Kelly Dermody

Practice Areas

The Managing Partner of Lieff Cabraser’s San Francisco office, Kelly M. Dermody specializes in class and collective actions on behalf of plaintiffs in civil rights, employment, and consumer cases, including gender discrimination cases against Google, KPMG, and Goldman Sachs. Her additional case work includes wage suppression claims against technology, healthcare, and academic institutions; overtime and lost pay lawsuits for low-wage workers, I/T professionals, and foreign nationals working for American corporations; and ERISA claims that she has tried on behalf of employees and retirees for pension plan abuses. In 2020, Kelly led the team that successfully challenged the Trump Administration’s improper withholding of CARES Act stimulus funds from incarcerated Americans, leading to the release and distribution of $1.5 billion in stimulus funds, in what is considered the largest recovery for a targeted class from a single lawsuit in history.

Career

Managing Partner of Lieff Cabraser’s San Francisco office, Kelly Dermody is Chair of the American Bar Association’s Section of Labor and Employment Law and a member of the ABA’s Diversity & Inclusion Advisory Council. Kelly specializes in civil rights and employment class and collective actions on behalf of plaintiffs, and individual cases addressing sexual abuse, harassment, and trafficking. Kelly is a nationally-recognized advocate in the areas of pay equity, #metoo, and diversity and inclusion. She has prosecuted a long series of cases challenging unfair hiring, promotion, compensation, and performance systems.

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. The Daily Journal has repeatedly 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. The Recorder awarded her its prestigious “Giant Slayer” award for her litigation work, and she is a Board member of the Equal Justice Society, a national non-profit focused on transforming the nation’s consciousness on race and racial equity.

Professional Memberships

-American Bar Association, Diversity & Inclusion Advisory Council

-American Bar Association, Labor and Employment Law Section (Governing Council, 2009-present; Current Chair; Chair-Elect, 2020-2021; 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)

-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

-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, 2007-2012)

-College of Labor and Employment Lawyers (Elected Fellow, 2015)

-Consumer Attorneys of California

-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-present)

-National Center for Lesbian Rights (Board of Directors, 2002-2008; Co-Chair, 2005-2006)

-National Employment Lawyers’ Association

-Northern District of California Historical Society (Board of Directors, 2015-2018)

-Northern District of California Lawyer Representative to the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference (2007-2010)

-Pride Law Fund (Board of Directors, 1995-2002; Secretary, 1995-1997; Chairperson, 1997-2002)

-Public Justice Foundation

-State Bar of California

Education

Awards