Vanessa Ruggles

Fun fact: I am a dog rescue advocate and have fostered over 50 shelter dogs and retired racing greyhounds.

About me: I was raised on a farm, served as a page in the U.S. House of Representatives, and graduated from high school a year early. I went on to earn my bachelor’s degree from the University of Nebraska. After working in accounting and collections for several years, I started law school at California Western School of Law, where I received a full-tuition merit scholarship. During law school, I received the American Jurisprudence award in three courses, consistently made Dean’s List, and was an Honors Instructor for several courses. I also served as associate editor of the California Western Law Review/International Law Journal, and The Connecticut Public Interest Law Journal published my law review comment. I interned at an employment law boutique firm and later externed at the California Court of Appeal for Justice Alex C. McDonald. In 2007, I graduated magna cum laude with a Labor and Employment Law Concentration, with honors.

After law school, I worked as a trial attorney for a preeminent San Diego litigation firm, handling their employment cases from intake to resolution. I later opened my own practice, representing individuals in discrimination, wage and hour, and other workers’ rights cases, as well as appellate matters. In one noteworthy case, the Ninth Circuit reversed a grant of summary judgment for my client in an excessive police force action. (Cameron v. Craig (9^th Cir. 2013) 713 F.3d 1012.) Meanwhile, I also worked behind-the-scenes for many plaintiffs’ firms, routinely consulted for my expertise in complex litigation.

In my spare time, I love to travel internationally. I have lived in France and Spain and speak proficient French and basic Spanish.