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Monali Sheth, Of Counsel

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Monali Sheth, Of Counsel

Monali Sheth

Monali Sheth, Of Counsel to the firm, is a seasoned attorney with a unique combination of corporate law, civil rights and public law experience.

Prior to joining the firm, Monali spent 8 years as a Deputy County Counsel in the San Mateo County Counsel’s Office. In addition to providing legal representation and advice to various San Mateo County departments, agencies, boards and commissions on labor and employment and other public law matters, Monali has worked extensively on affordable housing transactions, homelessness initiatives and pandemic recovery initiatives, including participating on an inter-departmental team, which was instrumental in securing the County $33 million dollars in the inaugural round of State Homekey funding and an additional $68.8 million in its second round to purchase and rehabilitate different housing types – including hotels and motels – for conversion into permanent, long-term housing for people experiencing or at risk of experiencing homelessness and therefore, at increased risk for diseases or medical conditions due to COVID-19.

From 2010 to 2014, Monali was Staff Attorney at Equal Rights Advocates (ERA), a national non-profit legal organization dedicated to advancing gender justice and expanding opportunities for women and girls in education and employment. At ERA, she represented numerous women with sex harassment and discrimination claims, including co-chairing a successful jury trial ($812,001 verdict) on behalf of a Latina janitor in a sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit against a national building and facilities maintenance company.

After graduating from Berkeley Law in 2005, Monali spent several years as a business litigator. During this time, she also represented low-income clients pro bono in family law, domestic violence, asylum and eviction defense cases. She has spearheaded legislative advocacy at the local, state and federal level on issues that impact women in the workplace and working families, including bills like SB 299, which requires California employers to continue health benefits for workers on pregnancy disability leave. She has also taught “Legal Interviewing and Client Counseling” at Berkeley Law. Monali currently serves as a committee member on the California Employment Lawyers Association Education Committee.

Personal Experience

EDUCATION
  • Berkeley Law, University of California at Berkeley, J.D. (2005)

  • London School of Economics and Political Science, Distinction, M.Sc. (2001)

  • University of California at Berkeley, Highest Honors and High Distinction in General Scholarship, B.A. (2000)

BAR ADMISSIONS
  • California Supreme Court

  • United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

  • United States District Court for the Northern District of California

  • United States District Court for the Southern District of California

  • United States District Court for the Central District of California

  • United States District Court for the Eastern District of California

HONORS AND AWARDS
  • Northern California Super Lawyer for 2023
  • Commendation from San Mateo County Board of Supervisors as member of Homekey Grant Team, 2022
  • South Asian Bar Association of Northern California Public Interest Award, 2014
  • The Recorder’s Innovator Award, 2014

LANGUAGES
  • Spanish
PUBLICATIONS
  • “Supreme Court to Define ‘Supervisor’” The Recorder · Dec 13, 2012

  • “Today’s Faces of Anita Hill”, MomsRising · Nov 3, 2011

  • “DREAM Act a Win-Win, Good for Immigrant Women, Good for Economy”, New America Media · Aug 5, 2011

  • “Whiteness in Soap Opera Justice: Comparing the Louise Woodward and Manjit Basuta Cases”, White Women in Racialized Spaces: Imaginative Transformation and Ethical Action in Literature (SUNY Press) · Jan 1, 2002

  • People v. Basuta: The Intersection of Racial and National Identities”

  • Amerasia Journal (UCLA Asian American Studies Center, Vol. 27, No.1, 2001) · Jan 1, 2001

SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS
  • Panelist, “From Hotels to Housing: Counties’ Experiences from Project Homekey,” County Counsels’ Association of California Real Estate Fall 2021 Study Section Meeting (October 2021)
  • Speaker & Chief Organizer, “Safe at Work: Reducing Workplace Harassment and Violence Against Low-Income and Immigrant Women,” Public Forum & Panel Discussion presented by the Equity Advisory Committee to the San Francisco Human Rights Commission (November 2013)
  • Panelist, “Ladies and Gentlemen: Start Your Pre-Litigation Engines,” California Employment Lawyers Association Annual Conference (October 2013)
  • Panelist, “A Tribute to Our Clients,” California Employment Lawyers Association Annual Conference (October 2012)
  • Speaker, Campaign Video on “Health Coverage During Pregnancy Leave,” California Work &. Family Coalition (Fall 2011)
  • Panelist, “Legally Asian Law School Conference: Empower Youth to Pursue Higher Education and Make a Difference in Their Community,” U.C. Hastings College of the Law (February 2011)
  • Paper Presented, “People v. Basuta: The Intersection of Racial and National Identities,” The 17th National Conference of the Association of Asian American Studies (May 2000)
  • Panel Chair, “South Asian Diasporic Communities: (Re)Making Culture, Identity and Labor,” UC Berkeley Center for South Asia Studies Annual Conference (February 1999)

Awards & Affiliations

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