Meet Our Team
Sanjay Bansal, Esq.
Sanjay is a passionate and skilled advocate with over 10 years of legal experience. He is the son of immigrants, and a proud United States Army Reserve Judge Advocate since 2009 holding the rank of Major. Sanjay has litigated in federal and state courts, as well as administrative agencies such as the EEOC, DFEH and California Labor Commission. “Super Lawyers” has consecutively named Sanjay a Southern California “Rising Star” in the area of Employment Law, an honor awarded to less than 2.5% of all attorneys in the state. Previously, he was a managing partner of the employment department at the LA office of Kaufman Dolowich. Sanjay holds a JD from Loyola Marymount University.
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Sanjay is an employment attorney with over 15 years of experience representing both employees and employers across the full spectrum of workplace disputes. His practice spans litigation, advice and counsel, and compliance — giving him a perspective on employment matters that few attorneys on either side of the table can match.
Sanjay has litigated throughout California state and federal courts and before administrative agencies including the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the California Civil Rights Department (CRD), as well as before the California Labor Commissioner. His litigation practice encompasses wage and hour class actions and PAGA representative actions, as well as individual claims for wrongful termination, sexual harassment, discrimination (age, race, gender, and disability), retaliation, whistleblower claims, and unfair business practices. He has prevailed at trial and in multiple hearings and administrative proceedings.
On the employer side, Sanjay advises clients on a broad range of employment matters including internal investigations, audits, policy development, risk mitigation, and regulatory compliance. He previously served as Managing Partner of the Employment Department at the Los Angeles office of a large national law firm, where he developed deep familiarity with how companies and their insurers approach employment risk — experience that informs his practice on both sides of the aisle today.
Since 2009, Sanjay has served as a Judge Advocate with the United States Army Reserve, currently holding the rank of Major. In that capacity, he has served as lead counsel in numerous courts-martial involving allegations of sexual misconduct, fraud, and narcotics, securing favorable verdicts across those matters. His military service has been recognized with several awards, including the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Joint Meritorious Unit Award, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Overseas Service Ribbon, and Army Service Ribbon.
Super Lawyers has consecutively named Sanjay a Southern California Rising Star in Employment Law — a distinction awarded to fewer than 2.5% of attorneys in the state. He has served as a speaker, panelist, moderator, and subject matter expert at employment law programs across the country.
Admissions
California
U.S. District Court, Central District of California
U.S. District Court, Southern District of California
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California
U.S. District Court, Northern District of California
U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
U.S. Tax Court
U.S. Military Courts
Education
Loyola Law School, Los Angeles, J.D.
Army Command & General Staff College
Amir Benakote, Esq.
Amir has over 10 years of experience as a labor and employment attorney. He is a savvy litigator with prior terms at large defense firms such as Wilson Elser and Kaufman Dolowich, where he was a Partner. Amir has litigated class action and individual cases in state and federal courts, and administrative agencies such the EEOC, DFEH and California Labor Commission. His current practice focuses on representing employees pursuing individual cases for wage-and-hour violations, discrimination, harassment, retaliation and wrongful termination, as well as class action cases for wage-and-hour violations. Amir holds a JD and MBA from Loyola Marymount University.
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Amir is a seasoned civil litigator with over 15 years of experience, the majority of which has been devoted to labor and employment law. He earned both his Juris Doctor and Master of Business Administration from Loyola Law School and Loyola Marymount University in 2010, graduating in the top 25% of his law school class, and with a near-perfect business school GPA. His dual legal and business education laid the foundation for a practice defined by strategic thinking, keen analytical judgment, and a thorough understanding of the forces that drive workplace disputes.
Early in his career, Amir gained valuable experience on the plaintiffs' side, litigating consumer class action cases and representing individual clients in personal injury, civil rights, and mass tort matters. This gave him a deep appreciation for the challenges employees and individuals face when taking on larger, well-resourced opponents.
Amir subsequently spent nearly a decade on the defense side, representing employers across a broad range of industries in all phases of litigation, and through multiple trials. He also regularly advised companies on employment practices, workplace investigations, regulatory compliance, and risk management, and helped businesses navigate their most sensitive personnel issues. This experience gave him an astute understanding of employer concerns and pain points when facing litigation — including how companies, carriers and individuals evaluate risk and make decisions throughout the lifecycle of a lawsuit. That inside perspective now serves as a powerful advantage for the employees he represents, allowing him to anticipate defense strategies and position his clients' cases accordingly.
Driven by a desire to provide clients with a more personal and attentive level of service than large firm practice typically allows, Amir co-founded GSE with that principle at its core. From the outset, the firm was built to serve both employees and employers with the same hands-on, client-focused approach — ensuring that every client receives the dedicated attention they deserve.
Today, Amir continues to advise employers and defend companies in employment-related disputes, but his practice is largely focused on representing employees. He handles both individual and class action matters, including cases involving workplace discrimination, sexual harassment, retaliation, and wrongful termination, as well as wage-and-hour violations under California and federal law. He regularly litigates in California state and federal courts, where he is admitted to practice in the U.S. District Courts for the Central, Southern, and Eastern Districts of California.