Renuka V. Jain

Jain's family history includes a grandfather who was a cabinet member of India's first post-colonial government. Her mother and grandmother started a chapter of the Red Cross.

Despite a privileged upbringing, Jain inherited a passion for social justice.

"I had good examples," said the founder of the Law Offices of Renuka V. Jain.

As an immigrant and young mother who started her legal career in Texas, Jain had to overcome assumptions others had about her. Her method, she said, was to "just outwork and outperform everybody."

"People should be treated based on their skills and their performance - not how they look or who they love," said Jain.

Jain's reputation was set after challenging the systematic exclusion of African Americans from civil juries -- a case she argued before the Texas Supreme Court in 2008. Davis v. Fisk Electric Co. (Tex. 2008) 268 S.W.3d 508, 518.

Following that success, Jain and her family moved to California, where she set up a practice.

"I love trials," Jain said. "There's nothing like sunlight, and when you're entering into these settlements, and money is a powerful incentive, but the societal value is completely lost. People don't change the way they conduct business unless there is a downside to it."

One of Jain's more recent cases focuses on why a worker was terminated by Los Angeles Unified School District. The plaintiff claims he fired because he reported that the district mismanaged federal funds by investing in online credit recovery programs to boost graduation rates. The district claims the plaintiff falsified grades, according to court documents. Jason Camp v. Los Angeles Unified School District BC673403, (L.A. Super. Ct. filed Aug. 22, 2017).

In March, Jain defeated a motion for summary judgment. The trial was delayed until September because of Gov. Gavin Newsom's emergency orders in connection with the pandemic.

Also in early March, Jain settled what is described as a "significant confidential settlement" in a case against a large U.S. financial institution. In the case, the plaintiff, a woman in her 70s, was terminated from her job after two decades, with the defendant justifying her dismissal based on errors she made over two weeks.

"The very fact that so much effort had gone into documenting an employee who had worked there for 20 years, that was a red flag," Jain said. "Those examples made no sense."

A lawyer since 1987, Jain said she loves the profession.

"I can't think of any other profession that gives you the chance to make a dramatic difference in people's lives," she added.

-- Karen Weil