Linda Ross brings a wealth of experience to Renne Public Law Group after working for 20 years with the City and County of San Francisco and more recently, in private practice. Ms. Ross represents public entities, including cities, counties, special districts, and transit agencies, in a wide variety of public law matters, including advice, litigation, and appellate work involving pension reform, labor and employment, internal investigations, wage and hour, the Public Records Act, open meetings laws, governance, and regulations.

Ms. Ross and Mr. Holtzman, a founding partner of Renne Public Law Group, recently filed an amicus brief on behalf of the League of California Cities in a landmark case on pensions and vested rights pending before the Supreme Court of California.

Related Experience

Ms. Ross gained vast knowledge in public law while serving San Francisco as General Counsel to the Mayor’s Office, Chief Labor Attorney, and General Counsel for the Police Commission and the Police Department.

General Counsel, San Francisco Mayor’s Office

As General Counsel to the Mayor’s Office, Linda advised the Mayor and coordinated with City department heads on local governance and policy issues including ethics, public meetings laws, the Public Records Act, and public contracting. She drafted City Charter measures, ordinances, and policies regarding employee and retiree benefits, public contracting policies, and public safety, among others. While General Counsel, Linda authored a gun control measure upheld by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in Jackson v. City and County of San Francisco (9th Cir. 2014) 246 F 3d. 953, against a Second Amendment challenge. In 2015, the United States Supreme Court denied review.

Chief Labor Attorney

As Chief Labor Attorney for San Francisco, Linda was in charge of a 20-person legal team, representing City departments, boards and commissions in employment and labor law issues. Linda represented the City before state and federal courts, mediators, and arbitrators in matters involving City employees, as well as in contract negotiations with City employee unions. She successfully defended San Francisco before the California Supreme Court in San Francisco Firefighters Local 798 v. City and County of San Francisco (2006) 38 Cal.4th 653, in which the Court upheld the City’s non-discriminatory testing procedures.

General Counsel, Police Department

As General Counsel to the San Francisco Police Department and Police Commission, Linda advised the Department and Commission on police personnel issues and public safety initiatives, and defended the Department in state and federal courts. Working with the Police Officers Union and the District Attorney’s Office, she drafted the Department’s Brady policy which was upheld by the California Supreme Court in the case of People v. The Superior Court of San Francisco County (2015) 61 Cal.4th 696. In a rare occurrence, the Court appended the policy to its opinion.

Published Decisions

• San Francisco Firefighters Local 798 v. City and County of San Francisco (2006) 38 Cal.4th 653.
• Local 21 of the International Federation, et al. v. City and County of San Francisco (1999) 76 Cal.App.4th 213.
• Fry v. City of Los Angeles (2016) 245 Cal.App.4th 539.
• Alameda Deputy Sheriffs’ Assn., et al. v. Alameda County Employees’ Retirement Assn, et al. (2018) 19 Cal.App.5th 61.

Presentations and Publications

• Presenter, “Arbitration Basics,” Washington Public Employer Labor Relations Association (WAPELRA), Annual Training Conference, 2015
• Presenter, “How to Navigate Changes in Public Employee Retiree Health Benefits,” Judicial Council of California, Labor Relations Academy II, 2015
• Presenter, “Navigating Changes to Public Employee Medical Benefits,” Webinar, 2015
• Presenter, “Mock Arbitration Part One: Preparation, Opening Statement, and Direct Examination,” National Public Employer Labor Relations Association (NPELRA) Annual Training Conference, 2015
• Author, Searching for Vested Rights, Case By Case,” Daily Journal, May, 2014
• Speaker, “Vested Rights: What We Can and Cannot Change,” California Public Employers Labor Relations Association (CalPELRA) Annual Conference, 2012
• Speaker, “Social Media and the Workplace: Recruitment, Background Checks and Personal Use,” International Public Management Association, 2012
• Presenter, Pension/Impairment of Vested Rights, State Bar of California, Annual Public Sector Conference, 2017
• Presenter, Whistleblowers, How To Manage, CALPELRA, 2017
• Presenter, Vested Rights, What Is Happening With The California Rule, CALPELRA, 2017
• Presenter, Immigration: The California Values Act, Municipal Law Institute, 2018
• Presenter, Rutter Group Vesting Panel, What’s Next for the “California Rule” Public Employee Pensions as Vested Rights, The Rutter Group/MCLE Program, June, 2018

Education

• University of California, Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law, JD
• Articles Editor, California Law Review
• University of California, Berkeley, BA

Admissions and Courts

• California
  New York