Deborah R. Schwartz
Associate

Practice Areas

Experience

Deborah Schwartz is an attorney in Nixon Peabody LLP’s Labor and Employment Practice Group.  Deborah has extensive experience successfully representing employers in labor and employment litigation and dispute resolution, including single and multi-plaintiff and class action matters.  She also counsels employers on strategies to avoid litigation and provides comprehensive advice on employment law compliance. 

Deborah advises, trains and defends employers in all facets of employment law including recruiting and hiring; discipline and discharge; whistleblower-related issues; leaves of absence; harassment, discrimination, retaliation and wrongful discharge; wage and hour, classification, and other compensation issues; reductions in force; and human resources best practices.

She litigates frequently in state and federal courts, and has defended charges and claims by and/or pending before the California Department of Fair Employment Housing,  Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, California Labor Commissioner, California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board,  and California Workers' Compensation Appeals Board.

Deborah has been recognized as one of Super Lawyer's "Rising Stars" by the publishers of the Northern California Super Lawyers magazine for 2009.

Publications

• More Than Just E-Mail: Managing the Workplace Without Walls, February, 2003

Admissions

Deborah is admitted to practice in California.

Education

Northwestern University School of Law, J.D. (Northwestern Public Interest Fellowship, 1999; Justice John Paul Stevens Fellowship 1998)
University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, B.S., cum laude (Golden Key National Honors Society; Psi Chi Psychology Honors Society)

Affiliations

American Bar Association
Bar Association of San Francisco

Charitable/Civic Associations

Through the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights pro bono project, successfully represented tenant in week-long jury trial; junior high school students in expulsion hearings and on appeal; and multiple clients in obtaining political asylum.