Lynne Hermle

Partner

Silicon Valley

lchermle@orrick.com

Read full biography at www.orrick.com
Lynne Hermle, a Silicon Valley employment partner, has a long track record of winning high-profile jury trials on behalf of industry-leading clients, defeating class certification and obtaining summary judgment.

She has significant experience working on complex discrimination and wage-and-hour class actions for global leaders in the retail and technology sectors including The Gap, Genentech, Microsoft, Sears, Burlington Coat Factory, Gymboree, Spencer’s Gifts, Banana Republic, Old Navy, Williams Sonoma and Pottery Barn Kids, among many others.

Lynne led the trial team that obtained a complete defense verdict for Kleiner Perkins in Pao v. Kleiner Perkins, the high-stakes gender discrimination and retaliation case that garnered intense international media scrutiny. In naming Lynne “Litigator of the Week” for this victory, American Lawyer described her effective voir dire and how she “steadily poked holes in Pao’s testimony.” The Recorder called Lynne’s cross-examination “masterful” and Bloomberg reported that her “charismatic, intimidating oratory made her the trial’s breakout star.”

Following Pao, Lynne secured a complete defense verdict for SpaceX in an $8 million gender discrimination and retaliation suit. The Daily Journal called the outcome “another triumph for Hermle,” observing that her “string of successes for tech clients fighting off gender harassment and discrimination claims got longer.” The publication also pronounced Lynne to be “arguably the most feared employment defense attorney in California.”  Eight months later she followed that up with another defense verdict for SpaceX in a wrongful discharge and retaliation case. 

In recognition of these successes and career trial work, Lynne was inducted into the American College of Trial Lawyers in 2017.

Posts by: Lynne Hermle

All Aboard! California Law Requires More Female Representation on Boards of Directors

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As part of its effort to close gender-based pay gaps, California will now require companies to increase female representation on boards of directors.

Currently, one in four publicly held corporations in California have no women on their boards of directors. SB 826, which Governor Jerry Brown signed into law at the end of September, requires that all publicly held corporations based in California have at least one woman director by December 31, 2019. That is not the end of the requirements; by December 31, 2021, companies with five authorized directors must have a minimum of two female board members, and companies with at least six directors must have a minimum of three females on the board. The California Secretary of State will publish the names of compliant and non-compliant companies on an annual basis. In addition to the “name and shame” provisions, non-compliant companies face fines of $100,000 for the first violation and $300,000 for subsequent violations. READ MORE →