Daily Journal Recognizes Lynne Hermle and Erin Connell as Top Employment Lawyers

1 minute read | August.07.2024

Partners Erin Connell and Lynne Hermle, members of Orrick’s labor and employment practice, have been named to the Daily Journal’s annual list of California’s Top Employment Lawyers.
This is the 14^th time Lynne has been named to the list.
Erin was also named earlier this year to the Daily Journal’s Top Women Lawyers in California.

In this feature (subscription required), Erin describes her high-profile work for clients such as Oracle, Goldman Sachs and Workday in navigating today’s most difficult employment discrimination challenges. The profile highlights Erin’s focus on pay equity, pay transparency, the use of AI in the workplace and DEI issues.

“I am constantly on calls with clients who want to do the right thing,” Erin told the publication. “They care about these things, and their employees care about these things.”

In this feature (subscription required), Lynne described an “explosive year” in employment law, adding, “Just active litigation in all kinds of fascinating areas.” The article noted her current work for the San Francisco Bay Aquarium and an upcoming trial for Mach49, which helps businesses with venture capital.

Read the full story on Erin here

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Erin M. Connell Partner, Employment Law & Litigation, Pay Equity

San Francisco

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D:+1 415 773 5969
E: [email protected]

Practice:

Employment Law & Litigation
Pay Equity

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Erin M. Connell Partner

San Francisco

Erin's practice covers all aspects of employment law. She defends employers in class actions and other complex cases, as well as in systemic investigations and audits by the EEOC, OFCCP, and the California CRD. Erin has led dozens of internal pay equity analyses and is a trusted advisor for several of the nation's most prominent employers on developing areas of employment law, including pay equity and pay transparency, DEI best practices, and the use of AI in employment decision making.

Erin also is an accomplished first chair trial lawyer. She has tried several cases before juries and in arbitration, and has obtained numerous defense summary judgment rulings and other favorable resolutions in state and federal court. Erin led the trial team that obtained a complete dismissal for Oracle in OFCCP v. Oracle, the largest pay equity case ever brought by OFCCP, which garnered national media attention and earned Erin recognition as a "Litigator of the Week" by the American Lawyer and a 2021 Employment MVP by Law360. As lead counsel, Erin also successfully obtained decertification in a statewide California pay equity class action, Jewett v. Oracle.

Erin's clients include leading technology and Fortune 500 companies, including: Oracle, Meta, Microsoft, Netflix, Pinterest, Twitter, Workday, PayPal, Sony Interactive Entertainment, NVIDIA, Airbnb, SiriusXM, Dropbox, Amgen, Zendesk, Splunk and Goldman Sachs.

Erin is currently a member of the Board of Directors of the Bar Association of San Francisco, a faculty member with the Institute for Workplace Equality (IWE), and frequently speaks on California and national employment law issues, including for IWE, the ABA, the Practicing Law Institute (PLI) and the American Employment Legal Council (AELC). She was formerly the management chair of the ABA Equal Employment Opportunity Committee. She has published numerous articles on employment law in publications around the country, including the ABA Journal of Law & Employment Law. She also provides employment law training and conducts internal investigations on employment-related matters.

Lynne Hermle Partner, Employment Law & Litigation, Wage and Hour

Silicon Valley

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D:+1 650 614 7422
E: [email protected]

Practice:

Technology & Innovation Sector
Employment Law & Litigation
Wage and Hour
Pay Equity

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Lynne Hermle Partner

Silicon Valley

Lynne led the trial team that obtained a complete defense verdict for Kleiner Perkins in Pao v. Kleiner Perkins, the high-stakes gender discrimination and retaliation case that garnered intense international media scrutiny. In naming Lynne “Litigator of the Week” for this victory, American Lawyer described her effective voir dire and how she “steadily poked holes in Pao’s testimony.” The Recorder called Lynne’s cross-examination “masterful” and Bloomberg reported that her “charismatic, intimidating oratory made her the trial’s breakout star.”

Following Pao, Lynne secured a complete defense verdict for SpaceX in an $8 million gender discrimination and retaliation suit. The Daily Journal called the outcome “another triumph for Hermle,” observing that her “string of successes for tech clients fighting off gender harassment and discrimination claims got longer.” The publication also pronounced Lynne to be “arguably the most feared employment defense attorney in California.” Eight months later she followed that up with another jury defense verdict for SpaceX in a wrongful discharge and retaliation case.

Lynne has significant experience successfully defending complex discrimination and wage-and-hour class actions for global leaders in the retail and technology sectors including Microsoft, Twitter, The Gap, Genentech, Sears, Burlington Coat Factory, Gymboree, Spencer’s Gifts, Banana Republic, Old Navy, Williams Sonoma and Pottery Barn Kids, among many others.

In recognition of these successes and her high-profile career trial work, Lynne was inducted into the American College of Trial Lawyers in 2017. She is a fellow in the International Academy of Trial Lawyers and many other trial related organizations.

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