Jennifer Reisch

Jennifer Reisch has devoted her legal career to advocating for under-represented individuals and communities.

Jennifer became the Legal Director of Equal Rights Advocates in September 2012, assuming responsibility for directing ERA’s efforts to seek equality and justice for women and girls in schools and workplaces across the country. She manages a team of dedicated attorneys, law fellows, and law clerks who make an impact through litigation and direct legal services, bold policy reform initiatives, and innovative community education and outreach campaigns.

Jennifer is proud to have helped pass the strongest equal pay law in the nation, the California Fair Pay Act of 2015 (SB 358 – Jackson), and been part of the team representing Betty Dukes and other women in their history-making case against Wal-Mart. Jennifer has served as lead counsel in dozens of cases brought on behalf of women workers, including Aviles v. BAE Systems Norfolk Ship Repair, a Title VII class action sex discrimination suit which resulted in a $4.6 million settlement and significant policy changes designed to prevent harassment, discrimination, and retaliation against women working in a highly male-dominated industry.

As a leader in the field of workers’ rights and employment litigation, Jennifer has received numerous honors for her work and frequently is invited to speak on these topics. In 2015, 2016, & 2017, she was named one of the Top 75 Labor & Employment Lawyers in California by the Daily Journal. Prior to joining ERA, Jennifer was recognized as a Rising Star among plaintiff-side employment litigators each year from 2009-2012 in Super Lawyers magazine.

Prior to joining ERA, Jennifer focused on representing low-wage and immigrant workers in individual and class action suits challenging unlawful employment practices and other civil rights violations. As a partner at Talamantes Villegas Carrera, LLP, she served as co-lead counsel in Bojorquez v. ABM Industries, Inc., a sexual harassment and retaliation case which she successfully tried before a San Francisco jury (with Equal Rights Advocates), obtaining a verdict for plaintiff on all claims and a damages award of over $812,000.