Overview
Jessica Mendelson is an Of Counsel in the Employment Law Department of Paul Hastings. Her practice focuses on employee mobility and intellectual property, including trade secrets, covenants not to compete, unfair competition, and fiduciary duties. She provides advice on best practices to protect and enforce intellectual property rights and restrictive covenants. On the transactional side, she prepares employee and executive contracts, focusing on the protection of trade secrets and the prevention of improper customer and employee solicitations.
Ms. Mendelson also has experience representing institutions of higher education in matters involving student discipline, sexual harassment and sexual assault (including litigation of and related to Title IX actions). In addition, Ms. Mendelson has experience representing employers in matters involving discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wrongful termination, breach of contract, and wage-and-hour issues.
Ms. Mendelson is the current co-Editor of the ABA Business and Corporate Litigation Section’s Recent Developments publication and co-chair of the ABA Business Law Section’s Publications subcommittee.
Prior to joining Paul Hastings, Ms. Mendelson practiced at a boutique firm in Los Angeles as well as a national firm in San Francisco. Ms. Mendelson received her law degree from UC Hastings College of the Law. During law school, she served as an extern to the Honorable Judge Marilyn H. Patel of the Northern District of California. She graduated from Brown University, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in History with honors, while also completing a concentration in Human Biology. Ms. Mendelson is admitted to practice law in California.
Recognitions
- State Bar of California Wiley W. Manual Award for Pro Bono Legal Services, for work provided to Bay Area Legal Aid (2012, 2013)
Education
- University of California, Hastings College of the Law, J.D., 2011
- Brown University, A.B. (honors), 2007
Representations
- Represented a large financial institution in arbitration for trade secret misappropriation, breach of contract, and various tort claims. After arbitration, obtained a complete victory for the company on all claims.
- Successfully obtained favorable settlement for a life sciences company in its lawsuit against a competitor and their senior executive for retaining confidential information after resigning, as well as for raiding employees.
- Successfully obtained dismissal of all claims with prejudice for a university client in a Title IX litigation
- Successfully obtained a favorable settlement for a university in a single-plaintiff discrimination case.
Matters may have been completed before joining Paul Hastings.
Engagement & Publications
- Moderator, ABA Business and Corporate Litigation Section Recent Developments Panel, 2019-2024
- Speaker, ABA Business and Corporate Litigation Section Recent Developments Panel, 2023
- Co-Host, To The Extent That. . . Podcast Series: Key Business Law Developments in Bite Size Pieces
- WebCredenza webinar entitled, “When Employees Leave” and Strafford webinar on “Litigating Trade Secret Misappropriation Claims,” 2019
- Law360 article entitled, “Navigating Recent State Efforts to Limit Use of Noncompetes,” Law360, Sept. 25, 2019
- “Careful, That Slice of Pizza May Be Full of Trade Secrets,” Law360, Oct. 11, 2013
- “Federal Court Allows Service on Foreign Defendants through Facebook,” IP Litigator
- “Be Careful What You Wish For: Urging Your Employees to Use Social Networking as a Marketing Tool May Well Blur the Line as to Who Owns ‘Your’ Trade Secrets,” ITech Law Journal
- “Theft of Trade Secrets Act,” Computer Law Review Int’l
Involvement
- Member of the GOLD Committee, Brown University
- Member of the UC Hastings Challenge Committee