Micah Nilsson has a broad business background and extensive experience in civil litigation, employment law, and transactional work. In his employment practice, Mr. Nilsson represents diverse industries in all forms of employment litigation, including class actions, wrongful termination, sexual harassment, unfair competition/trade secret issues, wage and hour claims, and discrimination. Mr. Nilsson also represents public and private employers in a wide array of employment matters, including layoffs, harassment and discrimination complaints, and employee discipline proceedings. Mr. Nilsson litigates matters in both federal and state court as well as before numerous administrative agencies, including the Department of Fair Employment and Housing, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, Employment Development Department, and the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board.

Following a prevention-first model, Mr. Nilsson provides creative and effective counseling to assist clients in avoiding employment claims. He can arm employers with employee handbooks, employment agreements, commission agreements, and severance agreements. He also regularly provides training on a variety of employment issues.

Mr. Nilsson’s active commercial litigation practice includes complex business, anti-trust and unfair business claims, contract disputes, real estate, construction defects, intellectual property infringement, and tort litigation. His transactional work includes entity formation, contract, and lease review.

Prior to joining Zimmer & Melton, Mr. Nilsson managed the Bakersfield office of Dowling Aaron Incorporated and sat as the Co-Chair of the firm’s Oil, Gas & Energy Practice Group. Prior to that Mr. Nilsson worked at Lozano Smith, where he assisted public employers in labor and employment matters, facilities and business matters, and all aspects of litigation. Mr. Nilsson also has experience with environmental permitting, including preparing CEQA documents and Public Works Plans.

Mr. Nilsson is an effective negotiator and has received numerous awards for his negotiations, trial advocacy, and client counseling, including advancing to the nationals for the ABA Negotiations Competition. Mr. Nilsson enjoys working with both large and entrepreneurial clients and has practical experience from starting and operating various small businesses to sitting on Boards of Directors.

Mr. Nilsson is fluent in Spanish. He has lived in Bakersfield, Monterey, Davis, San Diego, and San Luis Obispo California, as well as Chile, Utah, Idaho, and Hawaii.