Theodore J. Boutrous Jr.

A Boutrous client in May made national news, when the Donald Trump administration released Daniel Ramirez from an immigration detention facility in Washington state after Ramirez posted a $15,000 bond.

Ramirez was a “dreamer,” an immigrant who arrived illegally to the U.S. with his parents but received work authorization under the Obama administration’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program for childhood migrants. An Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent, however, rounded up Ramirez, suspecting him to be part of a gang.

Securing Ramirez’s release, Boutrous said, was perhaps what he felt best about another prolific year as an attorney invariably at the center of many high-profile cases.

“It was a gratifying case to be involved in,” Boutrous said, calling Ramirez, a “great client who did nothing wrong.”

In early September, Trump announced the winding down of the DACA program, subject to congressional action by March. Boutrous responded as he has throughout Trump’s candidacy and administration: He took to Twitter to denounce the president.

Boutrous’ caseload doesn’t hew to a particular political view. He’s taken on teachers’ unions and represented numerous corporations, this year, for instance, backing Exxon Mobile Corp. in an appellate win. But the lawyer calls himself a First Amendment advocate who wants to be, “Part of the debate.”

“We’re in a historic time right now and I think that everyone understands that,” Boutrous said, adding, with a laugh, that he received “only positive responses” from clients about his tweets.

In San Francisco, Boutrous is in the center of the debate on whether sharing economy workers were misclassified as independent contractors when they ought to be employees.

The lawyer represented GrubHub Inc. in a bench trial this September: The first known sharing economy misclassification case to go to trial. As of press time, U.S. Magistrate Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley has not issued a decision. Lawson v. GrubHub Inc., 15-CV05128 (C.D. Cal., filed Nov. 9, 2015).

And Boutrous continues to be lead attorney for Uber Technologies Inc. He seeks to massively whittle down that company’s liability, arguing its employment arbitration contracts are legal. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is currently considering the contract’s enforceability.

— Matthew Blake