Employment litigator John Viola joins Thompson Coburn in Los Angeles

Thompson Coburn is pleased to announce that John Viola has joined the firm in our Los Angeles office and will be practicing in our Labor and Employment group. John previously was a member at Dykema.

John has more than 35 years of experience defending clients in trial and appellate courts across the country and counseling them on a variety of legal issues critical to their business operations.

In his national employment law practice, John defends companies facing claims of discrimination, harassment, wrongful discharge, and retaliation. He also has defended whistleblower claims and successfully litigated several wage and hour class actions, including many involving misclassification claims. John frequently conducts internal employment investigations and leads on-site training for employees.

A former in-house attorney with MetLife, John has represented life and health insurance companies for decades and defends first-party, “bad faith” and ERISA actions involving universal and variable life insurance policies, as well as more traditional policies and health insurance policies.

For clients across a host of industries, John has tried cases in state and federal courts, and argued cases before a variety of state and federal appellate courts. He also has successfully arbitrated and mediated numerous cases before the AAA and other dispute resolution agencies. 

John earned his J.D. from New York University School of Law. He earned an A.B. in History from Columbia University.