Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP

Labor & Employment

Kelly Hensley is a partner in the Los Angeles office and is Leader of the firm's Labor and Employment Practice Group. She specializes in labor and employment counseling and wage and hour matters.

Compliance Audits. Kelly regularly conducts wage-hour and HR-related compliance audits for companies of all sizes. She helps clients create compliance programs designed to meet state and federal requirements.

Employment Counseling. Kelly regularly counsels employers in California and federal employment law, including employee hiring and discipline procedures, unfair competition matters, worker classification issues, leaves of absence, wage and hour law and employee severance and termination strategies. She has substantial expertise drafting employment agreements and policies such as employee handbooks, independent contractor agreements, confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements, sexual harassment policies, email and internet usage policies and employment-related forms.

Kelly advocates a proactive approach, counseling employers to evaluate their employment practices to minimize liability exposure. Her client-focused counsel is tailored to serve the long-term goals of each client.

Training and Investigations. Kelly frequently conducts training lectures and seminars on general human resources issues. She also assists with sexual harassment and other employment related investigations and implements effective employee discipline or exit strategies in response to those investigations.

Employment Litigation. In addition to her counseling practice, Kelly regularly represents clients in wage-hour class actions and matters before administrative agencies.

J.D., Loyola Law School, 1988

B.A., University of California, Santa Barbara, 1985