PaulS.
Cowie

Partner•Co-Leader, Transportation Industry Team
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Paul Cowie

Overview

Paul Cowie advises and defends employers in all types of employment-related disputes. He has extensive experience serving clients in the transportation industry, including major airlines, gig economy companies and leading trucking companies. Paul serves as the leader of the firm’s Transportation industry team. He also has deep experience in a range of industries, including retail, technology and manufacturing.

Recognized by Chambers USA as a leading lawyer, Paul manages a large team that defends employers in every type of employment dispute, including:

  • Class actions, including wage & hour, discrimination and misclassification disputes
  • PAGA actions
  • Mass arbitrations
  • Discrimination and harassment
  • Independent contractor and gig-economy disputes
  • Wrongful termination and whistleblower complaints
  • Trade secret litigation

Active cases Paul is handling include allegations related to suitable seating, expense reimbursement, work from home, meal and rest periods, piece rate, overtime, wage statements, sick pay, security/bag checks, as well as discrimination class actions.

Clients know Paul as an experienced, highly responsive attorney who leverages his extensive knowledge of traditional and cutting-edge employment issues, plaintiffs’ counsel, and trial venues and judges to successfully defend his clients.

In addition to handling employment litigation, Paul counsels clients on all aspects of employment, including executive terminations, compliance, workplace investigations, workplace violence, assault, protecting intellectual property and founder disputes. He also has significant experience supporting M&A transactions and has worked closely with clients in structuring deals to minimize employment-related risks and to maximize the value of the transaction from an employment perspective.

Before practicing in the U.S., Paul practiced in the U.K. for five years, representing and advising employers at all stages of employment litigation, including first chairing employment tribunals. He understands the challenges faced by companies expanding into the U.S., and particularly those operating in California.

In his free time, Paul enjoys skiing, snowboarding, running and golf, and spending time with his family, including his four children.

Experience
  • Currently handling approximately 80 class actions involving claims for discrimination, misclassification, FCRA and all variety of wage and hour violations, including suitable seating, meal and rest breaks, minimum wage, bag checks, expense reimbursement, uniforms, joint employment, piece rate and many standalone PAGA lawsuits. Paul is also managing approximately four dozen active single plaintiff cases involving alleged harassment, discrimination, retaliation and wrongful termination (among many other claims).

Representative Experience

  • 2022: Ninth Circuit affirmation of summary judgment for Swift Transportation in a putative class action alleging meal and rest period violations under California law.
  • 2022: Complete dismissal of all claims against gig economy client and an individual defendant on an anti-SLAPP motion with an award of fees against the plaintiff in a case alleging negligence and asserting a false report to the police, among other claims.
  • 2022: Compelled individual arbitration in a PAGA action in state court for regional fast food chain client and then defeated individual claims in arbitration.
  • 2022: Sheppard was brought into this case several years into the litigation to argue an industry-wide issue in the Washington State Supreme Court in 2019, which we won. Sheppard then filed a motion for summary judgment as to each of the remaining causes of action against the certified class. In September 2022, the district court granted summary judgment as to the three highest value claims and held two other low value claims had disputed facts that need to be tried. The court denied the plaintiff’s motion for partial summary judgment. The decision effectively ended the case.
  • 2022: Dismissal of all claims on motion for judgment on the pleadings on behalf of gig economy client in a case alleging negligence, worker’s compensation and failure to provide safe place of work. In what was a first in California ruling for a gig economy company, the court ruled that rideshare companies owed no statutory or common law duty to conduct background checks on passengers as a matter of law.
  • 2022: Prevailed on two motions for summary judgment as to all claims on behalf of gig economy client in a contentious case involving an assault and battery. All claims were dismissed, and the claimants were ordered to pay a portion of our client’s costs.
  • 2021: Appellate affirmation of denial of class certification for construction company client.
  • 2021: Compelled individual arbitration and in doing so obtained dismissal of representative PAGA claims for health care client.
  • 2021: Dismissal of all claims against gig-economy client with respect to a passenger’s lawsuit to hold the company vicariously liable for a driver’s actions, including alleged claims of negligent hiring, retention, supervision and training against the company.
  • 2021: Appellate affirmation of trial court order compelling arbitration for electronics company and dismissing class claims.
  • 2021: Prevailed on motion for judgment on the pleadings on behalf of retail client in representative PAGA action alleging misclassification of independent contractors.
  • 2019: Compelled individual arbitration and dismissal of class claims in a putative wage and hour class action in federal court for client Smart & Final Stores, and simultaneously prevailed on demurrer in PAGA representative action in state court brought by same plaintiff.
  • 2019: After three days of planned 10-day arbitration, secured a complete dismissal of all claims without any payment for nationwide healthcare client with respect to former employee’s alleged gender discrimination, harassment, retaliation, failure to remedy, wrongful termination and intentional infliction of emotional distress claims.
  • 2019: Washington State Supreme Court win for employers as to legitimacy of commission and piece rate compensation structures (lead counsel and presented oral argument). This was the first and only win for an employer in the Washington State Supreme Court in years.
  • 2018: Obtained summary judgment in a wage & hour rest break putative class action.
  • 2018: Obtained summary judgment in disability discrimination single plaintiff lawsuit.
  • 2018: Presented two Ninth Circuit oral arguments, including overturning district court regarding proprietary of removal and how to calculate the amount in controversy.
  • 2017: Defeated class certification for client Swift Transportation for wage and hour class action, convincing court to overturn 24-page tentative ruling issued at the hearing.
  • 2017: Compelled individual arbitration of 24,000 person putative class in expansive wage and hour class action for client Smart & Final Stores.
  • 2017: Defeated certification in wage and hour class action for client Swift Transportation alleging rest break violations, convincing court to overturn 36-page tentative ruling issued at the hearing.
  • 2017: Defeated class certification despite facially unlawful policy.
  • 2016: Defeated class certification in a 20,000 plus putative class member wage and hour (multiple causes of action) class action with exposure into the billions of dollars for client Swift Transportation.
  • 2016: Defeated class certification of wage statement class for client Save Mart Supermarkets.
  • 2015: Dismissal with prejudice without any payment for client Brookdale Senior Living with respect to a former employee’s age discrimination and wrongful termination suit.
  • 2015: Dismissal for client Cox Communications without paying a cent on plaintiff’s six causes of action including for Wrongful Termination in Violation of Public Policy and Negligent Investigation.
  • 2015: Represented Benchmark Electronics in defeating a former employee’s claims for wrongful termination and retaliation under Labor Code section 1102.5 without paying a penny.
Credentials
Education

J.D., University of Northumbria at Newcastle, U.K., 2001, LLB honors

Admissions

California

U.K.

U.S. District Court, Northern District of California

U.S. District Court, Central District of California

U.S. Court for the Ninth Circuit

U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Wisconsin

Honors

Top Labor & Employment Lawyer, Daily Journal, 2019, 2021, 2022

Leading Lawyer, Labor & Employment: California, Chambers, 2025

Litigation Star,Benchmark Litigation, 2025-2026

Client Service All-Star, The BTI Consulting Group, 2019

Recommended Lawyer - Labor and Employment, Legal 500, 2019, 2025

Top 40 Under 40, Daily Journal, 2018

Northern California Rising Star, Super Lawyers, 2013-2018

Legal 500 Recommended Lawyer 2025
Paul Cowie - Chambers 2025
Memberships

State Bar of California

UK Licensed Solicitor

Thought Leadership