Plaintiff-side law firm dedicated to the civil and human rights of all people.
We litigate a range of cases from individual and multi-plaintiff lawsuits to class actions. We have successfully litigated ground-breaking employment and housing discrimination cases, as well as other significant cases involving sexual harassment, unfair or unlawful business practices, claims of wage and overtime law violations, international human rights, consumer rights, constitutional violations and educational rights.
Interview Q&A
How long have you been in business?
After its founding in September, 1991, Traber & Voorhees primarily litigated employment and housing discrimination cases, resulting, among other things, in three of the largest settlements against private defendants ever obtained in fair housing class actions. Since 1998, Traber & Voorhees has also litigated class actions and multi-plaintiff cases involving international human rights and wage and overtime law.
What is your primary product or service?
We have successfully litigated ground-breaking employment and housing discrimination cases, as well as other significant cases involving sexual harassment, unfair or unlawful business practices, claims of wage and overtime law violations, international human rights, consumer rights, constitutional violations and educational rights. In fighting for and extending the rights of people everywhere to be free from discrimination, we have brought cases against individuals, companies and public entities and sought to protect people from discrimination and harassment based on race, ethnicity, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, familial status, disability and age. We have successfully sued local, county, state and federal government agencies.
How did you first become interested in your line of business? (if owner) - What is your background? (If owner or store manager)
As a former high school teacher and political organizer, I began looking for a way to continue to make the world a better place that would have a wider audience. As a result, I enrolled at UCLA Law School with the idea of studying civil rights and human rights law.
How do you differentiate yourself from other businesses in your category and area?
We are one of the best known and most successful public interest firms in Southern California and one of the few that has represented such a large percentage of lower income clients.
How many locations do you have and do you have plans to expand?
We are currently located in Pasadena and have no plans to expand to another location, although we have litigated cases regarding human rights in places as far away as Africa and Europe.
Provide detailed directions to your location
We are located in Old Town Pasadena, just 1-1/2 blocks south of the 210 Freeway at 128 North Fair Oaks Avenue.
What type of payments do you accept?
We often take cases on a contingent basis, asking only that people front costs. Where the client has a good case but is too poor to pay for costs, we advance costs.
Which areas do you service?
Although the bulk of our cases originate in Southern California, we litigate national class actions and have done international human rights cases in which the underlying incidents took place in Africa and Europe.
Who owns your company or runs daily operations?
Theresa Traber & Bert Voorhees are the founding partners and run the daily operations of the law firm.
What are your hours of operation?
We are open from 9 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. each day.