Jennifer Schwartz

Partner

My Legal Practice

I head the individual practice in Outten & Golden's San Francisco office, where I exclusively represent employees in a broad range of legal matters, including wrongful termination, discrimination, retaliation, Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) and other whistleblower retaliation matters, sexual harassment, and sexual assault.

My extensive experience with discrimination and retaliation includes matters involving gender, race, disability, ethnic origin, and religious discrimination. I have a particular passion for representing women – from the c-suite to the front lines – who face workplace issues.

I also handle a variety of executive contract and compensation matters, including the negotiation of employment, equity, severance, restrictive covenant, confidentiality and trade secret agreements. I have represented a number of founders, executives and professionals employed across a wide variety of sectors and business structures.

I’ve consistently received praise for my work both as an advisor and a negotiator in high stakes matters, and have extensive experience using mediation to resolve disputes. I’ve found that I’m able to leverage high value results with three decades of trial and litigation experience in state and federal trial courts, arbitration, administrative proceedings, and in appellate courts.

I care deeply about my clients’ interests and carefully consider all aspects of their circumstances in developing a strategic path forward. Each of my clients receives dedication, compassion, and tenacity as we work toward their particular goals.

Notable Matters

Won a jury award (including $1 million in punitive damages) in a Marin County Superior court case where the plaintiff was terminated in retaliation for complaining about his retail employer’s COVID-19 re-opening violations.
Litigated and obtained a multi-million-dollar settlement – on the eve of arbitration – for two engineers employed by a large tech company who were terminated for complaining about the company’s illegal conduct.
Obtained a multi-million-dollar settlement for a female CEO employed by a private equity portfolio company in a case involving claims of whistleblower retaliation, sexual harassment and a hostile work environment.
Obtained a mid-seven figure settlement for a high-level female executive employed by a national bank whose claims included wrongful termination, gender discrimination, retaliation and a hostile work environment.
Obtained a multi-million-dollar settlement for a high-level “CEO-minus two” executive of an international hardware and software company who had claims of SOX whistleblower retaliation.

Credentials

B.A., Yale University
J.D., New York University School of Law
Board of Directors, Executive Committee, Chair of Litigation Committee, Equal Rights Advocates
Board of Directors, Legal Aid of Marin
Board Director, Marin Trial Lawyers Association, 2018-2025
Co-Chair, Marin County Bar Association Labor & Employment Section, 2019 – 2021
FINRA arbitrator
Other current and past memberships have included National Employment Lawyers Association (NELA); California Employment Lawyers Association (CELA); and the ABA Labor and Employment Law section
Lawdragon 500 Leading Civil Rights & Plaintiff Employment Lawyers Guide, Employee & Civil Rights Litigation

My Story

I’ve spent my entire career, which spans more than three decades, aggressively representing the rights of individuals. Prior to my career representing employees, I practiced criminal law both as both a prosecutor and then defense attorney. During that time, and as an employment lawyer, I’ve tried more than 30 cases to verdict and won an acquittal for a client who was wrongfully convicted of a homicide.

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