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Lawyer Profile

Image of Kelly M. Dermody

Kelly M. Dermody

Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP
  • Recognized Since:
    2010
  • Recognized in:
    Employment Law - Individuals
    Litigation - Labor and Employment
  • Law School:
    University of California, Berkeley School of Law
  • Website:
    http://www.lieffcabraser.com
  • Location:
    275 Battery Street, 29th Floor
    San Francisco, CA 94111

A Leader in the Plaintiffs' Bar For Workers and Consumers

Kelly is Managing Partner of the San Francisco office of Lieff, Cabraser, Heimann & Bernstein, LLP. She chairs the firm’s employment practice group and specializes in class and collective actions on behalf of employees. Kelly is a nationally-recognized advocate in the areas of pay equity, #metoo, and diversity and inclusion, and has prosecuted numerous cases challenging unfair hiring, promotion, compensation, and performance systems.

The Daily Journal observed that Kelly’s

"values have translated into real workday value for lots of people — people who have won better job opportunities from companies like Abercrombie & Fitch, Home Depot, and Smith Barney, or monetary damages from banks that have engaged in predatory lending and servicing.”

In 2012, Kelly served as President of the Bar Association of San Francisco. She is a member of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers and the American Law Institute. She is a past member of the ABA Labor and Employment Law Section governing Council, where she also previously served as Co-Chair of the Section’s Annual Conference, Committee on Diversity in the Legal Profession, and Equal Employment Opportunity Committee. The Daily Journal has selected Kelly as one of the top 100 attorneys in California, top 75 labor and employment lawyers in California, and top 100 women litigators in California. In 2016, The Recorder awarded her the “Dragon Slayer” award for her litigation work.

Kelly has received awards from charitable and civic organizations, including the National Association of Women Judges, the Anti-Defamation League, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area, California Rural Legal Assistance, Legal Momentum, Equal Rights Advocates, Centro Legal de la Raza, and Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom. Kelly received a B.A. degree from Harvard University and a J.D. degree from Berkeley Law School, UC Berkeley. She clerked for the Hon. John T. Nixon, U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, before joining Lieff Cabraser.

Kelly has been named as a 2019 recipient of the Margaret Brent Women Lawyers of Achievement Award.

 

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Lawyer Bio

A Leader in the Plaintiffs' Bar For Workers and Consumers

Kelly is Managing Partner of the San Francisco office of Lieff, Cabraser, Heimann & Bernstein, LLP. She chairs the firm’s employment practice group and specializes in class and collective actions on behalf of employees. Kelly is a nationally-recognized advocate in the areas of pay equity, #metoo, and diversity and inclusion, and has prosecuted numerous cases challenging unfair hiring, promotion, compensation, and performance systems.

The Daily Journal observed that Kelly’s

"values have translated into real workday value for lots of people — people who have won better job opportunities from companies like Abercrombie & Fitch, Home Depot, and Smith Barney, or monetary damages from banks that have engaged in predatory lending and servicing.”

In 2012, Kelly served as President of the Bar Association of San Francisco. She is a member of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers and the American Law Institute. She is a past member of the ABA Labor and Employment Law Section governing Council, where she also previously served as Co-Chair of the Section’s Annual Conference, Committee on Diversity in the Legal Profession, and Equal Employment Opportunity Committee. The Daily Journal has selected Kelly as one of the top 100 attorneys in California, top 75 labor and employment lawyers in California, and top 100 women litigators in California. In 2016, The Recorder awarded her the “Dragon Slayer” award for her litigation work.

Kelly has received awards from charitable and civic organizations, including the National Association of Women Judges, the Anti-Defamation League, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area, California Rural Legal Assistance, Legal Momentum, Equal Rights Advocates, Centro Legal de la Raza, and Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom. Kelly received a B.A. degree from Harvard University and a J.D. degree from Berkeley Law School, UC Berkeley. She clerked for the Hon. John T. Nixon, U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, before joining Lieff Cabraser.

Kelly has been named as a 2019 recipient of the Margaret Brent Women Lawyers of Achievement Award.

 

Read more on firm website
  • Education
  • Bar & Court Admissions
  • Affiliations
  • Award List
  • Additional Information
  • Lawyer of the Year Badge
  • Lawyer of the Year Badge
  • Lawyer of the Year Badge
  • Lawyer of the Year Badge

Education:

  • University of California, Berkeley School of Law, J.D., graduated 1993
  • Harvard University, A.B. (Magna Cum Laude), graduated 1990

Bar Admissions:

  • California, The State Bar of California
 

Court Admissions:

  • U.S. Supreme Court, 2013
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, 1st Circuit, 2012
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, 2nd Circuit, 2010
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, 3rd Circuit, 2001
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, 4th Circuit, 2008
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, 6th Circuit, 2008
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, 7th Circuit, 2006
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit, 2007
  • U.S. District Court, Central District of California, 2005
  • U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, 1995
  • U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California, 2012
  • U.S. District Court, District of Colorado, 2007

Affiliations:

  • American Bar Association, Labor and Employment Law Section - Governing Council, 2009 - present; Co-Chair, Section Conf., 2008 - 2009; Vice-Chair, Section Conf., 2007 - 2008; Co-Chair, Comm. on Equal Opportunity in the Legal Profession, 2006 - 2007
  • American Bar Association, Section of Litigation (Attorney Client Privilege Task Force, 2017-2018) - Member
  • American Law Institute - Elected Member, 2019
  • Bar Association of San Francisco - Board of Directors, 2005-2012; President, 2011-2012; President-Elect, 2010-2011; Treasurer, 2009-2010; Secretary, 2008-2009; Litigation Section; Executive Committee, 2002-2005
  • Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom - Member
  • Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area - Board of Directors, 1998 - 2005; Secretary, 1999 - 2003; Co-Chair, 2003 - 2005; Member, 1997-Present
  • Carver Healthy Environments and Response to Trauma in Schools - Steering Committee, 2007
  • College of Labor and Employment Lawyers - Fellow, 2015
  • Consumer Attorneys of California - Member
  • Equal Rights Advocates - Litigation Committee, 2000 - 2002
  • National Association of Women Judges - Independence of the Judiciary Co-Chair, 2011-2014; Resource Board, Co-Chair, 2009-2011; Member, 2005-2014
  • National Center for Lesbian Rights - Board of Directors, 2002 - 2008; Co-Chair, 2005 - 2006
  • National Employment Lawyers' Association - Member
  • Northern District of California Historical Society - Board of Directors (2015-Present)
  • Northern District of California Lawyer Representative to the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference - Member, 2007-2010
  • Pride Law Fund - Board of Directors, 1995 - 2002; Secretary, 1995 - 1997; Chairperson, 1997 - 2002
  • Public Justice Foundation - Member
  • State Bar of California - Member

Named "Lawyer of the Year" by Best Lawyers for:

  • Litigation - Labor and Employment, San Francisco (2020)
  • Employment Law - Individuals, San Francisco (2018)
  • Employment Law - Individuals, San Francisco (2014)
  • Product Liability Litigation - Plaintiffs, San Francisco (2013)
 

Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America for work in:

  • Employment Law - Individuals
  • Litigation - Labor and Employment
 

Awards:

  • AV Preeminent Peer Review Rated, Martindale-Hubbell
  • Selected for inclusion by peers in The Best Lawyers in America in fields of “Employment Law-Individuals” and “Litigation-Labor and Employment,” 2010-2021
  • “Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Employment Lawyers in America,” Lawdragon, 2018-2020
  • “Top 250 Women in Litigation,” Benchmark Litigation, 2016-2020
  • “Top 50 Women Northern California Super Lawyers,” Super Lawyers, 2007-2018, 2020
  • “Top 100 Northern California Super Lawyers,” Super Lawyers, 2007, 2009-2016, 2020
  • “Northern California Super Lawyer,” Super Lawyers, 2004-2020
  • “Margaret Brent Women Lawyers of Achievement Award,” American Bar Association Commission on Women in the Profession, 2019
  • “500 Leading Lawyers in America,” Lawdragon, 2010-2017, 2019
  • “Employment Law Trailblazer, National Law Journal, 2019
  • “Lawyer of the Year,” Best Lawyers, recognized in the category of Employment Law-Individuals for San Francisco, 2014, 2018
  • “Top Labor & Employment Lawyers,” Daily Journal, 2018-2019
  • “California Litigation Star,” Benchmark Litigation, 2013-2017
  • "Giant Slayer," The Recorder, 2016
  • “Top 100 Attorneys in California,” Daily Journal, 2012-2015
  • “Top 75 Labor and Employment Attorneys in California,” Daily Journal, 2011-2015
  • “Top California Women Lawyers,” Daily Journal, 2007, 2010, 2012-2018
  • Distinguished Jurisprudence Award, Anti-Defamation League, 2014
  • “Top 10 Northern California Super Lawyers,” Super Lawyers, 2014
  • “Dolores Huerta Adelita Award,” California Rural Legal Assistance, 2013
  • “Recommended Lawyer,” The Legal 500 (U.S. edition, 2013)
  • “Women of Achievement Award,” Legal Momentum (formerly the NOW Legal Defense & Education Fund), 2011
  • “Irish Legal 100” Finalist, The Irish Voice, 2010
  • “Florence K. Murray Award,” National Association of Women Judges, 2010
  • “Lawdragon Finalist,” Lawdragon, 2007-2009
  • “Community Service Award,” Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom, 2008
  • “Community Justice Award,” Centro Legal de la Raza, 2008
  • “Award of Merit,” Bar Association of San Francisco, 2007
  • “California Lawyer Attorney of the Year (CLAY) Award,” California Lawyer, 2007
  • “500 Leading Plaintiffs’ Lawyers in America,” Lawdragon, Winter 2007
  • “Trial Lawyer of the Year Finalist,” Public Justice Foundation, 2007
  • “Consumer Attorney of the Year” Finalist, Consumer Attorneys of California, 2006
  • “California’s Top 20 Lawyers Under 40,” Daily Journal, 2006
  • “Living the Dream Partner,” Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area, 2005
  • “Top Bay Area Employment Attorney,” The Recorder, 2004

Special Focus:

  • Employment
  • Individuals
 

Lawyer Client Comments

Lawyer Practice Areas

Key: Awarded in Best Lawyers Not Currently Awarded for this Area in Best Lawyers

Firm Details

Image for Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP View Firm Profile
Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP
http://www.lieffcabraser.com
 
Headquarters
275 Battery Street, 29th Floor
San Francisco, CA 94111
(415) 956.1000
4 Office Locations
in 2 Countries

Germany

Germany

Munich, Germany

Nympenburger Strasse 4, 5th Floor

Munich 80355

Germany

49 89 20 80 27 389

Get Directions

United States

United States

New York

New York

New York, NY

250 Hudson Street, Eighth Floor

New York, NY 10013

United States

(212) 355.9500

Get Directions

Tennessee

Tennessee

Nashville, TN

222 Second Avenue South, Suite 1640

Nashville, TN 37201

United States

(615) 313.9000

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