Elena Baca

Practice Areas

Elena Baca is the Global Chair of the Paul Hastings Employment Law Department and leads a diverse group of more than 80 lawyers in 10 offices around the world. Ms. Baca has navigated high-stakes litigation, conducted sensitive investigations and advised C-suite executives and corporate boards on compliance and regulatory issues involving human capital. In her role as practice Chair, Paul Hastings’ Employment department has anticipated and led the response to evolving employment issues including employee and shareholder activism, AI, COVID, DEI and ESG. As an experienced trial attorney, Ms. Baca has established an impressive record of defense verdicts and arbitration wins representing a wide variety of corporate clients. Her adversarial practice is primarily focused on employment related issues, such as employee mobility, discrimination, wage and hour, and whistleblower issues. She is considered a “go-to” employment lawyer for many large employers with high-profile disputes involving high-level executives and contentious high-stakes litigation (including class action claims). Ms. Baca's litigation track record and outstanding trial victories stand out in the legal marketplace, due to both her sheer volume of wins and the ways in which these decisions are helping to shape future employment and labor law, particularly in California.

Ms. Baca received her B.S. degree in Justice Studies with a minor in General Business from Arizona State University. She received her J.D. degree from the University of Notre Dame School of Law, where she was vice president of the Hispanic American Law Students Association, an officer of the Sports and Entertainment Association, and a research assistant and editor for two publications, The Attorney General's Lawyer and The Complex Civil Litigation Manual and Textbook.