Arnold P. Peter

El Segundo

Arnold Peter has been practicing law for more than 40 years, drawing on a journey that began as a Christian religious refugee adopted by a predominantly African American church in South Central Los Angeles. That early experience in a community grounded in faith, but surrounded by hardship, shaped his understanding of systemic barriers and the transformative power of opportunity.

Peter attended a high school where fewer than 10% of students went on to college. When he met with counselors about his future, the military was presented as the only realistic option. "Their advice reflected a system that measured potential by circumstance, not by capacity or aspiration," Peter said. He ultimately joined ROTC as an undergrad, spending six years in the Army Reserve and rising to the rank of Captain before receiving an honorable discharge.

In college, professors recognized promise that Peter had not yet seen in himself, challenging him to pursue law rather than his original goal of becoming a police officer. "I realized that the law was where I could make the most meaningful contribution -- not by patrolling streets, but by shaping systems; not by enforcing rules, but by seeking justice, fairness, and opportunity," he said.

Two mentors proved particularly influential. Late U.S. District Judge Edward Dean Price, one of California's Central Valley's most respected trial lawyers before his federal bench appointment, taught Peter the value of preparation and precision in advocacy. Colonel Harvey Wallace, a decorated Marine Corps officer and former Fresno city attorney, recruited Peter from Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft to help reform Fresno's civil service system, which had long protected misconduct through union-dominated oversight.

Working under Wallace's leadership, Peter helped end the practice of prematurely sharing confidential materials with union attorneys and strengthened coordination with department heads during disciplinary proceedings. These reforms faced strong resistance, but transformed accountability within city governance.

Peter's most significant recent achievement came in representing female California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation employees in pregnancy discrimination cases. What began with nine plaintiffs expanded to a class exceeding 1,500 individuals after Peter discovered systemic problems with CDCR's accommodation policies, which forced pregnant employees to choose between unsafe work conditions, demotion, or unpaid leave. Carreon et al. v. California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, 19STCV09935 (L.A. Super., filed March 25, 2019).

In July 2025, both consolidated cases settled for $5.1 million. More importantly, CDCR adopted new regulations granting all employees access to light-duty positions and waivers of essential functions for pregnancy-related disabilities. The case required overcoming numerous procedural hurdles, aggressive institutional defenses and the challenge of proving individual damages across a massive class.

"The law, to me, represents both the awesome power of accountability and the boundless potential for redemption," Peter said. That philosophy continues guiding his practice as California employment law evolves in 2025, with expanded pay transparency requirements, enhanced worker protections, and more rigorous enforcement mechanisms creating both compliance challenges and opportunities for workers seeking justice.