Jessica R. L. James

Jessica's practice involves employment litigation on a variety of legal issues, including defense of class action and single-plaintiff claims of discrimination, harassment, wrongful termination, misclassification, and other wage-and-hour violations.  She also has experience in defending and advising industry leaders regarding pay equity and compensation analysis in response to civil litigation, OFCCP and EEOC investigations, and other claims of systemic discrimination.

Jessica regularly counsel clients on a variety of employment-related issues, including human resources policies and procedures, separation agreements, employee termination, and compliance with various state and federal regulations, including the Equal Pay Act (EPA), Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN).  As part of her counseling role, she frequently conducts training programs for her clients, including trainings on sexual harassment and discrimination prevention.  Jessica also has significant experience conducting internal investigations in response to claims of misconduct.

Jessica's experience also includes business litigation on issues beyond the employment context, relating to white collar criminal defense, corporate investigations, and complex commercial litigation.

Prior to joining Orrick, Jessica served for two years as a judicial clerk for the Nevada Supreme Court.  She earned her J.D. from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law, where she was Editor-in-Chief of the McGeorge Law Review and graduated Order of the Coif.  She also served as a judicial extern for the California Court of Appeal, Third Appellate District.