Patrick Joseph Sean Nellies

Patrick J.S. Nellies is the President, CEO and Managing Partner of Advantage Law Group. Prior to co-founding the firm in 1999, he served over four years as the Chairman of the Employment Law Practice Group of a mid-size law firm in La Jolla, California.

Patrick represents both employers and employees in the private sector. He has successfully represented parties across the state in over 600 employment-related matters. He has had significant success negotiating cases privately in addition to prosecuting or defending them through mediation, arbitration, bench or jury trial. He has successfully argued a number of cases in California’s appellate courts as well.

While Patrick’s practice is focused exclusively on employment law, he handles a wide variety of employment-related issues, including wrongful termination, public policy violations, and breach of contract. Patrick has represented parties in litigation under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) in cases involving discrimination, harassment, and/or retaliation based on age, race, gender, national origin, disability (mental, physical, or pregnancy-related), medical condition, sexual orientation, marital status, and religious belief. He also has represented numerous clients in actions brought under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the California Family Rights Act (CFRA), the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and the Employee Polygraph Protection Act (EPPA).

Patrick also has considerable experience in wage and hour actions brought under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and/or the California Labor Code. Patrick has represented a large number of clients in such actions brought in both an individual capacity and on a class-wide basis. He also represents clients in disputes pertaining to stock and stock option agreements, non-compete and non-solicitation agreements, and trade secrets.

Patrick represents clients in state and federal courts, mediation, arbitration, and in proceedings before the California Labor Commissioner (DLSE), the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH), the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the California Employment Development Department (EDD), the California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board (CUIAB), and the Workers Compensation Appeals Board (WCAB).

Originally from Baltimore, Patrick graduated from the prestigious James Madison University located in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. There Patrick received his Bachelor of Science degree with a double major in Communication and Political Science, with double minor concentrations in Journalism and Telecommunications.

Patrick received his Juris Doctor degree from San Diego’s California Western School of Law in April of 1993 and passed the California Bar Exam that July. Patrick is admitted to practice in all courts in California and Maryland, having passed that state’s Bar Exam in February of 1994.

Patrick is an avid golfer and enjoys spending his free time with his wife and three children.