James W. Potts

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:

37 years executive management experience
37 years supervisory and managerial experience
Master Teacher/ University Level
Captain, L. A. County Sheriff's Dept. (Reserve) (Retired)
Certified Terrorist Investigator
L.A. County Sheriff's Department Open Source Intelligence Team
California Licensed Real Estate Broker
Selected-Uniform Reserve of the Year (Altadena-1999)
Holder-Juris Doctorate Degree (1981)
Holder-B.A. Degree (History-1977)
Lorman Education Services Seminar Speaker
Certified Mediator-L.A. County Bar Association (Resolving workplace disputes)
Past President/ Founding Member, Corporate Advisory Committee
to the L.A. County Commission on Human Relations
Past President, California Association of Unemployment Tax Organizations

FORMAL EDUCATION:

Doctorate-Juris Doctorate, University of West Los Angeles Law School
Bachelor of Arts-Cal State Los Angeles
Faculty Certification Training, University of Phoenix
Graduate-L.A. County Sheriff's Academy
P.O.S.T. Training-Certified Terrorist Investigator

CORPORATE EDUCATION:

Proskauer Rose LLP Employment Law Seminars
Morrison & Forester Employment Law Seminars
Murchison & Cummings Employment Law Seminars
Lorman Education Seminars
Los Angeles County Bar Association-Mediation

WORK EXPERIENCE

National Employers Counsel (March 1980-Jan 1992)
JWP Consulting Group (1992-2002)
Potts, Armstrong & Associates ( Nov 1994-Sept 1999)
Potts & Associates (Sept 1999- to the present)
James W. Potts, LLC (Jan 2010- to the present)
Over the past 37 years I have represented and assisted over 1,000 employers from "Mom and Pop" shops to companies with over 30,000 employees. Such companies have included but are not limited to ITT, Litton Industries, Star Kist, Avon, Farmers Insurance, Avery International, Upjohn Healthcare, National Medical Enterprises, Bargain Wholesale (99cents only stores), Dunn Edwards Paint Stores, Starving Students, and Miller Brewing Company. Industries have included but are not limited to Manufacturing, Banking Institutions, Insurance Companies, Hotels, Car Rental Agencies, Staffing Companies, Law Firms, Doctors, Vets, Dentist, Airlines, Group Homes, Senior Citizen Rest Homes, Movie Studios, Automobile Dealerships, Lending Institutions, Real Estate Management Companies, Retail Stores, Vocational Schools and Fast Food Chains.

State and Federal Agencies

California Employment Development Department (& similar state unemployment agencies nationally)
California Department of Labor Standards Enforcement (& similar state agencies nationally)
California Department of Fair Employment & Housing
California Workers Compensation Appeals Board
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
Cal Osha
Federal Department of Labor
National Labor Relations Board

Services Offered

Unemployment Cost Control (including but not limited to claims processing, appeal processing, hearing representation and Board Appeals).

Compliance (Immigration and Naturalization I-9's, Wage & Hour, FMLA, ADA, State & Federal postings, Workers Compensation, Illness and Injury Prevention Programs, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, ADEA, , Civil Rights Act of 1991, The Rehabilitation Act of 1973, The Fair Employment & Housing Act)

Human Resources Assistance (establish, review, and maintain personnel files, develop and review personnel forms, review, develop and maintain job descriptions, review and development employee handbooks, review and development personnel policies practices and procedures, progressive discipline, hiring and firing, personnel related issues, investigations regarding harassment (all forms), and employee grievances.

Workplace Investigations

Conducting workplace investigations regarding violations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Civil Rights Act of 1991, ADEA, ADA, The Rehabilitation Act of 1973, The Fair Employment & Housing Act, Sexual Harassment, and wrongful terminations.

Mediation
Alternative Dispute Resolution-Representing clients before Mediators to resolve workplace disputes thereby avoiding the high cost of litigation.

Mediator-Acting as a neutral Mediator to help companies resolve workplace disputes thereby avoiding litigation or in the event a lawsuit was filed, to resolve the matter.

Training

Managers

The Supervisor's Job: An overview, Becoming a Leader, Motivation, Communication, Documentation, Problem Solving, Interviewing & Hiring, Delegating & Monitoring, Handling Conflict, Evaluating, Managing Time, Evaluating Performance, Managing Time, Managing Meetings, Team Building, Performance Management & Discipline, Legal Considerations (Including Title VII of the Civil Right Act of 1964, ADEA, ADA, FMLA, The Fair Employment & Housing Act) Diversity in the Workplace, Sexual Harassment, Violence in the Workplace, Bullying, and Conducting Workplace Investigations.

Employees

Sexual Harassment, Diversity in the Workplace, Violence in the Workplace.

University of Phoenix-Classes taught-Graduate & Undergraduate

The Legal Aspects of Supervision
Employment Law (Title VII of the Civil Right Act of 1964, ADEA, ADA, FMLA, The Fair Employment & Housing Act) Diversity in the Workplace, Sexual Harassment and Violence in the Workplace)
Business Law
Contemporary Business Law I & II
Legal Environment of Business
Professional Ethics and Social Responsibility
United States Constitutional Law
Criminal Law
Criminal Procedure

Published Author

The Right to Counsel, Sphinx Publishing (July 2008)
Walking on Eggshells (Managing Minorities in the Workplace, Dorrance Publishing, (August 1, 2013)
Legalized Marijuana: Privacy Rights v. Workplace Rights, HR.Com(June 2014)

Expert Witness

I have been called upon as a defense expert witness to give my opinion on the working environments of automobile dealerships in California and Arizona. 65% of my client base are automobile dealerships throughout the U.S.