Amy K. Todd

Amy K. Todd is the office managing principal of the San Diego, California office of Jackson Lewis P.C. representing, defending, and supporting employers faced with litigation throughout the State of California.  Amy is thrilled to have found her dream job in a role that rewards her long-time love of coaching and teaching associates as part of Jackson Lewis’s deeply held culture of mentoring and collaboration.  As importantly, Amy is excited to continue her active and robust litigation practice for her loyal clients throughout the State of California.

For the past 25 years, Amy has represented California employers in actions involving claims of harassment, discrimination, retaliation, whistleblowing and/or alleged wage and hour violations in federal and state court.  Amy takes a creative, hands-on approach to litigation, ensuring that she fully understands a client’s business, goals, and risk tolerance at the outset of any case.  She prioritizes partnering with employers to problem solve, provide true value, and works hard to achieve successful results—as defined by each individual client.  Amy has developed decades-long relationships with her clients, many of whom she considers friends and first met while working with them in other law firm environments.

Employers turn to Amy as a trusted advisor to help find creative solutions to thorny problems, and a significant part of Amy’s practice includes helping clients troubleshoot and prevent lawsuits through proactive advice and counseling.  When demand letters or lawsuits arrive at her clients’ front door, Amy is a tenacious litigator who vigorously defends her clients against everything from single or multi-plaintiff lawsuits to collective PAGA and class actions.  Amy’s experience includes: 

• Led the trial team and obtained a complete defense verdict for a national apparel retailer of all individual wage and hour, discrimination, harassment, and retaliation claims in arbitration, preventing the former employee’s representative PAGA action from proceeding in court.
• Represented a national corporation and successfully defeated class certification of an alleged policy and practice of failing to pay for all hours worked (i.e., “off the clock”), overtime, and final pay claims.
• Represented a national corporation providing project management and staff support to the federal government and successfully defeated class certification of Section 1981 race, national origin, and religious discrimination claims.
• Key member of the team defending a global technology company in a PAGA representative action through trial for alleged failure to provide meal periods, rest breaks, or to timely pay final wages and obtained a complete defense verdict.

Amy’s career began in Silicon Valley, and as a result she has developed long-term relationships with a number of tech companies and significant insight into the issues faced by employers in that industry.  Her commitment to listening, learning and truly understanding her clients’ business extends to a number of other industries, including retail automotive services, hospitality, and healthcare.  She now represents employers across multiple sectors throughout California, and she has obtained successful results for her clients through dispositive motions, jury verdicts, court judgments, arbitration rulings, and favorable settlements.

Amy is active in her community supporting a number of legal organizations that are near and dear to her heart, including through her active pro bono practice.  When Amy is not thinking about creative litigation strategies, she is spending time with her three young children and can often be found cheering her children on at their soccer games or Parkour tournaments on the weekends.