Attorneys

Photo of Mike Baller.

In January 1995 Morris (“Mike”) Baller joined Goldstein, Borgen, Dardarian & Ho as a Partner. Mr. Baller became Of Counsel in January 2013. He focuses on class action litigation, primarily in employment discrimination (race, national origin, age, and gender discrimination claims, as well as harassment claims), civil rights, wage and hour (misclassification, overtime pay, and unlawful wage withholding claims) and other class actions and complex litigation involving discrimination and other abuses in non-employment settings in both federal and state courts. Mr. Baller regularly serves as a Mediator and Evaluator for the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, and has been engaged by parties in litigation as a mediator and arbitrator.

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Education

  • J.D. (with honors), Harvard University
  • B.A. (with high honors), Harvard University

Bar and Court Admissions

  • State Bar of California

  • U.S. District Courts: Central and Northern Districts of California

  • U.S. Court of Appeals: Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Ninth and Eleventh Circuits

  • U.S. Supreme Court

Awards

  • 2006 Oakland Magazine’s “The Best Lawyers in the East Bay”

  • 2006 Wood/White’s The Best Lawyers in America

  • 2008-2012 Super Lawyers

Professional Associations and Memberships

  • Director, Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (2000-present)
  • Director, Equal Rights Advocates (2002-2008)
  • Member, Lawyers' Delegation to Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference (1995-1997)
  • Member, Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area
  • Fellow, College of Labor and Employment Lawyers

Prior Employment

  • Assistant Counsel, NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund from 1970-1975
  • Staff Attorney, Coordinator of Litigation, Senior and Vice President for Legal Programs for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF)
  • Partner, Marron, Reid & Sheehy in San Francisco

Representative Cases

  • Albemarle Paper Co. v. Moody, 422 U.S. 405 (1975) (race discrimination class action under Title VII)

  • Franks v. Bowman Transp. Co., 424 U.S. 747 (1976) (race discrimination class action under Title VII)

  • Johnson v. Georgia Highway Express, Inc., 417 F.2d (5th Cir. 1972) (race discrimination class action under Title VII, attorneys’ fees)

  • Mendoza v. Tucson United Sch. Dist. No. 1, 623 F.2d 1338 (9th Cir. 1980)

  • Butler v. Home Depot, Inc., (N.D. Cal.) (gender discrimination class action); settled in 1997 for $87.5 million and comprehensive injunctive relief

  • Ellmore v. DiTech and GMAC Mortgage, (C.D. Cal.) (misclassification case for overtime pay); settlement in 2002 for $9.6 million

  • McClain v. Lufkin Industries, –F.3d — (5th Cir. 2008) (race discrimination class action under Title VII)

  • Ramirez-Cruz v. United States, (N.D. Cal.) (action for recovery of stolen wages on behalf of World War II era Mexican bracero workers); settled in 2008 for $15 million

  • Syverson v. IBM Corporation, (N.D. Cal.) (age discrimination collective action); resolved in 2009 (terms confidential)

Representative Publications

  • Mr. Baller has lectured and authored outlines and/or papers to many conferences and legal education programs, has taught law school and seminars at Columbia, Stanford, Harvard, University of San Francisco (Adjunct Professor), Hastings (Adjunct Professor), Boalt, and University of Santa Clara law schools, and has spoken and participated by invitation at many conferences and workshops on on federal practice, class actions and employment discrimination law including those sponsored by: American Bar Association; ABA Labor & Employment Section; ABA Litigation Section; PLI; California Bar Association; Colorado Bar Association; USC Institute for Corporate Counse; California and National Employment Lawyers Associations; and others.

Representative Speaking Engagements

  • American Bar Association, Annual Meeting, Presidential Showcase Presentation, Toronto (Aug. 1998)

  • California Employment Lawyers Association, Annual Conference, San Francisco (Sept. 1998)

  • Glasser Legal Works conferences on Class Actions, New York and San Francisco (1999-2001)

  • Colorado Bar Association, National CLE Conference on Employment Law, Snowmass, Colorado (Jan. 2005, Jan. 2006, Jan. 2007)

  • NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc., Airlie Institute on Civil Rights, Warrenton, VA (Oct. 2005)

  • American Bar Association, Section on Labor and Employment Law, EEO Committee, Mid-Winter Meeting, Charleston, S.C. (Mar. 2007)