Yesenia Gallegos

Yesenia M. Gallegos focuses her practice in labor and employment matters, including advising small business owners to Fortune 500 Companies 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
• Discrimination and harassment claims
• Employee terminations

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.

She also assists employers in establishing work rules and registering those work rules with local labor regulatory agencies in countries throughout Latin America. 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

Yesenia’s recent representative matters include :

• Obtained a court order dismissing a program director of a nonprofit academic organization when both she and the school were sued by a former employee alleging retaliation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, among other claims.
• Successfully appealed the California Employment Development Department’s tax and penalty assessment levied against a California employer resulting in an 85 percent reduction in penalties.
• Obtained judgment in favor of a national retail corporation sued by a former employee claiming disability discrimination, failure to engage in interactive process and failure to accommodate.

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

EDUCATION :

• University of San Francisco School of Law (J.D., 2003)
• University of California, Los Angeles (B.A., 2000)

MEMBERSHIPS : Hispanic National Bar Association (Regional President for Southern California)

COURT ADMISSIONS :

• U.S. District Court, Central District of California
• U.S. District Court, Northern District of California
• U.S. District Court, Southern District of California
• U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit

BAR ADMISSIONS : California