James K. Ayden

James K. Ayden joined the Office of the County Counsel in 2020 and is a member of the Labor and Employment, Equal Opportunity and Employment Investigations, and Education Law teams.  James is experienced in representing and advising public entities in all aspects of labor and employment, negotiations, public governance, public records, and contracts.  He has represented clients before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Civil Rights Department, the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, the Public Employment Relations Board, the Office of Civil Rights, and the Office of Administrative Hearings.  He now advises County departments regarding various issues including, but not limited to, employee discipline, discrimination, harassment, retaliation, investigations, reasonable accommodations, leave rights, union rights, and collective bargaining. James’s professional expertise includes employment laws regarding leaves, discrimination, harassment, and retaliation, employee discipline and discharge, collective bargaining, administrative hearings, Brown Act, Public Records Act, and rules of professional conduct. 

Office practice areas

• ​​Labor and Employment Team 
• Equal Opportunity and Employment Investigations Team 
• Education Law Team

Education

• UCLA School of Law, J.D., 2013 
• University of California, Santa Barbara, B.A., 2007 

Certifications 

Certified Information Privacy Professional – United States (CIPP/US) 

Prior experience 

• Associate at Fagen Friedman & Fulfrost LLP (2014-2020) 
• Fellow at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (2013-2014)