David W. Moreshead

Mr. Moreshead’s practice focuses primarily on labor and employment litigation and counseling. He has litigated numerous class and representative wage and hour matters as well as a wide variety of single plaintiff wrongful termination, discrimination, retaliation, and harassment claims. He has successfully written and argued motions, managed all aspects of discovery, and has represented clients in the California Court of Appeal, California Supreme Court, and U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

In addition to his litigation work, Mr. Moreshead frequently conducts internal investigations and counsels clients on all aspects of employment law, including compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act, drafting employee handbooks, and drafting and implementing compliant company policies. He has experience defending employers in numerous industries, including the emerging technology, retail, construction, and financial services sectors.

Mr. Moreshead also maintains a vibrant pro bono practice. Along with advising small businesses in the arts and entertainment industry regarding workplace policies and unemployment disputes, Mr. Moreshead has worked alongside the ACLU to challenge the transfer of criminal detainees into the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, the ACLU awarded Mr. Moreshead the Humanitarian Award for his work. He also partnered with the ACLU and Asian Law Caucus – Asian Americans Advancing Justice to challenge the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) unlawful practice of using third-party contractors to perform civil immigration arrests.

In addition, Mr. Moreshead is the co-chair of the firm’s LGBTQ+ Initiative. Along with a small group of attorneys, he spearheaded the firm’s gender inclusive pronouns initiative that encourages attorneys and professional colleagues to add self-identified pronouns—such as “she/her/hers”—whenever they provide identifying information. He is also heavily involved in the firm’s diversity, recruiting, and development and retention efforts, having served as the co-chair of MTO’s 2022 Summer Associate Program and as an associate representative on the firm’s Management Committee. In 2023, Mr. Moreshead was named a Mentor of the Year at MTO for his work with junior attorneys in positioning them to take on early leadership opportunities and important casework, and MTO nominated him as a Fellow with the Leadership Council of Legal Diversity.

Before joining the firm, Mr. Moreshead clerked for Judge Ferdinand F. Fernandez of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and Judge Beverly Reid O’Connell of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. Prior to his clerkships, he held a one-year fellowship at an appellate litigation boutique in Los Angeles.

Mr. Moreshead earned his J.D., summa cum laude, Order of the Coif and Order of the Barristers from the Pepperdine University School of Law. While in law school, he served as lead articles editor of the Pepperdine Law Review. He graduated with a B.A. in finance and arts management and a B.F.A. in acting, summa cum laude, from Lindenwood University.

Publications

• Courts Look to the ‘Central Purpose’ of Labor Code Section 226 Rather than Focusing on Technicalities, Daily Journal, June 30, 2021
• Professional Negligence Under MICRA: A Goldilocks Dilemma, Law360, May 26, 2016
• A New Inclination Towards Arbitration Agreements in California? Law360, April 20, 2016
• Appeals Court Seeks to Influence California High Court Decisions, Law360, December 2, 2015