Elena R. Baca

Elena Baca is the Global Chair of the Paul Hastings Employment Law Department and leads a diverse group of more than 80 lawyers in 10 offices around the world. Ms. Baca is a first-chair litigator who regularly navigates high-stakes litigation, conducts sensitive investigations and advises C-suite executives and corporate boards on compliance and regulatory issues involving human capital. In her role as practice Chair, Paul Hastings’ Employment Department has anticipated and led the response to evolving employment issues, including employee and shareholder activism, AI, COVID, DEI and CSR. Ms. Baca is recognized as a leading trial lawyer by many notable publications.

She has been consistently ranked by Chambers USA and The Legal 500 as one of the top employment defense lawyers in California. Chambers USA has noted that her “litigation track record and outstanding trial victories stand out in the legal marketplace, due to both her sheer volume of wins and the ways in which these decisions are helping to shape future employment and labor law, particularly in California.” In Chambers, Ms. Baca has been described as “second to none,” a “phenomenal lawyer and creative thinker,” “one of the preeminent labor and employment lawyers in Los Angeles,” and “one of the best attorneys I have ever worked with.”

Ms. Baca also has been selected continuously since 2006 as one of the Best Lawyers in America in employment law. She has repeatedly been named as one of California’s “Top Women Lawyers” and as one of California’s “Top Labor and Employment Attorneys” by the Los Angeles Daily Journal. She has been selected as one of Lawdragon’s Top 500 Leading Corporate Employment Lawyers. The American Lawyer also recognized her in its “Top 45 Under 45” list.

An experienced trial lawyer, Ms. Baca has established an impressive record of defense verdicts and arbitration wins representing a wide variety of corporate clients. Her adversarial practice is primarily focused on employment-related issues, such as employee mobility, discrimination, wage and hour, and whistleblower issues. She is considered a “go-to” employment lawyer for many large employers with high-profile disputes involving high-level executives and contentious high-stakes litigation (including class action claims). She is regularly called upon to assist with crisis litigation, with its unique demands and need for an experienced, sophisticated and broad strategic focus. Ms. Baca is frequently called upon to turn around cases that have been mishandled by other law firms and take them to trial. Her clients include talent agencies, entertainment companies, web-based services, online social media and networking platforms, video game developers and publishers, financial institutions, medical technology and research companies, law firms, public utilities, major manufacturers, and leading consumer brands.