Amber A. Eklof

Amber Eklof is a Partner in the Employment Practice Group in the San Francisco office of GRSM. Her practice focuses on labor and employment litigation for both single plaintiff and class action matters.  Amber defends individuals and employers in all phases of litigation including discrimination, harassment, retaliation, hostile work environment, disability accommodation, family medical leave laws, Title IX, ADA violations, wrongful termination, whistleblower claims, and alleged wage and hour violations.

Amber regularly handles matters in state and federal court, as well as matters before administrative agencies such as the Department of Labor, the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, the Department of Fair Employment and Housing, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Office for Civil Rights and the Workers Compensation Appeals Board.

In addition to her litigation practice, Amber counsels corporations, small businesses, restaurants, and educational institutions on a wide-range of employment matters, including individual terminations, reductions in workforce and wage and hour compliance.

While in law school, Amber specialized in employment law and served as an extern for the Honorable Magistrate Maria-Elena James of the Northern District of California, where she worked on a wide variety of civil matters.  Amber was also actively involved in the Moot Court Program as the Internal Advocacy, running the First Year Moot Court Program and USF’s annual internal competition, Advocate of the Year.

Admissions

• California
• U.S. District Court, Northern and Eastern Districts of California
• U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit

Memberships

• Defense Research Institute
  • DRI Employment Law Committee
  • DRI Young Lawyers Committee – Supreme Court Subcommittee Chair
  • DRI Young Lawyers Committee – Former Wellness Subcommittee Chair
  • DRI Young Lawyers Committee – Former Philanthropy Subcommittee Chair
• American Bar Association Labor and Employment

Community Involvement

• Volunteer for Back on My Feet, a national organization combatting homelessness through running and community support.

Examples of Ms. Eklof’s extensive range of experience include the following:

• Obtained a complete defense verdict following a seven-week jury trial conducted via Zoom on behalf of the firm’s University client. The plaintiff was a former assistant professor accused of sexual harassment by four students. As a result, the plaintiff was terminated following multiple Title IX investigations, an investigation by faculty investigators, and a hearing conducted by the University’s Committee on Privilege & Tenure. The allegations against the plaintiff were widely publicized at the time, as was the decision to terminate him. In response, the plaintiff alleged that he had been subjected to disability discrimination, harassment, and retaliation. Specifically, he denied the sexual harassment allegations and claimed that his disability was the real motivation to terminate him. The plaintiff requested an award of several million dollars, but the jury returned a defense verdict in favor of the University and awarded the plaintiff nothing. The University filed a cross-complaint against the plaintiff to recover money paid to settle claims filed by the four students who had accused the plaintiff of sexual harassment. The jury also found in favor of the University with respect to the cross-complaint.
• Obtained dismissal within days of trial for a public Bay Area university, where the Plaintiff-Professor alleged discrimination, retaliation and tort claims for emotional distress.
• Defense judgment for mobility industry technology company before the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE).
• Obtained a complete arbitration defense award for a Silicon Valley medical technology start-up before a San Francisco JAMS arbitrator.
• Motion for summary adjudication granted for a Bay Area university client in a state employment dispute where a former professor-plaintiff alleged various claims of invasion of privacy and disability-related claims.
• Negotiated numerous favorable resolutions of multiple wage and hour class actions for restaurants, private universities and lending organizations.
• Complete dismissal of numerous state and federal court cases on demurrer and motions to dismiss for small businesses and university clients.

Publications

• Regular contributor to Raising the Bar, the newsletter of DRI's Young Lawyers Committee, October 2018-October 2020
• The Viability of Language Restrictive Policies in the Workplace, ADC Defense Comment, Summer 2017
• Department of Labor Finalizes New “Persuader” Rule With Potentially Detrimental Repercussions, The Job Description, Defense Research Institute, April 2016

Presentations

• Watch List: Employment Litigation Alert 2023, GRSM Legal Education Conference, San Francisco, CA, September 2023
• Trial Roles: How to Excel From Third Chair to First, DRI’s Young Lawyers Virtual Seminar, October 2020

Education

J.D., University of San Francisco School of Law

• Certificate of Specialization in Labor and Employment Law
• CALI Award for Excellence in Employee Benefits (ERISA)
• Intensive Advocacy Program
• Merit Plus Scholarship Recipient
• USF Moot Court Program: Internal Advocacy Director, First Year Moot Court Case Counsel
• Labor and Employment Law Association
• Women’s Law Association

B.A., Political Science, University of California, Los Angeles

• Dean’s List
• Order of Omega honor society
• Delta Delta Delta
• Watts Tutorial Program