Focused on Employment & Consumer Law Cases in Newport Beach
Marc H. Phelps provides counsel for the Carter Law Firm, and he runs his own practice, The Phelps Law Group. His passion for the law began when he was a teenager commuting by train to a private country club in the Chicago suburbs to work as a caddy, for which he earned $20 per five rounds carrying golf bags in the summer heat. Things did not improve even after Mr. Phelps graduated magna cum laude from Amherst College, the number one rated liberal arts college in America according to U.S. News & World Report: he took an unpaid internship in the entertainment industry, working 80 hour weeks for Hollywood's A-listers, while being subjected to near-daily harassment in exchange for the promise of "making it."
Mr. Phelps attended law school at the University of Southern California in order to address such injustices, where he graduated near the top of his class while also working for a Los Angeles Superior Court Judge. Knowing that the path to success as an employee rights attorney typically starts by working for employers – in order to learn the strategies and tactics of the other side – Mr. Phelps landed a coveted position as an employment law attorney at Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker, which is ranked as the number one employment law defense firm in California by the American Lawyer magazine. As an associate, Mr. Phelps represented employers in all aspects of employment law, including discrimination, harassment, wrongful discharge, wage and hour matters, leaves of absence, and accommodation of disabilities. He advised clients about federal and state employment laws that affect the employment relationship, including the Fair Labor Standards Act, Title VII, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, and other state and federal statutes.
Mr. Phelps, however, was not lured in by the law firm's partnership track and the big money on the defense side of employment law. He instead founded The Phelps Law Group in 2009, and took cases only on a contingency fee basis on behalf of employees subjected to unfair and illegal workplace practices – from wage related issues to harassment and wrongful termination. Accordingly, Mr. Phelps came full circle from his days as an employee at the country club and in the entertainment industry, no longer powerless, and now able to right the wrongs that he himself had experienced.
For over a decade, Mr. Phelps has recovered millions of dollars for his clients in just about every industry, from retail to biotech. He has represented truck drivers, engineers, sales professionals, retail associates, restaurant and hotel workers, healthcare professionals, and gig economy workers, amongst others. He believes that an effective employee rights attorney needs to be not just a fierce litigator, but also a smart negotiator with the respect of opposing counsel, and a good and considerate listener to his clients – and he seeks to put each of those traits into his practice. In addition to negotiating settlements that have transformed his clients' lives, Mr. Phelps has advocated for and secured changes in workplace conditions for thousands of employees. He has obtained some of the top recoveries for his clients by any attorney in the state. He has appeared before the California DLSE, and in numerous matters before state and federal courts throughout California.
Mr. Phelps believes in the power of concerted action and resources, and continual education in his field, and accordingly routinely co-counsels with other leading Plaintiffs’ employment lawyers in the state. Mr. Phelps handles a wide array of employment law and consumer law cases, often against the largest companies in America. He works on a contingency fee basis because he believes his clients deserve the best representation possible, regardless of their ability to pay.
Admissions:
- California State Courts
- US District Courts for the Central, Southern, and Northern Districts of California
- US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Professional Memberships:
- The California Employment Lawyers Association (CELA)
- The Orange County Bar Association (OCBA)
- National Lawyers Guild
- Million Dollar Advocates
- Better Business Bureau (BBB)
Education:
- J.D. University of Southern California School of Law (2004)
- B.A., Amherst College (1998)
Contact us online or by phone at (949) 239-0419 to reach a dedicated employment law attorney in Newport Beach. With decades of combined experience, we have the skills and resources needed to help you.