Portfolio

The partners of Levy Vinick Burrell Hyams LLP have, collectively, represented plaintiffs in employment cases for almost a century. Our current practice reflects our commitment to helping employees remedy problems that have occurred in the workplace. We represent employees in state and federal courts, as well as in arbitration and mediation.

Darci Burrell

darci@burrellkagin.com | LinkedIn | 510-318-7704

Reach Darci Burrell through her new law firm — Burrell Kagin Law — via the contact information listed above.

Darci Burrell’s dedication to advancing the rights of society’s less powerful is equaled only by her devotion to the rule of law. An unyielding advocate for her clients, Ms. Burrell’s innovative legal work has expanded the bounds of civil rights law.

She is particularly noted for the novel application of “aiding and abetting” claims to employment discrimination cases, including one case against a psychiatrist who determined that an African American employee was unfit for duty because she kept raising claims of racial discrimination in the workplace.

Darci is a founding partner of Burrell Kagin Law. In the fourteen years prior to that, she was a partner with Levy Vinick Burrell Hyams LLP, where she successfully litigated and tried cases on behalf of women subjected to gender discrimination and sexual harassment, people subjected to racial discrimination and harassment, people with disabilities, whistleblowers, tradeswomen and other women in non-traditional employment, and others, against both corporations and public entities.

Darci has practiced civil rights and public interest law since she graduated from UCLA Law School in 1995, beginning with a year serving as the Ruth Chance Law Fellow with Equal Rights Advocates, a women’s employment law center in San Francisco. In that position, Darci represented women and girls in cases involving sexual harassment and gender-based discrimination. She also advocated on behalf of women in non-traditional employment, including tradeswomen and fire fighters.

Darci then joined the NAACP Legal Defense Fund as a staff attorney, litigating class action lawsuits on behalf of, among others, female police officers, African American probation officers, and residents of a largely-Latino neighborhood fighting a new freeway extension.

Darci returned to the Bay Area in 1998 to serve as a Civil Rights Attorney with the U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, enforcing laws against discrimination in education on the basis of race, ethnicity, age, gender and disability. Two years later, she joined Goldstein, Demchak, Baller, Borgen & Dardarian as a civil litigator involved in a variety of employment discrimination and wage and hour class action lawsuits. She then moved to Boxer & Gerson’s employment practice group as a Senior Associate.

Darci speaks regularly on employment issues throughout the country. Since 2019, she has also been a Contributing Editor for the Rutter Group’s California Practice Guide: Employment Litigation. In 2020, she also participated in a project for the Continuing Education of the Bar (CEB), creating sample briefs, complaints, and strategic guides for California employment lawyers.

Outside the office, Darci immerses herself in everything the East Bay has to offer, particularly outdoor adventures and popular culture. She is a regular at many Oakland gathering spots, and a reliable source for the best tips on Oakland’s vibrant local food and music scene.

B.A., University of California, San Diego 1991
J.D., University of California, Los Angeles 1995

Rebecca Kagin

rebecca@burellkagin.com | LinkedIn | 707-765-1111

Reach Rebecca Kagin through her new law firm — Burrell Kagin Law — via the contact information above.

Creating a personalized, client-focused experience is Rebecca’s passion, as she deeply resonates with the challenges her clients face and believes in strongly advocating for them to meet their goals.

Now based in the North Bay but serving all of California, Rebecca is dedicated to supporting workers in achieving justice in a wide variety of workplace disputes — including discrimination, harassment, retaliation, negotiation of severance agreements and reasonable accommodation guidance to help employees with disabilities keep their jobs. Rebecca honed her skills working with legendary Bay Area women litigators, including all of the former partners of Levy Vinick Burrell Hyams to develop a guiding compass where the client always comes first. Rebecca served as Of Counsel to LVBH for three years prior to forming Burrell Kagin Law as well as running her own solo practice out of Sonoma County for over a decade.

Earlier in her career, Rebecca advocated for employees in Seattle, Washington, during law school, by representing workers in unemployment appeals at the Unemployment Law Project, nuclear whistleblowers at the Government Accountability Project, and a shareholder whistleblower at the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. After graduating from UC Santa Cruz, Rebecca was a creative and effective job placement specialist at Goodwill Industries of San Francisco, Jobs for Homeless Consortium in Oakland (as a VISTA Volunteer), and West County Community Services, in Sebastopol placing refugees, formerly incarcerated, immigrants, youth, and other at risk populations in jobs and internships. These formative experiences solidified what has become Rebecca’s lifelong passion to advocate for workers.

Rebecca is committed to supporting the legal community and the workers of California through the advocacy work of the California Employment Lawyers Association. Rebecca serves on the Board of the organization, is a Co-Chair of the Mentor Committee, and is a Racial Justice Committee member. She also makes sure to attend Lobby Day every year to work to strengthen the laws protecting California workers.

She also enjoys collaborating with non-profits including Legal Aid of Sonoma County, Legal Aid at Work, and Equal Rights Advocates to further advocate for employees and others.

When she’s not practicing law Rebecca is gardening, spending time with family and friends, serving as a Board member of Petaluma Educational Foundation, traveling, reading, and cooking.

B.A. in Political Science from the University of California, Santa Cruz, 1996

J.D. from Seattle University School of Law, 2004

Jean Hyams

jean@vinickhyams.com | Website | LinkedIn | 510-318-7703

Reach Jean Hyams through her new law firm — Vinick Hyams LLP — via the contact information listed above.

For mediation services, reach Jean through Sequitur Resolutions — jean@sequiturresolutions.com. Or contact David Faris, Mediation Case Manager — david@sequiturresolutions.com.

In the world of worker’s rights advocacy, Jean is a recognized leader. She is the recipient of the 2019 Joe Posner Award as Attorney of the Year from the California Employment Lawyers Association. In 2018, the 1300-member strong organization also bestowed on her its prestigious Leadership Award and honored her, along with four other colleagues, with the “Strike Force 5” award for their initiative in pressing for sweeping legislative change to California’s sexual harassment laws.

Although her litigation practice is devoted to representation of employees, Jean has also served as a mediator in employment and disability access lawsuits for over two decades, following intensive training in mediation through the U.S. District Court’s Alternative Dispute Resolution Program. Counsel for employers and employees have found her to be effective in assisting both sides to evaluate the case strengths and weaknesses during facilitated settlement negotiations.

Jean also trains lawyers, law students and judges on topics including mediation, jury selection, gender discrimination, sexual harassment, disability rights, and trial skills in California and around the country. In recent years, she has spoken at seminars and workshops presented by the Northern District of California Judicial College, Continuing Education of the Bar, California Applicant Attorneys Association, Bar Association of San Francisco, Consumer Attorneys of Los Angeles and California Employment Lawyers Association.

Since 2006, Jean has been recognized annually as one of Northern California’s “Super Lawyers” in the field of employment law, including many years as one of the “Top 100 Lawyers in Northern California.” Northern California Super Lawyers Magazine profiled Jean in a cover story in 2014.

Soon after graduation from law school at the University of California, Berkeley, Jean opened her own law practice and began representing women who were sexually harassed and people with disabilities who faced discrimination. She then served as a Civil Rights Attorney with the U.S. Department of Education, the federal agency charged with enforcing federal laws prohibiting discrimination in education. Following her time in public service, she returned to private practice with Boxer & Gerson, LLP, where she later became a partner. During her ten years at Boxer & Gerson, LLP, Jean developed a particular expertise in the complicated interplay between disability discrimination and workers’ compensation laws.

Outside of her work in the law, Jean serves as a board member with YES Nature to Neighborhoods, a Richmond-based leadership development organization, and enjoys life in the East Bay.

B.A. Wellesley College, 1982
J.D. BerkeleyLaw, 1989

Sharon Vinick

sharon@vinickhyams.com | Website | LinkedIn | 510-318-7702

Reach Sharon Vinick through her new law firm — Vinick Hyams LLP — via the contact information listed above.

As a child, Sharon’s favorite retort to any perceived injustice (no matter how large or small) was “that’s not fair.” Her parents jokingly told her that she should be a lawyer, and by the age of 10, she decided to do just that. By the time she entered law school, Sharon had decided that she wanted to be a “civil rights lawyer,” although she was not 100% clear on what that meant. Now, after more than three decades of practicing law, Sharon realizes that being a civil rights lawyer is the perfect job for her, as it allows her to combine her passion for “fairness,” with her desire to use the law as a vehicle to redress violations of individuals’ civil and workplace rights.

As a plaintiffs’ employment lawyer, Sharon has represented individuals in cases alleging claims for discrimination on the basis of race, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, age, and disability. She has also represented numerous women bringing claims of sexual harassment, or discrimination on the basis of pregnancy. In addition, Sharon has a thriving practice representing sales people in commission disputes and assisting employees (from executives to hourly workers) in reviewing and negotiating employment contracts and severance agreements. And, while it is not a focus of her practice, Sharon has been very successful in litigating wage and hour cases. In representing employees, Sharon has litigated cases in private arbitrations, state and federal courts, and the United States Supreme Court.

Sharon is a frequent contributor to legal publications, having written articles on a variety of issues pertinent to the practice of employment law. She regularly speaks at legal conferences, and is often complimented for her ability to explain complicated legal theories in a clear, straightforward manner. She has been recognized by her peers as an accomplished lawyer, as evidenced by her being included in San Francisco Magazine’s list of “Super Lawyers” in the field of Employment Law each year from 2007 to present, and has been recognized numerous times as one of the “Top 50 Women Lawyers in Northern California.”

When she is not practicing law, Sharon is busy doing community volunteer work, traveling, and trying to perfect her baking skills.

B.A., University of California, Berkeley, 1984
J.D., Harvard Law School, 1987

Wendy Musell

wmusell@wendymuselllaw.com | LinkedIn | 510-270-2252

Reach Wendy Musell through her law firm — Law Offices of Wendy Musell PC — via the contact information listed above.

Wendy Musell has made a career of holding employers accountable when they violate worker’s civil rights. Since 1999, she has dedicated herself to representing employees in wage theft, discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wrongful termination, and whistleblower actions. She is a recognized expert in representing federal, state and other public employees, including many high-profile whistleblowers who have called out government corruption.

Wendy is a recognized leader in California representing employees and their interests, including serving as a member of the board and past President of the California Employment Lawyers Association. CELA is a statewide organization of over 1,200 California attorneys who devote the major portion of their practices to representing employees in individual employment cases and class actions. Wendy remains very active in legislative and education efforts on behalf of workers. In 2018, Wendy was honored, along with four other colleagues, with the “Strike Force 5” award for their initiative in pressing for sweeping legislative change to California’s sexual harassment laws.

The Daily Journal named Wendy as Top 75 Labor and Employment Lawyer in California in 2020. In 2019, she was named as one of the Top 100 Women Attorneys in California by Northern California Super Lawyer Magazine, which has also honored her as a Super Lawyer for multiple years. She has also been named in 2019 and 2020 as a top 100 national trial attorney by National Trial Lawyers. Since 2016, she was named among the top ten percent of attorneys in the United States, according to “Lawyers of Distinction,” which is published bi-annually in USA Today and the New York Times. She was also named as a member of the Top 500 Plaintiff’s employment in the nation by LawDragon in 2019 and 2020.

Additionally, Wendy is a member of the Fellows of the American Bar Foundation. The Fellows comprise a global honorary society of attorneys, judges, law faculty, and legal scholars whose public and private careers have demonstrated outstanding dedication to the highest principles of the legal profession and to the welfare of their communities. Membership in the Fellows is limited to one percent of lawyers licensed to practice in each jurisdiction. Fellows are recommended by their peers and elected by the Board of the American Bar Foundation.

Many important legal organizations have called on Wendy to speak or present at conferences on topics central to the practice of employment law, including employment discrimination, the rights of federal employees, disability rights, and sexual harassment. Her recent appearances include presentations to Consumers Attorneys of Los Angeles, Alameda County Bar Association, San Mateo County Bar Association, the U.S. EEOC’s Technical Assistance Program, CELA, and Golden Gate University School of Law. She has also served as an adjunct professor for the University of San Francisco School of Law as part of a clinical education course concerning employment law.

Wendy’s commitment to civil rights and pro bono legal representation of people living with HIV earned her the Hero Award from the AIDS Legal Referral Panel. CELA also awarded her a Leadership Award for her continued service on behalf of workers.

When Wendy is not at work (and sometimes when she is), you’ll find her walking her chocolate labs, reading books, hanging out with her troublesome and equally terrific teenagers and attempting to talk her family into some sort of adventure.

Katherine Smith

ksmith@wendymuselllaw.com | LinkedIn | 510-318-7710

Reach Katherine Smith at Law Offices of Wendy Musell PC via the contact information listed above.

Katherine Smith is a Senior Associate at the Law Offices of Wendy Musell PC. Prior to that, she worked at Levy Vinick Burrell Hyams LLP for a decade, beginning as the first recipient of the LVBH law fellowship for talented new lawyers committed to pursuing a career representing workers. An Honors graduate of Golden Gate University School of Law, she served as a law student extern for the Honorable Magistrate Judge Ryu at the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. Katherine has been a panelist and presenter through the California Employment Lawyers Association and the Labor and Employment Law Association at Golden Gate University. She has been repeatedly recognized in San Francisco Magazine’s list of Super Lawyers as a “Rising Star” and “Super Lawyer” from 2018 to present.

Katherine’s excellent performance in law school earned her many awards and honors, including the prestigious ABA/BNA Award for Excellence in the Study of Labor and Employment Law, the Witkin Award for Academic Excellence (highest grade in course) for her work in the course on employment rights, and having her Comment about mental illness and custody published while on law review.

Katherine has long shared the deep commitment to social justice and a passion for the law that is ever-present among the partners of Levy Vinick Burrell Hyams LLP. As a part of GGU Law School’s Honors Lawyering Program, she sought assignments where she could put her legal skills to work on behalf of low-income and disadvantaged people. This included client representation in unemployment and eviction hearings through the Bar Association of San Francisco’s Homeless Advocacy Project and direct service advocacy for variety of employment-related matters, including wage and hour violations and discrimination, for low-income domestic workers and caregivers with GGU’s Women’s Employment Rights Clinic. Prior to law school, Katherine volunteered for a variety of agencies and organizations providing services to people in need including Integrated Community Services, Opportunity for Independence, Dharma Publishing, and Vote No on 8, Equality for All.

Aside from her work, nothing brings Katherine more joy than spending time with her beloved cats or being out in nature with her partner.

B.S., University of Kansas, 1997
J.D. with Honors, Golden Gate University, School of Law, 2012

Rachel Terp

rachel@terplaw.com | LinkedIn | 5 10-550-5103

Reach Rachel Terp through her law firm — Terp Law — via the contact information listed above.

Rachel Terp fights to ensure her clients enjoy existing workplace protections and obtain justice when they don’t. She has extensive success in litigating wage and hour claims on class, collective, and multi-plaintiff bases. During more than a decade of practice, she has helped recover millions of dollars in unpaid wages for her clients.

Rachel’s practice focuses on labor and employment law including wage and hour, equal pay, discrimination, harassment, whistleblower, and retaliation claims.

An active member of the California Employment Lawyers Association throughout her career, Rachel currently serves on CELA’s Wage and Hour Committee, and previously served on CELA’s Nominating Committee. Rachel also volunteers as a supervising attorney for Legal Aid At Work’s workers rights’ clinics.

Rachel has been named to the Rising Stars list by Northern California Super Lawyers every year since 2017.

In her free time, Rachel serves as a vice president of her local PTA board.

B.A., Brown University, 2004
J.D., University of California, Berkeley School of Law, 2012