Overview

Sophia Behnia Collins advises and represents employers in a broad range of employment and labor matters arising under federal and state laws, including discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wrongful termination, wage and hour, and class actions. She regularly counsels employers regarding wage and hour compliance, audits payroll practices and evaluates classification determinations.

She appears in state and federal courts to defend clients against claims arising under federal and California state wage and hour laws, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, and the California Fair Employment and Housing Act.

Sophia has successfully represented clients in a number of class action lawsuits in both state and federal court, including nationwide class and collective actions. While she handles all types of wage and hour cases, she focuses her practice on defending clients against claims of independent contractor misclassification. Her successes include serving as trial counsel on behalf of a “gig economy” company in four arbitration wins before arbitrators and retired California Superior Court judges, finding drivers were properly classified as independent contractors.

Prior to joining Littler, Sophia was a summer associate at a labor and employment firm in Atlanta. In law school, she served as editor-in-chief for the Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment and Technology Law and was an executive justice for the First Amendment Competition of the Moot Court Board and Managing Council. While at Georgetown University, Sophia clerked for the Federal Tort Claims Act Section of the Department of Justice.

Professional & Community Affiliations

Member

American Bar Association

Member

State Bar of California

Member

Bar Association of San Francisco

Member

Iranian American Bar Association

Recognition

Recipient, Law and Business Program Certificate

Vanderbilt Law School

Education

  • J.D., Vanderbilt University Law School, 2012
  • A.B., Georgetown University, 2009magna cum laude

Bar Admission

California

Courts

  • U.S. Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit
  • U.S. District Court, Northern District of California
  • U.S. District Court, Central District of California
  • U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California
  • U.S. District Court, Southern District of California