Janie Schulman is co-chair of Morrison & Foerster’s Employment and Labor Group where, for more than 25 years, she has specialized in employment and trade secrets litigation and counseling. Partnering with clients to achieve their business goals, Ms. Schulman has developed expertise in employment law issues unique to many industries, such as financial services, technology, medical/life sciences, retail and hospitality.
Ms. Schulman litigates complex lawsuits alleging misappropriation of trade secrets, employee and customer raiding, unfair competition and breach of restrictive covenants. She has successfully defended employers in disputes alleging Sarbanes-Oxley Act and other whistleblowing retaliation, wage-and-hour disputes, wrongful discharge, sexual harassment, employee privacy and employment discrimination.
Ms. Schulman is also an advisor who is intimately familiar with the many laws and regulations governing the employer-employee relationship. She regularly counsels clients on wage-and-hour compliance, trade secret protection and restrictive covenants, reductions in force, and disability and other leaves of absence. She advises on the employment law aspects of corporate and real estate transactions; negotiates and drafts employment agreements and conducts audits and on-site harassment and other training. Ms. Schulman advises clients on business immigration, with a focus on the government’s stepped-up worksite enforcement of the Immigration Reform and Control Act.
Ms. Schulman often writes for and speaks to audiences of human resources professionals, executives and lawyers about current employment law topics. She is the lead author of the 2013 Cumulative Supplement to Whistleblowing: The Law of Retaliatory Discharge, Second Edition (BNA Books 2004) and is a contributing editor to Trade Secrets (Law Journal Press).
Ms. Schulman was recently elected as a Fellow of the American College of Labor and Employment Lawyers. She has been recognized as a leading attorney in employment and labor law by Best Lawyers in America (2012–2015) and is peer-review rated “AV Preeminent” by Martindale.com.
Ms. Schulman devotes substantial time to pro bono legal and community service. In 2001, she received the Los Angeles County Bar Association Honorable Benjamin Aranda III Outstanding Public Service Award and the Spirit of Hope Award from Being Alive. Ms. Schulman was the founding president of the Silverlake Independent Jewish Community Center, is a vice chair of the Board of the Children’s Bureau, and serves on the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees of the Chandler School. For more than 20 years, she has provided pro bono representation to the Children’s Bureau and Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services.
Ms. Schulman earned her B.A. with distinction in 1983 from the University of California at Berkeley and her J.D. in 1987 from the Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California, where she was elected to the Order of the Coif.
