Lynne C. Hermle

Perhaps the most celebrated employment defense trial attorney in California, Hermle has of late defended high-profile gender discrimination and sexual harassment claims made by women with her team of mostly female lawyers. Including herself, 12 of Orrick's 13 employment defense trial team litigators are women. Hermle's most famous victory was in 2015 when her client Kleiner, Perkins, Caulfield & Byers won a total defense verdict against former employee Ellen Pao.

In October, Hermle scored a defense verdict for Elon Musk venture Space Exploration Technologies Corp. before a Los Angeles jury.

Plaintiff Zhoei M. Teasley, a welder who still works at SpaceX, alleged co-workers sexually harassed her and that the company retaliated when she complained. Teasley sued for $8.7 million, an eye-popping figure that may have prompted SpaceX to bring in Hermle at the case's eleventh hour. Teasley v. Space Exploration Technologies Corp., BC568896 (L.A. Super. Ct., Oct. 31, 2016).

Stating that Teasley has "borderline personality disorder" and cannot see the world in anything besides black and white, Hermle persuaded the jury SpaceX did not commit violations in response to the plaintiff's charges.

Hermle represents SpaceX in another high-profile case in which a former company test technician, Jason Blasdell, said he was fired for blowing the whistle on shoddy rocket-testing practices. That case could come before a Los Angeles jury next month. Blasdell v. Space Exploration Technologies Corp., BC615112 (L.A. Super. Ct., filed April 1, 2016).

She also is defending Apple Inc., Twitter Inc. and Microsoft Corp. in pending employment cases with gender discrimination claims.

- Matthew Blake