About 

CASSANDRA W. LENNING is a partner in Outten & Golden’s individual practice group.  She is a member of the firm’s Discrimination & RetaliationFamily Responsibilities & Disability Discrimination, and Sexual Harassment & Sex Discrimination practice groups. 

Ms. Lenning represents employees and executives in a wide range of employment matters. She is a seasoned litigator who has first and second-chaired multiple arbitration and jury trials. Her practice spans both coasts, including California, Washington D.C., and Washington State. Ms. Lenning focuses on negotiating and litigating claims of discrimination, retaliation, equal pay, family and medical leave, and breach of contract, as well as representing individuals for alleged violations of restrictive covenants. She also provides advice and counsel to clients with respect to employment, non-compete, bonus and compensation, and severance agreements.

Ms. Lenning is Chair of the Washington State Bar Association’s Labor and Employment Law Section. She is involved in the Metropolitan Washington Employment Lawyers Association and the Washington Employment Lawyers Association. Ms. Lenning was identified as a Rising Star by Super Lawyers from 2019-2021, has been annually selected by her peers and recognized by Best Lawyers since 2021, and was recently named to LawDragon’s list of leading civil rights and plaintiff employment lawyers.

Before joining Outten & Golden in 2017, Ms. Lenning practiced at a boutique civil rights and employment law firm in D.C., and prior to that, she litigated complex human rights cases at a D.C.-based non-profit organization. She served as a fellow at the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington State, and the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs, where she worked on employment discrimination and wage and hour matters.

Ms. Lenning received her undergraduate degree, cum laude, from the University of Washington in 2008, and her J.D. from Duke University School of Law in 2011.

(*Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.)

Bar Admission and Professional Activity
  • Ms. Lenning is admitted to practice law in California, the District of Columbia, Washington State, and the Commonwealth of Virginia.
  • Ms. Lenning is admitted to the following federal courts: the Supreme Court of the United States; the United States District Courts for the District of Colorado, the District of Columbia; the District of Maryland, and the Western District of Washington; and the United States Court of Federal Claims.
  • Chair, Washington State Bar Association (WSBA) Labor and Employment Law Section (2022-present); Executive Committee (2020-present)
  • Member, American Bar Association (ABA)
  • Member, National Employment Lawyers Association (NELA)
  • Member, Metropolitan Washington Employment Lawyers Association (MWELA)
  • Member, Washington Employment Lawyers Association (WELA)
  • Member, California Employment Lawyers Association (CELA)
Video & Podcasts

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Speaking Engagements

2023

  • Panelist, “Addressing Accommodation, Retaliation, Light Duty and Performance Management: Employee Leave under the FMLA, ADA and PWFA,” 17th Annual ABA Section of Labor and Employment Law Conference, Seattle, Washington
  • Speaker, “Beyond Timing: Defeating Summary Judgment in Retaliation Cases,” Defeating Summary Judgement in the Face of the Evolving Defense Tactics, National Employment Lawyers Association, Atlanta, Georgia

2022

  • Moderator, “Legislative Update,” 22nd Annual Labor and Employment Law Conference, Washington State Bar Association, Seattle, Washington
  • Moderator: “Representing Service members in Employment Cases and the Ethics Involved,” Washington State Bar Association, Virtual

2021

  • Moderator: “Workers Without Borders: Employees in Remote Locations,” 21st Annual Labor and Employment Law Conference, Washington State Bar Association, Virtual

Blogs & Publications

DC Amends and Weakens its “Ban” on Non-Competes

Many employers require employees to sign non-compete agreements that prohibit them from starting new employment with a competitive business, starting their own competing business, or even providing similar services for a finite period of time, within a specific geographic area, or that subject them to other similar conditions once their employment ends. Studies have shown that non-compete agreements are harmful for workers, preventing mobility, weakening wage growth (by restricting an employee’s ability to leave for a higher paying job), and limits the starting of businesses. Non-compete agreements have become increasingly common in recent decades, with between 30-60 million American private-sector workers subject to these restrictive covenants.

California Law Protects Workers From Termination or Retaliation for Participating in Black Lives Matter or Other Political Protests

The massive protests following the murder of George Floyd have brought together people of all races, ages, and walks of life in a collective movement to address systemic racism and police brutality against Black people. Outten & Golden is profoundly committed to…

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Awards & Recognition
  • 2024: Best Lawyers – Employment Law – Individuals
  • 2023: Best Lawyers – Ones to Watch in America Labor and Employment Law – Employee
  • 2023: Lawdragon 500 Civil Rights & Plaintiff Employment Lawyer
  • 2021-2022: Best Lawyers Ones to Watch
  • 2019-2022: Rising Star by Super Lawyers

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