Jennifer Angela Emmaneel

Jennifer Emmaneel is a civil defense trial attorney with extensive experience in the areas of public entity representation, trust and estate litigation, complex litigation, construction defect disputes, business and personal injury litigation, appellate work, and partition referee representation.

Jennifer received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and Pre-Law from CSU, Chico, and later earned her Juris Doctorate degree from Golden Gate University School of Law. In addition to her law practice, Jennifer has taught legal writing and research and moot court at UC Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco.

Jennifer frequently speaks to fellow attorneys, insurance companies and industry trade groups on a variety of topics. Her most recent speaking engagements include “Design Immunity as a Form of Loss Control”, “Dangerous Conditions: What Every Public Entity Needs to Know”, “MSJ to Published Opinion, Building the Record of Thimon v. City of Newark”, “Preparing Motions for Summary Judgment/Adjudication” and “Bow Wow Meow: Planning for Our Beloved Pets”.

Representative Engagements include Thimon v. City of Newark (2020) 44 745 (Court of Appeal upheld the trial court’s grant of summary judgment for McDowall Cotter APC client, City of Newark holding that a particular crosswalk was not a dangerous condition of public property).

Jennifer’s publications include: Hiding Behind Policy: Confusing Compensations with Indemnification, 30 Golden Gate U.L. Rev. 637 (2000); Beyond Wrongful Adoption: Expanding Adoption Agency Liability to Include a Duty to Investigate and a Duty to Warn, 29 Golden Gate U.L. Rev. 181 (1999).

An advocate for advancing women and increasing diversity in the legal profession, Jennifer is currently an active board member of the San Mateo County Bar Association’s Women Lawyers Section, as well as a member of the California Women Lawyers’ Gender Equity Task Force, the San Mateo County Bar Association’s and Social Justice Task Force, and the Association of Defense Counsel’s Diversity Committee. Jennifer is also a member of the San Mateo County Bar Association’s Publications Committee and Nominations Committee.

When Jennifer is away from the firm, she enjoys playing roller derby, roller skating (quads, not inline!), and participating in Spartan races. She also serves on Peninsula Roller Derby’s Board of Directors and volunteers for local non-profit organizations Cat Town and Project Bay Cat.