Kelly M. Dermody
A Leader in the Plaintiffs' Bar For Workers and Consumers
Kelly is Managing Partner of the San Francisco office of Lieff, Cabraser, Heimann & Bernstein, LLP. She chairs the firm’s employment practice group and specializes in class and collective actions on behalf of employees. Kelly is a nationally-recognized advocate in the areas of pay equity, #metoo, and diversity and inclusion, and has prosecuted numerous cases challenging unfair hiring, promotion, compensation, and performance systems.
The Daily Journal observed that Kelly’s
"values have translated into real workday value for lots of people — people who have won better job opportunities from companies like Abercrombie & Fitch, Home Depot, and Smith Barney, or monetary damages from banks that have engaged in predatory lending and servicing.”
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. She is a past member of the ABA Labor and Employment Law Section governing Council, where she also previously served as Co-Chair of the Section’s Annual Conference, Committee on Diversity in the Legal Profession, and Equal Employment Opportunity Committee. The Daily Journal has 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. In 2016, The Recorder awarded her the “Dragon Slayer” award for her litigation work.
Kelly has received awards from charitable and civic organizations, including the National Association of Women Judges, the Anti-Defamation League, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area, California Rural Legal Assistance, Legal Momentum, Equal Rights Advocates, Centro Legal de la Raza, and Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom. Kelly received a B.A. degree from Harvard University and a J.D. degree from Berkeley Law School, UC Berkeley. She clerked for the Hon. John T. Nixon, U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, before joining Lieff Cabraser.
Kelly has been named as a 2019 recipient of the Margaret Brent Women Lawyers of Achievement Award.
- AV Preeminent Peer Review Rated, Martindale-Hubbell
- Selected for inclusion by peers in The Best Lawyers in America in fields of “Employment Law-Individuals” and “Litigation-Labor and Employment,” 2010-2021
- “Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Employment Lawyers in America,” Lawdragon, 2018-2020
- “Top 250 Women in Litigation,” Benchmark Litigation, 2016-2020
- “Top 50 Women Northern California Super Lawyers,” Super Lawyers, 2007-2018, 2020
- “Top 100 Northern California Super Lawyers,” Super Lawyers, 2007, 2009-2016, 2020
- “Northern California Super Lawyer,” Super Lawyers, 2004-2020
- “Margaret Brent Women Lawyers of Achievement Award,” American Bar Association Commission on Women in the Profession, 2019
- “500 Leading Lawyers in America,” Lawdragon, 2010-2017, 2019
- “Employment Law Trailblazer, National Law Journal, 2019
- “Lawyer of the Year,” Best Lawyers, recognized in the category of Employment Law-Individuals for San Francisco, 2014, 2018
- “Top Labor & Employment Lawyers,” Daily Journal, 2018-2019
- “California Litigation Star,” Benchmark Litigation, 2013-2017
- "Giant Slayer," The Recorder, 2016
- “Top 100 Attorneys in California,” Daily Journal, 2012-2015
- “Top 75 Labor and Employment Attorneys in California,” Daily Journal, 2011-2015
- “Top California Women Lawyers,” Daily Journal, 2007, 2010, 2012-2018
- Distinguished Jurisprudence Award, Anti-Defamation League, 2014
- “Top 10 Northern California Super Lawyers,” Super Lawyers, 2014
- “Dolores Huerta Adelita Award,” California Rural Legal Assistance, 2013
- “Recommended Lawyer,” The Legal 500 (U.S. edition, 2013)
- “Women of Achievement Award,” Legal Momentum (formerly the NOW Legal Defense & Education Fund), 2011
- “Irish Legal 100” Finalist, The Irish Voice, 2010
- “Florence K. Murray Award,” National Association of Women Judges, 2010
- “Lawdragon Finalist,” Lawdragon, 2007-2009
- “Community Service Award,” Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom, 2008
- “Community Justice Award,” Centro Legal de la Raza, 2008
- “Award of Merit,” Bar Association of San Francisco, 2007
- “California Lawyer Attorney of the Year (CLAY) Award,” California Lawyer, 2007
- “500 Leading Plaintiffs’ Lawyers in America,” Lawdragon, Winter 2007
- “Trial Lawyer of the Year Finalist,” Public Justice Foundation, 2007
- “Consumer Attorney of the Year” Finalist, Consumer Attorneys of California, 2006
- “California’s Top 20 Lawyers Under 40,” Daily Journal, 2006
- “Living the Dream Partner,” Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area, 2005
- “Top Bay Area Employment Attorney,” The Recorder, 2004
San Francisco, California 94111
