Usama Kahf, a partner in Fisher Phillips’ Irvine office and a Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP/US),co-chairs the firm’s AI, Data, and Analytics Practice Group as well as the Privacy and Cyber Practice Group. His primary areas of practice are (1) workplace privacy and data security, (2) employee defections, unfair competition, trade secret theft, and corporate espionage, and (3) artificial intelligence.
As co-leader of the firm’s Consumer Privacy Team, Usama advises clients on compliance with state consumer privacy laws, including the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), and the California Invasion of Privacy Act. He regularly conducts trainings and publishes articles relating to consumer and employee privacy and data security.
In the trade secrets arena, Usama has helped employers obtain TROs and Preliminary Injunctions against former employees and competitors to prevent unauthorized use and disclosure of confidential information, secure the return of stolen intellectual property, and stop further solicitation of customers through use of trade secrets. While in most employment matters where employees file claims, employers find themselves having to spend significant resources even if they had done nothing wrong, Usama does his part to fight back against the bad apple employees who steal from the hand that feeds them. Usama’s clients have been able to recover millions of dollars in damages they suffered from unfair competition and misappropriation of trade secrets. When employees cross the line and breach their legal and contractual obligations to their employer, clients count on Usama to help make them whole. He also works on drafting restrictive covenant agreements (non-disclosure, non-solicitation, non-compete, inventions assignment) for employers in all US jurisdictions and advises on implementation and enforceability of these agreements.
On the cutting edge is Usama’s involvement in the cross-disciplinary field of artificial intelligence, advising clients on use of AI tools in the workplace for employment-related purposes, reviewing contracts with AI vendors, and assessing implications of the use of AI on privacy, data security, and fair employment practices.
He has also been selected for inclusion in Southern California Super Lawyers – “Rising Stars” from 2013 to 2023.
From January 2015 through December 2020, Usama served on the Board of Directors of The Nonprofit Partnership (TNP), a management support organization that serves the nonprofit sector in the greater Long Beach area by providing nonprofits with capacity building resources, training for board directors and officers, and consulting services. He was President of the Board of TNP for 2019-2020.
Before joining Fisher Phillips, Usama practiced employment law at the Los Angeles office of a major international law firm, where he worked with private schools and colleges, public school districts, a major airline, a large staffing company, a specialty grocery store chain, and a large privately held cosmetics company.
While in law school, Usama served as an extern for the Honorable Judge John Shepard Wiley, Jr., Los Angeles Superior Court, and as a litigation extern for the Housing Rights Center.
He also served as a note and comment editor of the Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review and as managing editor of the Los Angeles Public Interest Law Journal.
Prior to law school, Usama was a full-time lecturer for one year at California State University, Long Beach, where he taught public speaking and other communication classes and was the Assistant Director of the speech and debate team.
