Hugo has mediated numerous employment related cases, including wrongful discharge, FMLA violations, discrimination (age, race, sexual orientation, disability accommodation), wage and hour, FLSA overtime/exempt claims, and failure to hire. He is particularly knowledgeable with issues arising from public employment, including both civilian and sworn police and fire personnel. He has resolved disputes involving personal injury, auto tort, real estate (including landlord-tenant), copyright, entertainment, auto lemon law and defamation matters. His mediation style is facilitative and is adapted to the dispute at hand.
A licensed real estate broker, he has been active in dispute resolution for the Beverly Hills/Greater Los Angeles Association of Realtors, and has mediated disputes arising out of real estate transactions concerning both professional rules of conduct and landlord-tenant claims.
Hugo has twenty years of corporate experience in negotiating and administering employment, programming, sports rights (including the Lakers, Angels, and Kings), and labor agreements. He has negotiated over 300 collective bargaining agreements (including the Harlem Globetrotters, KCAL-TV, and America's Most Wanted).
Presently employed as a Deputy City Attorney in the Labor Relations Division of the Office of the Los Angeles City Attorney, he has represented the City of Los Angeles in labor negotiations and employment litigation, and works to resolve in-house employment claims and workplace violence threats.
He has a BA from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and a JD from King Hall, University of California, Davis.