Dien Le, Esq.
Dien Le, an attorney with The Alvarez Firm, brings more than two decades of sophisticated business and civil litigation experience. His current practice primarily focuses on business, employment, and elder abuse litigation as well as disputes relating to probate, trust, and conservatorships.
Dien has represented clients including Fortune 500 companies, public utilities, property management entities, trade associations, and government agencies. Clients he has represented include Verizon, Blue Cross, Delta Dental, Credit Suisse First Boston, Broadspire Services, AstroCosmos Metallurgical, California Amplifier, National Stores, LB Property Management, and Oxnard Union High School District.
Dien represents clients in a wide range of disputes in state and federal courts throughout California, including those involving breach of contract claims, wrongful termination, wage/hour, theft of trade secrets, unfair competition, and fraud. He also advises clients on intellectual property matters, including registering trademarks and copyrights. Specific examples of his representation include:
- Defense judgment for Fortune 50 corporation in binding employment arbitration case. In this matter, two former supervisors sued the corporation for age discrimination, breach of contract, and whistleblowing after being terminated for violation of the company's alcohol and drug use policy.
- Defense verdict after jury trial on behalf of employer whose ex-employee alleged wrongful termination and discrimination based on race and age. The jury agreed with the defense that the employee’s performance as a sales manager deteriorated over time, the company then went through severe cost cutting measures, and the position was eliminated irrespective of the employee’s race or age.
- Successfully obtained a high six-figures settlement on behalf of a former veterinary medicine resident against a major public university for failing to follow its own policies and procedures regarding termination and non-discrimination on the basis of disability, and not accommodating the resident’s diagnosed and known learning disability in violation of the FEHA resulting from the unlawful termination.
- Summary judgment on behalf of landlord/property owner of a high-rise apartment building on the Wilshire corridor in Westwood after tenant sued for hundreds of thousands of dollars in personal property damages from a fire which she claimed was caused by the landlord’s negligence. Successfully moved for summary judgment on the grounds that the tenant’s claims for personal property damages were barred because the tenant failed to obtain renter’s insurance as required under her lease.
- Anti-SLAPP Motion granted on seven out of eight causes of action in favor of the dog rescue client in defamation case. Cross-complainants dog boarding business claimed slander, libel, IIED, intentional interference with contract, intentional interference with prospective economic advantage, assault, and trade libel when the dog rescue posted a Facebook video on how to prevent heatstroke in dogs to support a friend whose dog had died under the boarder’s care. The Court agreed that video and comments posted on the Facebook page were protected speech in a public forum on issue of public interest.
Community Involvement/Service
Dien has longstanding passion for serving Ventura County. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Ventura County Legal Aid. He is the former President of the Ventura County Bar Association. During his tenure as President, Dien founded the Ventura County Diversity Bar Alliance. In 2012, he was honored to receive the Access to Justice Award from the Education Foundation of the Ventura County Mexican American Bar Association.
Dien is also the founder and former President of the Ventura County Asian American Bar Association, founded specifically to provide legal services to the Asian American community in Ventura County. Similarly, Dien served on the organizing committee of the National Conference of Vietnamese American Attorneys.
Dien is a proud graduate of the Access & Fairness Leadership Academy, an opportunity offered to only twelve attorneys statewide by the State Bar of California, that provides leadership training to a select group of attorneys with diverse backgrounds in hopes of inspiring these attorneys to become leaders and serve their diverse communities.
Education and Admissions
Dien received his undergraduate degree in Political Science from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and his law degree from Loyola Law School. At UCLA, Dien received the Chancellor's Service Award honoring his significant contributions to UCLA and the surrounding Los Angeles community. While in law school, Dien served as the Executive Editor of the Loyola of Los Angeles Entertainment Law Review, and was published – Note, Turner Broadcasting Sys., Inc. v. FCC: The Fate of “Must-Carry” Still Uncertain, 15 LOY. L.A. ENT. L.J. 445 (1995), reprinted in 18(I) PUB. UTIL. L. ANTHOLOGY 807 (1995).
Dien is admitted to the State Bar of California, all federal courts in California, and the United
States Supreme Court. Dien also served as Staff Attorney for the United States Court of Appeals
for the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco.
Personal
Dien was born in Saigon, Vietnam, and fled to the United States as a refugee at the age of four. He was raised in Ventura County, and currently lives in Thousand Oaks with his wife, Pauline. Outside of practicing law, Dien enjoys running half marathons, hiking, playing tennis, exploring new restaurants, and traveling the world.
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