John H. Bakhit

John H. Bakhit is a Partner in our Riverside and Cerritos offices where he provides advice and counsel to public entities and represents them in collective bargaining, disciplinary matters, auditing/updating policies and procedures, conducting internal investigations, training, and other labor and employment matters.  

Prior to entering law school, Mr. Bakhit served as an Oakland Police Officer working in Patrol and the Crime Prevention Unit where he investigated crimes and regularly wrote and served search warrants, worked undercover, and testified as an expert witness in court.

Mr. Bakhit has devoted his legal career to labor and employment law where he has represented public sector bargaining units and their members in matters arising out of the Public Safety Officers Procedural Bill of Rights (POBR), the Firefighters Procedural Bill of Rights (FBOR), the California Labor Code, the Meyers-Milias-Brown Act (MMBA), and the Higher Education Employer/Employee Relations Act (HEERA). Prior to representing public entities, Mr. Bakhit represented hundreds of individual peace officers, firefighters, and attorneys in administrative cases, critical incidents, and criminal cases. Mr. Bakhit also served as general counsel and chief negotiator for public sector bargaining units, where he regularly represented clients in contract negotiations with city, county, and state entities, meet & confers, and unfair labor practice charges in front of the Public Employment Relations Board (PERB).

Mr. Bakhit’s more than 15 years of experience from the labor side is a unique asset that allows him to effectively and efficiently deal with issues at the earliest stages, as he is able to anticipate and address the various concerns and angles that will likely be brought up by employee organizations.

Mr. Bakhit is also a POST-Certified instructor who is often called upon by organizations to give lectures and provide training on POBR, FBOR, disciplinary investigations, critical incident investigations, labor relations, unfair labor practices, and other labor and employment related matters.

During law school, Mr. Bakhit was awarded the Law Faculty Scholarship and the Certificate for Excellence in Oral Advocacy. He also completed an internship with the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office where he was assigned to the Gang Unit.

Honors & Recognitions

Mr. Bakhit was recognized by Martindale Hubbell® with the highest Peer Review Rating of “AV Preeminent.”

Mr. Bakhit was also recognized by Martindale Hubbell® with the highest client review rating of “Platinum Client Champion.”

Practice Areas

Community & Professional

Mr. Bakhit sits on boards of numerous non-profit organizations and foundations and is currently involved with the following organizations:

Sophia’s Mission (www.sophiajmission.org), Board of Directors

Cops Direct (www.copsdirect.org), Board of Directors

IMVR (website coming soon), Board of Directors