Jennifer Thai is a partner in the firm’s Litigation Department, and has over a decade of wide-ranging litigation experience. This experience includes representation of international, national and local clients in the areas of products liability, toxic torts, personal injury, commercial, labor and employment, securities, insurance, and general civil litigation defense. A member of the Firm’s Product Liability and Aviation Groups, she also serves on the Firm’s Pro Bono Committee and on its Diversity & Inclusion Committee.
Among other representations, Ms. Thai represents clients and manages litigation in complex cases filed in California and throughout the United States. She helps clients and their management teams achieve their business objectives in a cost-effective manner through litigation (including trial, if necessary), negotiation, counseling, creative problem solving, application of common sense approaches, familiarizing herself with clients’ businesses, and strategic decision making. She is equally comfortable on her feet arguing in court and in presenting arguments in a persuasive written product for the court’s consideration. Of particular importance in the litigation she handles, she is highly experienced in working with experts and in developing and executing innovative investigative and discovery plans.
Prior to joining Schnader, Ms. Thai served as an extern to Judge Zaven V. Sinanian of the Superior Court of California, Los Angeles County. She also worked as a law clerk for both the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office and for the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing. While at UCLA School of Law, Ms. Thai served as the Chief Managing Editor for the UCLA Journal of Environmental Law and Policy.
News & Publications
- George Kalikman named California Super Lawyer, Jennifer Thai a Rising Star
- California Super Lawyers Named
- Aviation Happenings: Winter 2021
- California Super Lawyers Named
- CA Super Lawyers Named
- Schnader Attorneys Named to CA Super Lawyers
- Schnader Attorneys Named to CA Super Lawyers
- Schnader Attorneys Named to Super Lawyers 2017
- Many Schnader Attorneys Named to Super Lawyers 2016
Community & Pro Bono
- As the San Francisco office representative of the firm’s Pro Bono Committee, Ms. Thai strives to cultivate opportunities for herself and her colleagues to give back to the community via pro bono work. Representative pro bono matters include volunteering with Bay Area Legal Aid for the Domestic Violence Clinic and representing tenants in danger of eviction during settlement conferences in unlawful detainer actions with the Housing Negotiation Clinic of the San Francisco Bar Association’s Justice and Diversity Center.
- Member of the California Minority Counsel Program.
Education
- University of California Los Angeles School of Law, 2008
- University of California at Berkeley, B.A., Sociology, with high honors, 2005
Bar Admissions
- California
Court Admissions
- U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
- U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California
Professional Affiliations
- California Bar Association, Litigation Section, Member
- California Minority Counsel Program, Member
Other Distinctions
- Recognized among “Northern California Rising Stars” in Civil Litigation Defense, 2013-2022
Representative Matters
- Represents many manufacturer defendants in asbestos products liability litigation as both local counsel and as part of a National Coordination Counsel team.
- Represents a start-up technology company as part of a products liability counsel team, providing legal advice on a wide range of issues the company faces.
- Represented a product manufacturer in a traumatic brain injury case, and achieved a dismissal of the manufacturer by successfully moving to quash for lack of personal jurisdiction.
- Managed large caseload as lead attorney for a major product liability client in all phases of litigation, including discovery, law and motion, and trial preparation.
- Represented a food service industry employer in two wage and hour matters.
- Represented a restaurant chain in a fire casualty matter during pre-litigation and litigation phases.