2016 Latina of Influence | Yesenia M. Gallegos

Hispanic Lifestyle is pleased to recognize Yesenia M. Gallegos a Partner with the Law Firm Fox Rothschild LLP  as a 2016 Latina of Influence. Ms. Gallegos along with her fellow Latinas of Influence are invited to participate in Hispanic Lifestyle’s Latina Conference to be held on April 8, 2016 at the Ontario Airport Hotel, Ontario, CA.  The complete listing of Hispanic Lifestyle’s 2016 Latinas of Influence can be found on Hispaniclifestyle.com

Yesenia focuses her practice in labor and employment matters, including advising clients in areas such as:

• Restrictive Covenants – protection of trade secret information and prosecuting and defending against claims involving trade secret misappropriation
• Defending against attempts to enforce a noncompete agreement in the state of California
• Wage and hour law
• Discrimination and harassment claims
• Executive employment agreements
• Leaves of absence
• Employee terminations
• Reductions in force (WARN Act, Cal WARN Act)

She represents employers in employment litigation (including class actions) pending in state and federal court. She also represents employers in actions against former employees in trade-secret and embezzlement actions that require immediate restraining orders, injunctions and/or liens.

In addition, Yesenia conducts and oversees workplace investigations of harassment and discrimination, conducts wage & hour audits and provides organizations with training (in English or Spanish) in the following areas:

• Sexual harassment prevention
• Employment law for managers and supervisors
• Compliance with California wage and hour law
• The interplay between disability law, reasonable accommodations and leaves of absence

Yesenia’s recent representative matters include:

• Obtained declaratory judgment in favor of a California technology company and successfully opposed their competitor foreign company’s efforts to enforce a non-competition provision that would have precluded the California company from employing the foreign company’s former executive.
• Represented CLS Transportation in the pivotal wage and hour class action entitled Iskanian v. CLS Transportation Los Angeles, wherein the California Supreme Court held that Concepcion v. AT&T overruled the state’s Supreme Court decision in Gentry v. Superior Court, affirming the decision that class action waivers in employment arbitration agreement are enforceable
• Successfully appealed the California Employment Development Department’s tax and penalty assessment levied against a California employer resulting in an 85% reduction in penalties
• Obtained judgment in favor of national retail corporation sued by former employee claiming disability discrimination, failure to engage in interactive process and failure to accommodate

Yesenia also serves as co-chair of the firm’s Diversity Committee.

Before Fox Rothschild
Prior to joining the firm, Yesenia served as an associate in the Labor & Employment Departments of Gordon & Rees LLP and Silver & Freedman, APLC.

Beyond Fox Rothschild
Yesenia served as the Hispanic National Bar Association’s (HBNA) Regional President for Southern California from September 2013 to September 2014, and recently chaired the HNBA’s Annual Charity Tennis and Golf Classic (April 2014).

Yesenia also served as the National Chair of the Women’s Leadership Conference, which was held in conjunction with the Hispanic National Bar Association’s Mid-Year Corporate Counsel Conference in New Jersey from March 28 to March 31, 2012.

While in law school, Yesenia was part of the international study program in Bali, Indonesia, where she took international and environmental law courses and interned at the Nature Conservatory.

An active author and speaker, Yesenia served as associate literary editor and technical editor for the Maritime Law Journal from 2000-2002.

Honors & Awards

• Winner of the Hispanic National Bar Association “Regional President of the Year Award” (2014)
• Listed among Southern California Rising Stars by Super Lawyers Magazine (2013, 2014)
• Los Angeles Business Journal’s Women Making a Difference Award Nominee (2013-2015)
• Selected as a “Top Lawyer Under 40” by the Hispanic National Bar Association (2013)
• One of 50 lawyers selected to participate in the Association of Corporate Counsel and HNBA’s Value-Added Legal Services Training Program (2010-2012)
• CALI Award for Excellence in Employment Litigation (Fall 2002)

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Fox Rothschild LLP 

Partner, Labor & Employment Department (04/12 – present); Associate (03/09 – 04/12)

Co-Chair, Fox Rothschild’s Diversity Committee (05/14-present)

COUNSELING

• Serve as outside counsel to local, national, and multi-national corporations in the logistics, transportation, manufacturing, retail, hospitality, entertainment, apparel, and federal contracting industries
• Provide practical legal advice on a full range of employment decisions relating to hiring, training, exempt  classifications, performance management, wage and hour law, leave of absences, and terminations
• Perform compliance audits, workplace investigations, training (English or Spanish on topics such as sexual harassment, employment law for supervisors and administration of leave of absences)
• Draft/Update policies, handbooks, employment agreements, trade secret and non-disclosure agreements
• Assist and train human resource professionals in the administration of complex employment matters

LITIGATION

• Manage litigation and supervise litigation teams, prepare and execute litigation strategies pursuant to individualized budgets, and collaborate with corporate legal and human resource departments
• Represent employers in wage and hour class actions, PAGA representative actions, and multi or single-plaintiff cases alleging misappropriation of trade secrets, wage and hour violations, discrimination, retaliation, harassment, wrongful termination, and ADA public accommodations in state and federal court
• Maintain cost-effective and efficient ways to litigate and resolve wage and hour class action cases
• Obtained summary judgment and other decisions in favor of employer in wage and hour, discrimination, harassment, tort, and breach of contract claims in federal and state courts and administrative tribunals, including judgment and attorneys’ fees for technology company and executive against out-of-state competitor’s attempt to enforce a non-compete clause in California in Bullard v. Anaqua (2015), and a lead attorney that represented limousine company in pivotal case of Iskanian v. CLS Transp. (2014), resulting in CA Supreme Court holding that class action waivers in arbitration agreements are enforceable
• Respond to OSHA, EEOC, DFEH, DLSE, and EDD administrative charges, citations and investigations
• Handle mediations and arbitrations with mediators and arbitrators from JAMS, ADR and AAA

LAW FIRM MANAGEMENT

• Preparation and execution of strategic plan and budget for recruitment and retention of diverse attorneys
• Subcommittee member involved in the recruitment of lateral partners and growth of California offices

Gordon & Rees LLP

Associate, Labor & Employment department (03/08-03/09)

• Primarily represented employers in discrimination, retaliation, and harassment claims covered by Employment Practices Liability Insurance (“EPLI”), and provided employment advice and counseling
• Prepared litigation budgets, legal evaluations and recommendations to EPLI insurance carriers
• Executed written discovery and depositions, resolved discovery disputes, drafted and argued dispositive motions, mediated cases, engaged in speaking engagements, and built a book of business

Silver & Freedman, APLC

Associate, Labor & Employment department (11/05-03/08)

• Prepared dispositive motions and written discovery, defended depositions, and participated in mediations
• Provided routine counseling to human resources and business owners
• Provided sexual harassment and wage and hour training to supervisors

Davis Maltin, LLP

Associate, Employment & Business litigation (08/03-11/05)

• Primarily represented employees in discrimination, retaliation, and harassment litigation
• Trial team member of a 6-week trial resulting in $18 million dollar jury verdict (Stevens v. Vons)

EDUCATION & DEGREES

University of San Francisco School of Law, San Francisco, CA 

Juris Doctor (May 2003)