Todd dedicates his practice to serving as mediator in litigated and non-litigated matters with an emphasis on employment disputes including claims of discrimination, sexual harassment, wrongful termination, whistleblower, and retaliation as well as wage and hour class actions and PAGA actions. 

In addition to his mediation practice, Todd has spent over a decade teaching employment law in the Los Angeles area as an adjunct Professor.  He has taught this class at both UCLA Law School and Southwestern Law School where in 2010, Todd proudly received the Excellence in Teaching Award from the Student Bar Association. More recently, Todd was asked to develop a class on Employment Dispute Mediation and began teaching the course at the USC Gould School of Law in Spring of 2019.  Todd is a passionate supporter of mediation as a dispute resolution technique and frequently serves as a guest speaker regarding employment mediation at various law school, bar association and other trade organization events.

Todd began practicing law as an associate in the employment law department of Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker. Later he formed the legal partnership of Helmer • Smith, which represented individual and business clients in various civil rights, intellectual property, personal injury and business matters with a particular focus on litigating employment disputes. He has experience litigating in both state and federal court, and has resolved scores of cases via trial, arbitration, and mediation.

Todd has received mediation training on both coasts -- including Pepperdine’s Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution on the West and Linda Singer and Michael Lewis on the East. He served as co-chair of both the San Fernando Valley Bar Association ADR Section and Beverly Hills Bar Association Labor and Employment Law Section.  

• Distinguished Fellow of the International Academy of Mediators
• Former co-chair of the San Fernando Valley Bar Association ADR Section
• Former co-chair of Beverly Hills Bar Association Labor and Employment Law Section
• Teacher of employment law for many years in the Los Angeles area as an adjunct Professor
• Has taught at Southwestern Law School, UCLA Law School and The USC Gould SChool of Law

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