New Partner Tracy Smith Todd Joins Villarreal Hutner PC - California Employers' Minority and Woman Owned Employment Law Firm

After almost ten years at Heller Ehrman, new partner Tracy Todd has joined Villarreal Hutner PC, San Francisco's fastest growing minority and woman owned employment defense law firm.

When asked, "Why Villarreal Hutner?" Ms. Todd explains, "I spent more than a decade building client relationships relying on big firm names. First Jackson Lewis, and then Heller Ehrman. I came to realize that it wasn't the big firm name my clients valued, but me - my advice, my knowledge of their business, my responsiveness, my commitment to their success. And I was concerned that the ever-increasing big firm rates eventually could come between me and even my most loyal clients. I was just not willing to risk having that happen."

Ms. Todd says she knew she needed the right platform to continue to provide her clients with stellar service, but at a rate that made sense. "So, I started looking at smaller firms. But at the same time, I was not willing to compromise the quality of work or high level of service that my clients were accustomed to, and deserve." During her more than year-long search for the right firm, Ms. Todd says she received offers from various well-known firms. "But none of them were 'it.' Then I met Lara [Villarreal Hutner] and immediately I was impressed by her intelligence, her enthusiasm, her dedication to her practice and her clients - and her vision for the firm she had built from the ground up. Something about Lara just resonated with me - and we quickly developed a mutual respect for each other borne of our mutual successes and our shared ideals about meeting clients' needs." Ms. Todd says, "I knew I had finally found the innovative, forward-thinking, dynamic firm I was wanting for myself and my clients."

About the firm's new partner, founder Lara Villarreal Hutner says, "We are all thrilled to have Tracy join us. The depth of Tracy's knowledge of California employment law is unparalleled, and she's also a tremendous litigator." Ms. Hutner continues, "When I started this firm, I had no idea how great a need there was for outside counsel who could do everything from advice and counsel to defending single- and multi-plaintiff discrimination cases and wage and hour class actions. I found new clients initially gave us a go because they wanted to support minority-owned firms. And once they saw the quality of lawyering they got from us, well, it didn't make sense for them to continue relying so heavily on the big firms they'd been using. And so just like that we were working throughout California for clients like Wal-Mart, Pepsi, Frito-Lay, Del Monte Foods, and PG&E."

Ms. Hutner soon found that she needed a partner, and so the search began. "I think I was more cautious about choosing the right partner than I had been about choosing the right husband!" she jokes. "I mean, without having worked with someone, how can you trust that a person shares your high standards - in terms of work product, strategy, and doing whatever it takes to meet a client's needs? But in Tracy I know I've found someone who is going to give our clients 100% - and I wouldn't have settled for anything less." Ms. Hutner laughs, "I've actually had an opposing counsel who has litigated against Tracy congratulate me on having 'landed' her! Now how often does something like that happen?!"

When Ms. Todd hears this last comment, she laughs and says, "I am delighted to be here at Villarreal Hutner. And I know my clients will be too."