Practice Areas: Labor & Employment Law and Civil Litigation
Rachael E. Brown is a partner with Sweeney Mason LLP and specializes in labor and employment law. She represents employers in connection with all types of employment related matters arising under both state and federal law, including wage and hour disputes, discrimination, harassment, retaliation and wrongful termination claims. She also handles trade secret misappropriation claims and matters involving confidentiality, customer and employee solicitation, and unfair competition.
Rachael has extensive experience defending class action wage and hour claims, individual and representative Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) matters, Labor Commissioner hearings, and NLRB charges and complaints and has successfully represented clients through jury trial, binding arbitration, and mediation. She has successfully litigated and settled multiple cases, in both state and federal court, involving allegations of failure to accommodate disabilities. Rachael also advises employers on a wide range of employment policies, including wage and hour law, personnel management, and employee leave issues, and has significant experience drafting and reviewing employee handbooks, confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements, and settlement agreements. Rachael conducts state-mandated sexual harassment trainings and frequently presents on a wide variety of employment-related topics for industry and trade organizations.
Rachael is a member of the Los Gatos Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, currently serving as the Board’s President, and she is an active member of United Contractor’s Associates’ and Legislative Committees. Rachael also serves on the Barristers’ Committee of the Santa Clara County Bar Association, working to integrate new lawyers into the Santa Clara County legal community.
Rachael graduated cum laude from Santa Clara University with a degree in Biomedical Biology and a minor in French. She earned her J.D. from Santa Clara University School of Law, earning a High Tech Law Certificate in Intellectual Property Law. During her time in law school, Rachael served as Assistant Director of the Internal Moot Court program, helped revitalize Equality SCU, a group dedicated to advocating and advancing LGBTQ+ issues, served on the board of the Women and Law group helping promote the advancement of women in the legal field, and also worked as a law clerk at a local law firm. Prior to joining Sweeney Mason LLP, Rachael worked at the firm of Ropers Majeski Kohn Bentley PC.
Rachael lives in San Jose and enjoys volleyball, yoga, traveling, hiking, and cooking.