Lisa Bertain

Lisa Bertain has been a shareholder with Keesal, Young & Logan in its San Francisco office since 1994.  As an active trial lawyer, Ms. Bertain has regularly defends employers in state and federal courts as well as before FINRA, AAA and JAMS.

As part of her employment practice, Ms. Bertain regularly defends employers in cases involving claims for discrimination, harassment, wrongful termination, defamation, wrongful interference, whistleblower (including Dodd-Frank Act and Sarbanes-Oxley), wage and hour, breach of contract, unfair competition, Privacy Act (including Penal Code Section 632), bonus claims, and related causes of action.  Ms. Bertain also regularly advises clients regarding compliance with employment laws and the preparation of employee manuals.

A significant part of Ms. Bertain’s practice is devoted to class actions.  Over the past nine years, Ms. Bertain has been lead counsel defending companies in state and federal court in connection with class actions involving alleged wage and hour violations, unfair business practices and Private Attorney General Act claims.

Examples of class action cases for which Ms. Bertain was lead counsel include:

• Motion to Dismiss granted as to Mendiola-based overtime claims in class action filed by workers on oil platforms.
• Motion to Compel Arbitration granted and case stayed in meal period putative class action.
• Defeated class certification in meal period class action filed by bank employee on behalf of over 8,000 employees.
• Dismissal of overtime misclassification class action brought by Financial Advisor on behalf of over 1,000 employees.  After deposition, class representative resigned.  Defeated plaintiff’s motion to find a new class rep.  Case dismissed by Court.
• Motion to Stay granted and class claims ultimately dismissed in class action brought by financial advisor on behalf of over 1,300 other financial advisors alleging that promissory notes were invalid.
• Successful resolution of over 15 additional class actions.

Examples of other employment cases for which Ms. Bertain was lead counsel include:

• Jury verdict in a disability discrimination claim after 10-day jury trial.
• Defense award in arbitration filed by former almost 30-year employee alleging 12 causes of action including age discrimination, retaliation, wrongful termination in violation of public policy, interference with prospective economic  advantage, fraud, and other claims.
• Defense award in arbitration filed by former financial advisor making whistleblower and retaliation claims (including SOX and Dodd-Frank; obtained affirmative recovery on financial advisor’s promissory note of over full amount of principal, interest, and attorneys’ fees (over $300,000).
• Defense award in arbitration filed by former long- time financial advisor claiming sex and age discrimination, retaliation, and wrongful termination.
• Recovery of over $2 million against former team financial advisors who left firm with outstanding promissory notes. Dismissal of $10 million counterclaim without paying any money.

As part of her securities practice, over the past 24 years, Ms. Bertain has tried cases involving with claims for breach of contract, fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, suitability-related claims, negligence, negligent supervision, fraud, violation of NASD and NYSE and FINRA Rules, and violation of the Securities Exchange Act and related state statutes.

Ms. Bertain has participated in speaking engagements on various employment-related issues including discrimination, wage and hour issues, whistleblowers, harassment, and class actions for the Continuing Education of the Bar (“CEB”), the California Trial Lawyers Association (“CTLA”), American Trial Lawyers Association (“ATLA”), Practicing Law Institute (“PLI”), the Association of Western Securities Managers, and Securities Industry Financial Markets Association (“SIFMA”) and seminars for clients.  Ms. Bertain also recently participated in California Lawyer’s 2013 Employment Roundtable Series.  The discussion was published in the October 2013 edition of California Lawyer.

In 2005 and 2007, Ms. Bertain was voted onto the “BTI Client Service All-Star Team for Law Firms” as selected by the Fortune 1000 Corporate Counsel. Ms. Bertain has been named a Northern California “Super Lawyer” every year from 2005 through 2016.  She is a member of the National Charity League and regularly volunteers for various San Francisco charities.  Ms. Bertain also serves on the Salvation Army San Francisco Advisory Board and the San Francisco Child Abuse Prevention Center Board.

Prior to joining Keesal, Young & Logan in 1989, Ms. Bertain was a Deputy District Attorney in the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office.  Ms. Bertain received her undergraduate degree from the University of California, Berkeley in 1982.  Ms. Bertain graduated with honors from the University of San Francisco School of Law in 1986.

Practice Areas

• Employment
• Securities
• Class Actions
• Business Litigation