For more than thirty years, employment attorney, Patrice L. Goldman has provided compassionate, experienced representation for employees in a variety of workplace rights situations, both in the courtroom and through mediation.

Recognized by her peers as one of the top employment lawyers in Northern California, Patrice was selected as a “Super Lawyer” “for the years 2004, 2005 and 2007 through 2023. She has also held an “AV” rating in the Lexis-Nexis/Martindale Hubbell Bar Registry, (the highest rating for ethical standards and legal ability) for nearly two decades.

Education and Legal Experience
Patrice L. Goldman is a graduate of Yale University and University of California, Hastings College of the Law. She has studied mediation with Steven Rosenberg and Mark Rudy.

Patrice has successfully handled every aspect of a plaintiff-side employment law case, from intake, to pre-filing negotiations, to litigation, to trial, to appeal. She has handled cases on behalf of individuals, and class action lawsuits, both in state and federal courts and has won verdicts in cases involving fundamental employment rights, including wrongful termination in violation of public policy, and illegal wage and hour practices. See, e.g., Baratta v. Oracle Corp. (2000 SF Superior Court) – award of $3.2 million for wrongful termination and retaliation including significant stock option damages, affirmed on appeal; Walia v. Aetna Inc. (1999 SF Superior Court) – award of more than $1 million, including punitive damages, to an employee who was fired for refusing to sign a non-compete agreement, affirmed on appeal; Boyd v. Crowley-Maritime (1997 SF Superior Court) – sales representative awarded unpaid overtime upon a verdict that she had been improperly classified as an exempt employee.

Patrice L. Goldman has successfully argued and briefed numerous cases before California federal and state courts. See, e.g., Holden v. Canadian Consulate (9th Cir. 1996) 92 F.3d 918 – decision affirming right of United States citizen to sue Canadian Consulate for discrimination in employment; Le v. Applied Biosystems (N.D. Cal. 1995) 886 F.Supp. 717 – decision that ERISA does not preempt employee claim that he experienced disability discrimination when employer terminated him in order to avoid paying benefits for his daughter’s liver transplant.

Patrice has also written on employment law issues and has served as a contributing editor on the National Employment Discrimination Law treatise and the Rutter Group’s California Practice Guide on Employment Litigation. Between 2011 and 2013, Ms. Goldman served as Principal Contributing Editor on the Rutter Group’s California Practice Guide on Employment Litigation.

She is currently a member of the California Employment Lawyers Association, Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom, Marin County Bar Association, Alameda County Bar Association, and the San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association. She serves as a proud member of the Diversity Committee and of the Education Committee of the California Employment Lawyers Association, chair of the Bay Area Cabal/Plaintiff’s Employment Lawyers Association, Treasurer/Secretary to co-President of the Marin Trial Lawyers Association, chair of the Marin County Personnel Commission, is a member of Harbor Rotary of San Rafael, and is on the Board of Temple Rodef Sholom.

When she is not advocating for employee rights, Pat loves to spend time with her wife, two teenagers, and two cats. Pat plays keyboards with the M6 band (see below); downhill skis when she can, watches movies, and enjoys good books.

If you would like to discuss your workplace situation with an experienced employment law attorney, please contact Patrice L. Goldman for a free initial consultation. We look forward to helping you.