Meet James DeSimone
Few attorneys in Southern California have built a reputation for fighting workplace injustice and protecting constitutional rights as successfully as V. James DeSimone. With more than four decades of litigation experience, James “Jim” DeSimone is widely recognized as one of the leading employment and civil rights lawyers in Los Angeles, known for taking on powerful corporations, government entities, and institutions in high-stakes cases involving discrimination, harassment, retaliation, police misconduct, and civil liberties violations.
As founder of V. James DeSimone Law, DeSimone has dedicated his career to representing employees and individuals whose rights have been violated. Based in Marina del Rey and serving clients throughout Los Angeles and Southern California, his firm focuses heavily on employment discrimination, wrongful termination, wage and hour class actions, sexual harassment, whistleblower retaliation, and civil rights litigation.
Jim DeSimone’s legal career has been defined by groundbreaking advocacy and major courtroom victories. Before founding his current firm, he co-founded the nationally respected civil rights firm Schonbrun & DeSimone, later known as Schonbrun DeSimone Seplow Harris & Hoffman. That firm earned a reputation as one of California’s premier plaintiff-side employment and civil rights litigation firms, handling precedent-setting cases that helped shape employee protections and civil liberties law throughout the state.
What separates DeSimone from many Los Angeles employment lawyers is his extensive trial experience and willingness to litigate difficult cases against major defendants. Over the years, he has secured multimillion-dollar verdicts and settlements in employment retaliation, discrimination, harassment, and wage theft cases. Legal industry publications have repeatedly recognized his work, including honors as one of California’s Top Plaintiff Employment Lawyers by the Daily Journal and selection to Super Lawyers year after year since 2009.
Beyond employment law, Jim DeSimone is also highly regarded for his civil rights litigation work involving police brutality, excessive force, false arrest, and wrongful death claims. His advocacy has helped victims and families pursue accountability against law enforcement agencies and government entities throughout California. In one notable federal civil rights case, he obtained a $1.2 million verdict against the United States government involving asylum applicants subjected to exploitation and abuse by a federal officer.
Clients and fellow attorneys consistently describe DeSimone as an exceptional trial lawyer with deep courtroom skill, strategic insight, and a genuine commitment to justice. Peer endorsements praise his passion for civil rights, extensive legal knowledge, and ability to connect with juries in emotionally complex employment and discrimination cases.
A graduate of University of California, Los Angeles School of Law and Johns Hopkins University, DeSimone began his legal career representing lower-income families and underserved individuals through legal aid work before building one of California’s most respected plaintiff-side employment and civil rights practices. His longstanding commitment to protecting ordinary people against abuse of power continues to define his practice today.
Throughout Los Angeles, Jim DeSimone has earned recognition as one of the best employment and civil rights attorneys because of his proven courtroom results, decades of experience, and unwavering dedication to protecting workers and individuals whose rights have been violated. Whether handling workplace discrimination claims or major civil rights lawsuits, he is known as a relentless advocate committed to holding wrongdoers accountable and securing meaningful justice for his clients.