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Jessica L. Marinelli has been in-house employment counsel and seconded to multinational publicly-traded corporations, which gives her unique insight into clients’ goals and the many legal, practical and strategic interests they must often balance. She partners with employers of all sizes, nationwide, to create streamlined human resources (HR), legal and employment processes and proactively manage workforce issues throughout the lifecycle of employment, including:

• Advice and counsel on issues related to workplace investigations, attorney-client privilege, hiring, performance management, discipline and separation of employment, disability accommodation and leave of absence administration, Colorado Paid Sick Leave under the Healthy Families and Workplaces Act (HFWA)
• Organizational effectiveness/legal operations consulting and HR/legal program development designed to help companies not only achieve compliance with applicable employment laws, but also scale and grow efficiently, break down silos between internal stakeholders, and strategically use information learned through company compliance processes to drive value
• Innovation, including authoring Littler’s Investigation Toolkit for Employers
• In-house compliance training for supervisors, managers and employees on conducting internal investigations, ethics and attorney-client privilege, harassment, discrimination, retaliation, bystander intervention, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
• Multistate employment templates, agreements and communications for use throughout the employment relationship, such as offer letters, policies, handbooks, arbitration agreements, separation agreements, reduction in force documents, internal investigation resources and interactive process templates
• Discrimination, harassment and retaliation claims under federal, California and Colorado state law (including administrative agency charges before the EEOC, California CRD (formerly DFEH) and CCRD), including claims based on race, national origin, age, religion, pregnancy, sex, sexual orientation and disability
• California state wage and hour issues and DLSE claims, including claims involving minimum wage obligations, overtime wage compensation obligations, meal and rest break issues, reporting time pay, final wages and waiting time penalties

Jessica collaborates with clients to understand their goals and thinks strategically, practically and holistically to realize those goals. Her advice is not limited to what the law permits or requires – she also considers public relations, employee morale, and how her clients can make legal/HR operations more efficient and drive value. She crafts real-world solutions to workplace issues before they become litigation matters.  However, when litigation does occur, she has represented clients in administrative complaint proceedings, arbitration, mediation and in court. She often works with clients in healthcare, senior living, Fintech, outdoor/recreation/sports, property management, transportation, hospitality, retail, and food and beverage, but she has experience in a wide array of industries.

An endearing and effective public speaker, Jessica regularly leverages her improv background to present fun, engaging and interactive in-house training sessions to managers and employees and bring employment law compliance concepts to life.

Prior to joining Littler, Jessica was a legal fellow for the U.S. House of Representatives in Washington, D.C., and she was a judicial extern for the Superior Court of California in Los Angeles. In law school, Jessica served as a senior editor of the Washington University Law Review.

Darren Gibson is a zealous advocate and trusted advisor to private businesses and public sector employers. Darren vigorously defends his clients in restrictive covenant and trade secret litigation, discrimination and retaliation claims, and class and collective actions, among others. Darren loves the courtroom, is not afraid to take cases to trial, and regularly handles temporary injunction hearings and appeals. In addition, he conducts workplace investigations across the country, with deep experience investigating allegations against senior executives and leaders.

Darren has a particular focus representing higher education, healthcare, and financial institutions, and he serves as co-chair of Littler’s Higher Education Industry Group. Darren’s higher education experience includes representing universities and related individuals in employment and Title IX litigation and conducting investigations into sexual harassment and sexual misconduct under Title IX.

Darren is board certified in labor and employment law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Prior to his return to private practice, Darren worked at the Attorney General of Texas, where he defended state agencies and universities in employment litigation and class actions. Before coming to Texas, Darren was a senior associate in New York City, where his practice focused on securities litigation, internal investigations, and business disputes in the accounting and financial services industries.