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Tanya Smith




Tanya Smith specializes in labor and employment law. She represents unions, pensioners, retirees, and employees experiencing discrimination or retaliation in the workplace.

She has jury trial experience dealing with employment discrimination and whistleblower matters, and defended a union in federal court. She has brought numerous unfair practice charges before the Public Employment Relations Board. She has also presented contract grievance cases to labor arbitrators. Before passing the bar, she served as a summer judicial extern in 2011 for former Senior Judge Lawrence K. Karlton in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California.

In addition to her California license, she holds a Nevada bar license, and has represented Nevada union members and employee whistleblowers in their employment and labor disputes.

Before she became a lawyer, Tanya helped her own union negotiate a settlement with their public employer to address health and safety issues, requiring public notice of regularly scheduled health and safety meetings to address employee and site concerns.
EDUCATION
University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law, J.D. with distinction, 2011
National University, M. Ed., 2004
AFFILIATIONS & MEMBERSHIPS
California Employment Lawyers Assoc., Public Employee Committee Co-Chair 2023-2024
Sacramento County Bar Association
AFL-CIO Union Lawyers Alliance
State Bar of California
State Bar of Nevada

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