Former Department of Justice Civil Rights Lawyer and Manhattan Assistant District Attorney MarLa Duncan also Joins Outten & Golden in New York as Counsel

Two new attorneys have joined Outten & Golden LLP in California, bolstering the firm’s employment, civil rights enforcement, and government representation capabilities, and its ability to help California workers.

Returning to Outten & Golden as partner is Rachel Bien, an accomplished trial and appellate litigator with more than two decades of experience representing workers on a wide range of issues, including unpaid wages, unlawful misclassification, and discrimination. Rachel has recovered millions of dollars for workers and litigated cutting-edge cases, including on behalf of unpaid interns in the media and entertainment industries. Rachel will be based in the firm’s California office.

Also joining the firm’s California office as partner is Alexis McKenna, a seasoned attorney who most recently served as deputy chief counsel in the California Civil Rights Department. In that role, she represented California in dozens of enforcement proceedings related to employment, housing, and public accommodation. Prior to that, Alexis served as counsel for the California Department of Industrial Relations, where she helped protect the health, safety and economic well-being of Californians. Before entering public service, Alexis spent 19 years in private practice, representing plaintiffs in employment law matters.

MarLa Duncan, a former attorney in both the U.S. Department of Justice and the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, has also joined Outten & Golden in New York as counsel. As a trial attorney in the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, MarLa investigated and prosecuted some of the country’s most serious civil rights violations, including official misconduct cases and hate crimes. Before that, MarLa served for nearly seven years as a Manhattan assistant district attorney, prosecuting domestic violence, assaults, homicides and other cases.

“The legal rights of workers are being challenged by weakened federal regulation and enforcement, emboldened employers, the rise of algorithmic tools, and more,” said Outten & Golden managing partner Adam Klein. “Rachel, Alexis and MarLa bring significant trial and civil rights enforcement expertise to the firm, adding to our ability to address the evolving range of issues our clients face.”