* Joseph Posner; Lawyer Specialized in Employment

Joseph Posner, 58, a Los Angeles attorney who was known as an expert in employment issues. Over the last two decades, Posner developed a specialty in fighting for executives and employees who were victims of downsizing. A chief spokesman in the field, he headed the Los Angeles chapter of the National Employment Lawyers Assn. and was a founding board member of the California Employment Law Assn. Posner waged court battles against age, race and sex discrimination, sexual harassment, defamation, invasion of privacy and wrongful termination over such issues as bilingualism and whistle-blowing about improper employer activities. He also advised employees about what to watch out for if they feared their jobs were in danger: Note, he suggested in a Times story in 1996, whether you’re no longer invited to meetings, and listen to the grapevine. On Tuesday in Los Angeles of a heart attack.