"Justice is a level playing field where the least
powerful are just as entitled to rights and benefits
as the most powerful. It is the ideal that informs all
of my work."
Kelly M. Dermody, Partner and Chair of the
Employment Practice Group
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"One of the nation's premier plaintiffs' firms."
American Lawyer
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"Representing the best qualities of the plaintiffs' bar."
The National Law Journal
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"Their effective and caring advocacy for clients has earned Lieff Cabraser its first-class reputation."
The Daily Journal
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Super Lawyers Nationwide
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Practice Areas
Employment Law
Eliminating workplace discrimination, ensuring fair pay, and protecting retirement savings
Lieff Cabraser has a strong tradition of fighting for employee rights across America. Our employment cases challenge (a) discrimination based on employees' race, color, national origin, religion, age, gender, sexual orientation or disability; (b) wage violations, including failure to pay overtime, break time, or vacation time; and (c) misuse of employees' retirement benefits.
Successfully challenging unlawful employment practices
Lieff Cabraser employment attorneys have successfully challenged discrimination, where female or minority employees are not hired, are paid less than their white male counterparts, or are given fewer opportunities to advance at the company; policies of requiring hourly workers to report to work early, stay late, or work through breaks for no pay (off-the-clock work); policies classifying employees as salaried who should have been classified as hourly workers and received overtime pay; and other employment-related claims including under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). In total, we have recovered over $500 million in damages for our clients in dozens of employment cases.
Our goal is not only to recover compensation for employees and job applicants who have suffered legal violations but also to press employers to comply with the law. We are proud to have assisted our clients in ending unfair practices and inspiring industries to improve recruitment, hiring, promotion, and pay practices and other aspects of employment.
Knowledge across markets and an outstanding reputation
Lieff Cabraser litigates employment cases spanning a wide variety of industries, including retail, medical, insurance, technology, banking, financial services, security, and many more industries. Commenting on the work of Lieff Cabraser in one employment case, the Court stated "the results achieved here could be nothing less than described as exceptional" and praised "the efforts of outstanding counsel."
Kelly M. Dermody chairs the firm's employment practice group and leads the firm's employment cases. In 2011, the Daily Journal recognized her as one of the top labor and employment lawyers in California. The Daily Journal has also twice recognized Ms. Dermody as one of the "Top Women Litigators in California." For the past two years, Best Lawyers In America has selected Ms. Dermody as one of "San Francisco's Best Lawyers." In 2007, California Lawyer magazine awarded Ms. Dermody its prestigious California Lawyer Attorney of the Year (CLAY) Award.
