| Claire Kennedy-Wilkins ckw@ssrlawgroup.com Ms. Kennedy-Wilkins has an extensive background in plaintiff-side Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) and wage and hour litigation. Prior to joining Springer-Sullivan & Roberts LLP, Ms. Kennedy-Wilkins worked at an Oakland employment law firm where she successfully litigated numerous individual and class action ERISA and wage and hour cases. Her notable cases include: Barnes v. AT&T Pension Benefit Plan NonBargained Program, --- F.Supp.2d ----, 2010 WL 2507769 (N.D.Cal. June 22, 2010) (granting Plaintiff's motion to strike AT&T's affirmative defenses); Rosenburg v. International Business Machines Corp., Case No. CV 06-00430 PJH (N.D. Cal.) (wage and hour/ERISA class action, settled for $65 million); Gerlach v. Wells Fargo, Case No. 05-CV-00585-CW (N.D. Cal.) (wage and hour/ERISA class action, settled for $12.8 million); Williams v. American Home Mortgage Holdings, Inc., Case No. 04-cv-05299-JS-ARL (E.D.N.Y.) (ERISA pension benefit class action); Scott v. Unum Life Ins. Co. of America, Case No. C 05-275 JF (PVT) (N.D. Cal.) (ERISA long-term disability case); Breber v. Arthur Andersen LLP Group Acc. and Health Ins. Plan, Case No. C 05-03294 JSW (N.D. Cal.) (ERISA long-term disability case); Farhat v. Hartford Life and Acc. Ins. Co., Case No. C 05-0797 PJH (N.D. Cal.) (ERISA long-term disability case). Ms. Kennedy-Wilkins is a Rewrite Editor to Sacher, et al., EMPLOYEE BENEFITS LAW (BNA 2008 Cumulative Supplement), Chapter 10, "Fiduciary Responsibility." She has also been a contributing writer on numerous amicus curiae briefs for the National Employment Lawyers Association, including LaRue v. DeWolff, Boberg & Associates, Inc.,127 S.Ct. 2971 (2007) (brief available at 2007 WL 2287651); Milofsky v. American Airlines, Inc., 442 F.3d 311 (5th Cir. 2005); Langbecker v. Electronic Data Systems Incorporation, 476 F.3d 299 (5th Cir. 2007). Ms. Kennedy-Wilkins is also the author of “Protecting Employee Benefits for Parents of Ill Children and Children with Disabilities,” for Wrightslaw, an organization advocating for the rights of children with disabilities and their parents. Ms. Kennedy-Wilkins has previously served as acting general counsel for the Tony Patiño Fellowship, a non-profit organization providing merit-based awards to individuals with a demonstrated commitment to public service. Ms. Kennedy-Wilkins has also conducted research and advocacy work for the United Kingdom Lesbian and Gay Immigration Group (UKLGIG), a London-based organization working to protect the legal rights of gay and lesbian asylum seekers in the United Kingdom. Ms. Kennedy-Wilkins served as a law clerk to the Honorable Irma E. Gonzalez of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California. Ms. Kennedy-Wilkins graduated third in her class at the University of California, Hastings College of the Law, where she was a member of the Hastings Law Journal and authored the Note, Playing Ostrich with the FAA's History: the Scope of Mandatory Arbitration of Employment Contracts, 54 Hastings L.J. 1593 (2003). Ms. Kennedy-Wilkins received numerous honors and designations at Hastings, including 6 Witkin Awards for Academic Excellence, Thurston Society, Order of the Coif, and Tony Patiño Fellow. Ms. Kennedy-Wilkins is admitted to practice before the California Supreme Court; the Ninth Circuit United States Court of Appeals; the Fifth Circuit United States Court of Appeals, and the United States District Court for the Northern, Central, Eastern and Southern Districts of California. |
It’s always been important for me to
believe in what I’m doing and as long as I
can remember, I have been passionate
about advocating for the rights of those in
need. When I decided to go to law school,
I knew that I wasn’t interested in the vast
majority of the jobs that would be
available to me. I was so pleased to find
an area of the law -- and law firm -- that
is such a great fit for me personally. I
love the intellectual challenge and the fact
that I have the real ability to make a
difference in people’s lives. I certainly
believe in the work I do and I get great
satisfaction from it.
I currently spend most of my non-working
hours trying to keep one step ahead of my
very energetic toddler. I have learned so
much from being a mother to my son,
including how to be a more patient and
flexible person. His ability to take such
great joy in the smallest pleasures is a
great reminder to enjoy the many good
things in life. Our son is being raised
bilingual and even though he seems to
have a much easier time acquiring new
language skills, I am determined to keep
up with him and have started taking
Turkish classes. My family and I are
currently living abroad and I am doing my
best to take full advantage of this
opportunity to explore a new place and
culture. In my free time, I enjoy spending
time outside exploring the city on foot as
well as cooking and eating good food.
believe in what I’m doing and as long as I
can remember, I have been passionate
about advocating for the rights of those in
need. When I decided to go to law school,
I knew that I wasn’t interested in the vast
majority of the jobs that would be
available to me. I was so pleased to find
an area of the law -- and law firm -- that
is such a great fit for me personally. I
love the intellectual challenge and the fact
that I have the real ability to make a
difference in people’s lives. I certainly
believe in the work I do and I get great
satisfaction from it.
I currently spend most of my non-working
hours trying to keep one step ahead of my
very energetic toddler. I have learned so
much from being a mother to my son,
including how to be a more patient and
flexible person. His ability to take such
great joy in the smallest pleasures is a
great reminder to enjoy the many good
things in life. Our son is being raised
bilingual and even though he seems to
have a much easier time acquiring new
language skills, I am determined to keep
up with him and have started taking
Turkish classes. My family and I are
currently living abroad and I am doing my
best to take full advantage of this
opportunity to explore a new place and
culture. In my free time, I enjoy spending
time outside exploring the city on foot as
well as cooking and eating good food.