Jack W. Lee, a Partner with Minami Tamaki LLP, has specialized in employment, consumer fraud and civil rights law for over 30 years. Mr. Lee is a recognized expert in employment law and class actions and was honored as a “Super Lawyer” in Law & Politics Magazine (top 3% of practitioners) by his peers in employment law for six consecutive years from 2004 through 2009. Mr. Lee has a preeminent “AV” rating by the Martindale-Hubbell National Law Directory, which is the highest rating for competence and ethics and is reserved for attorneys designated as outstanding in their fields.

Mr. Lee received his undergraduate education at the University of California at Berkeley graduating Phi Beta Kappa in 1973. He earned his Juris Doctor from the University of California, Hastings Law School in 1976.

Mr. Lee has extensive experience litigating complex employment, anti-trust consumer and civil rights class actions in federal and state courts throughout the United States. He has prosecuted precedent-setting class action discrimination and sexually hostile environment cases against major Fortune 500 corporations and governmental entities, attaining some of the most significant monetary settlements in the history of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In addition, Mr. Lee has extensive experience monitoring the implementation of complex consent decrees following favorable verdicts in his class action practice. Mr. Lee represents individual employees in workplace and wrongful termination disputes and has won multi-million dollar jury verdicts for his clients.

Mr. Lee is a lecturer on employment law and trial practice before the California Employment Lawyers Association, the National Employment Lawyers Association and the Labor and Employment Law Section of the American Bar Association.

Mr. Lee has been lead or associate counsel in the following class action employment and consumer cases: West v. Abercrombie & Fitch Stores (No. 03-2817 SI, N.D.Cal. 2005) (gender discrimination), Donnelly vs. Glickman 159 F.3d 405 (2000), Barnhart v. Safeway Stores, 60 FEP 751 (E.D.Cal. 1992) (sex discrimination), Stender v. Lucky Stores, (N.D.Cal. 1991) 803 F.Supp. 324 (sex discrimination), Bockman v. Lucky Stores, 38 FEP 753, 41 FEP 855 (sex discrimination), 42 FEP 935, (E.D.Cal. 1986), and  Kraszewski v. State Farm General Insurance Co., 41 FEP 1088 (N.D.Cal. 1986) (sex discrimination).  These cases produced hundreds of millions of dollars in back wages and promotions for his clients. A major part of Mr. Lee’s practice is bringing consumer fraud class actions targeting illegal and deceptive sales practices.  He has secured hundreds of thousands of dollars for injured consumers.

Mr. Lee is deeply involved in public and community service.  He was appointed in 2008 by Senator Barbara Boxer to the Northern District Panel of the Commission on Judicial Selection, an advisory group responsible for recommending nominations to fill vacancies for Federal judges in California.

He is also the Lawyers Representative for the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals (2005-2008); Chair of the City of Oakland Civil Service Commission (1992-1996), Chair and Member of the Board of Trustees for Chinese for Affirmative Action (1990 to 2004), Member of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights (2003), Board of Directors for Asian Community Mental Health Services (1985-1990), Board of Directors for the Judi-Care Project of the C. Houston Bar Association (1978-1980) and Chair, Community Service, of the Asian American Bar Association (1980).

Prior to joining Minami Tamaki, Mr. Lee was Regional Civil Rights Attorney for the U.S. Department of Education and a senior trial attorney at the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office.