Lynne Hermle

Since joining Orrick in 1987, Hermle has become a go-to defense litigator in employment cases. She has represented several of world's most influential companies, including Apple, Microsoft, Twitter, Morgan Stanley and Tesla. She protects their interests on a number of issues dominating the national conversation, from the #MeToo movement to pay equity to gender discrimination.

"Everything about employment cases is interesting," she said. "The people, their conduct, performance, relationships and reactions, their motives and, sometimes, their bad behavior. If you're a empathetic creative problem solver who understands how people act and react, this is the practice for you. There is rarely a dull moment."

Hermle particularly enjoys jury cases when she can persuade a group of people -- typically cynical employees themselves -- to look past their experiences and judge the case's merits fairly.

"I'm happy when I see the tide start to turn in the course of the trial," she said. "Employers usually start behind."

Mostly, though, she loves working with her team of associates, teaching them the tools of the trade and seeing them grow into "kick-ass trial lawyers." Her team is all-female, a quality Hermle sees as a definite advantage.

"We spend a lot of time, especially when young, thinking about how we come across," she said. "We can be sympathetic, connect well, and are often tough as nails. Juries give us more leeway in a tough cross than they do men -- just one girl's opinion."

That toughness has garnered some impressive results. Last June, she defeated class certification in a national gender discrimination suit alleging bias in hiring, pay and promotions. She worked the class down to three from more than 8,600 women. Moussouris v. Microsoft Corp., 15-CV01483 (W.D. Wash., filed Sept. 16, 2015).

The following month, she defeated a bid to certify a class of women engineers at Twitter were victimized by the social media giant's promotion practices. Again, Hermle convinced San Francisco County Superior Court Judge Mary Wiss that the plaintiffs failed to produce a factual commonality among the engineers. Huang v. Twitter Inc., CGC-15-554813 (S.F. Super. Ct., filed Mar. 19, 2015).

But Hermle said she's begun to notice more case are moving away from jury trials and toward arbitration and mediation. Though she doesn't plan to follow the tide, she understands why many lawyers head that route.

"Trial practice is tough, expensive, stressful, and draining," she said. "It takes a lot of confidence and a willingness to put the knife between your teeth and go to war for your client. It's not for everyone."

-- Glenn Jeffers