Morin I. Jacob

In November 2015, the firm made Jacob the managing partner of its San Francisco office. She is the chairperson of the firm's statewide public safety practice group, which provides legal services to police and fire agencies throughout California. She is the first woman in the firm to hold both positions.

Jacob obtained summary judgment this year for the city of Santa Clara after three employees — electrical workers over 40 — who had been laid off during the Great Recession sued for age discrimination. "The city was forced to make major cutbacks," Jacob said. "It went to its unions and asked for concessions from the various bargaining groups to try to avoid conflict. All but one agreed."

She said her client had what it believed was a facially neutral policy of laying off the least senior workers first. "Those laid off got a ton of notice to their union regarding what would happen," Jacob said. Those who sued were claiming damages for emotional distress, retaliation and discrimination, plus attorney fees. "We estimated a seven-figure verdict if they'd won. That's a lot of money for a municipality."

"We got the retaliation claim out on demurrer," she said. "They could not allege any protected act that came prior to the adverse employment activity. The layoffs came first. They had the key elements flipped."

The successful part of her summary judgment motion was her claim that the city could demonstrate legitimate, non-discriminatory reasons for the layoffs. "The recession ravaged the entire nation," she said. "We had evidence of having negotiated with the union bargaining groups pre-layoffs. And we had evidence of the city's precarious budget position." She showed that the city had instituted numerous cost-cutting measures to avoid a fiscal crisis. The layoffs, she argued, were part of an age-neutral, citywide effort to deal with the recession.

Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Mary E. Arand granted the motion in March and entered final judgment on May 11. "The city was pleased," Jacob said.

Her job is a pleasure, she added. "I love what I do. I represent public entities that are committed to the public good. It is a privilege and an honor."

— John Roemer