Jocelyn Burton
Jocelyn Burton is a Martindale-Hubbell AV rated attorney with over 35 years of legal practice who has served as counsel of record in cases resulting in over twenty published federal court decisions. From 2012-2023, she has been named a Superlawyer in Northern California in employment law.
From 1994 to 2005, Ms. Burton was an Assistant United States Attorney in the United States Attorney’s Office of the Northern District of California. There, Ms. Burton handled hundreds of civil affirmative and defensive cases for federal departments and agencies. In addition to the hundreds of cases that she litigated in federal district court, Ms. Burton litigated over 80 civil appeals before the United States Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Ms. Burton has litigated over 100 cases involving claims of various types of discrimination, including age, race, religion, disability, sex and national origin as well as harassment and retaliation cases.
During her tenure at the United States Attorney’s Office, Ms. Burton served as both deputy chief and chief of the civil division. As civil chief, she was the first or second line supervisor to 19 attorneys, 6 paralegals and 19 other support staff and she was responsible for managing the civil division and the approximately 1500 civil cases pending annually.
Before and after her tenure at the United States Attorney’s Office, Ms. Burton worked at large and medium sized law firms. Ms. Burton founded Burton Employment Law in 2011. Ms. Burton successfully litigated over one hundred matters for her clients.
In addition, Ms. Burton is a certified mediator and arbitrator.
Seminars & Presentations
Ms. Burton has prepared papers or appeared on panels at seminars on the following:
- Employment Law, Wake Forest University 26th Annual Review of North Carolina Law, 2006
- Ethics – An Overview of Codes, Rules, Regulations and Current Issues, Wake Forest University 26th Annual Review of North Carolina Law, 2006
- Sex Discrimination, Including Equal Pay Act, Wake Forest University Continuing Legal Education on Employment Law, 2007
- Legal Implications of Employee Wellness Programs, Lorman Education Services, 2007
- Employment Law, Wake Forest University 27th Annual Review of North Carolina Law, 2007
- Ethics – An Overview of Codes, Rules, Regulations and Current Issues, Wake Forest
- University 27th Annual Review of North Carolina Law, 2007
- Overview and Compliance with Employment Laws, Lorman Education Services, 2008
- Technology and Ethics, VIP GlobalNet, L.L.C., 2010
- Subconscious Bias in Employment Law, Alameda County Bar Association, 2011
- Pretrial Investigation and Preparing the Complaint and Discovery Planning, Bridgeport Seminars, 2012
- Housing Discrimination, Santa Clara University School of Law, 2013
- Immunity and Impunity, California Employment Lawyers Association, 2013
- Lawyers and Professionalism: Keeping It Civil, California Association of Black Lawyers, 2014
- Workplace & Employment Law Update: The Plaintiff’s Perspective, Employer’s Group, 2014
- Cultural Bias in Jury Selection, San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association, 2015
- We Don’t Need to Fight About This: Transitioning Your Career from Litigation to Mediation, Alameda County Bar Association, 2023
- Employment Arbitration Today- an In-Dept Look at Specific Issues in Employment Arbitration, Alameda County Bar Association, 2023
Education
Ms. Burton received her B.A. degree from Wake Forest University and is serving her seventh term on their board of trustees. She received a Master of Public Affairs from the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin. She received her J.D. from the University of Chicago.
Admissions & Professional Associations
Ms. Burton is licensed by the California and North Carolina State Bars. She is currently admitted before the California and North Carolina state courts and federal courts in California and North Carolina as well as the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Ms. Burton is a member of the National Employment Lawyer’s Association, the Association of Workplace Investigators, Alameda County Bar Association, San Francisco Bar Association and the American Bar Association.
