Wendy J. Brenner is a partner in the Employment & Labor practice group and a member of the Cooley Litigation department. She joined the Firm in 1998 and is resident in the Palo Alto office.

Ms. Brenner works with technology and life science entities, ranging from start-ups to public companies, on employment counseling and litigation. Her counseling practice spans the broad range of human resources issues facing employers, including hiring and recruiting, worker classification, employee separations, personnel policies, executive compensation agreements, wage and hour matters, and compliance with state and federal EEO requirements. She regularly conducts, directs and advises on workplace investigations involving whistleblower allegations, discrimination and harassment, and also advises employers on employee mobility issues, including trade secret matters and restrictive covenants. Ms. Brenner also routinely represents employers in classification audits before the California Employment Development Department; provides training on managing within the law and discrimination/harassment; and assists with the employment-related aspects of M&A transactions.

Ms. Brenner also represents employers in litigation matters in federal and state courts on a wide variety of claims, including harassment and discrimination, wrongful termination, trade secret theft and unfair competition. She has handled more than one dozen court trials and arbitrations through verdict, and has extensive mediation experience, as well as experience with administrative proceedings before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing and the California Labor Commissioner.

Ms. Brenner also handles individual representations of C-level executives with respect to their employment and/or separation agreements.

Ms. Brenner serves on Cooley's Partner Nominating Committee and is an active participant in Cooley's Women's Initiative. In 2007, she received the "Frances Perkins Public Service Award" from the American Bar Association Section of Labor and Employment Law Pro Bono Committee in recognition of significant pro bono services.

Ms. Brenner received a JD from the University of California Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law. While there, she interned for Judge Charles A. Legge in the U.S. District Court, Northern District of California. She received a BA in Political Science with honors from Stanford University in 1993.

Ms. Brenner is admitted to practice before the U.S. District Courts of Northern, Southern and Central Districts of California. Ms. Brenner is a member of the State Bar of California.