Oswald B. Cousins

“ I enjoy bringing my 25 years of experience to help established and emerging organizations manage their complex workforce challenges and defending them in high-value litigation.

Oswald defends and advises clients on complex employment law challenges. His 25 years of experience as a trial lawyer and high-level advisor to both established and emerging companies on all aspects of employment law further strengthen the capabilities of Morrison & Foerster’s Employment + Labor practice. Oswald’s experience includes:

Wage-and-hour compliance and litigation
Private Attorney General Act litigation
Equal pay claims
Discrimination and harassment
Whistleblower and retaliation
Reductions in force
Disability accommodation

He has tried cases to verdict before federal and state court juries and judges, and has served as lead counsel in arbitrations and administrative proceedings.

In addition to his legal work, Oswald is a frequent speaker and authority on legal developments, theories, and practical aspects related to employment law and litigation. Oswald is a member of the American Employment Law Council (AELC), the American Bar Association, Labor and Employment Law Section, and the Bar Association of San Francisco.

Oswald is admitted to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Representative Experience

Large national retailer misclassification case: As co-lead counsel, Oswald successfully tried a store manager misclassification case to verdict for a large national retailer. This was a significant victory, because if plaintiff had won, it would have opened the door to hundreds of other claims.
Emerging tech companies counsel: Advise and counsel emerging tech companies, including leading software development hosting organization and prominent social media website, on variety of employment issues, including wage-and-hour compliance, and ongoing employee-relations issues.
Cybersecurity company counsel: Lead counsel for cyber-security company in FCRA background check class action.
Whistleblower actions litigation: Litigated multi-plaintiff whistleblower actions for large health care provider; obtaining favorable settlements.
National photography chain defense: Successfully defended national photography chain in arbitration of wrongful termination claims by former executive.
Bio-sciences company defense: Defended emerging bio-sciences company in trade secret and wrongful termination litigation by former CEO.
Large hospitality defense: Defended large hospitality organization in complex, multi-plaintiff discrimination lawsuits, including two jury trials.