Spencer Caswell Young

Spencer C. Young is an employment, civil rights and personal injury litigation attorney. The majority of his practice is dedicated to representing employees in employment disputes and individuals in select personal injury cases. He also counsels employers and businesses in employment, contract breach and commercial litigation matters.

Personal Background & Undergraduate Education

Spencer was born in Berkeley, California and raised in nearby Piedmont. He graduated with honors from Piedmont High School in June, 1994. He attended Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana from 1994 to 1998. He worked for a small law firm in New Orleans in 1996. He also attended Cambridge University in Cambridge, England, and London School of Economics (LSE) in London, England in the spring of 1997. He worked for Edward, Fail, Bradshaw & Waterson in London while studying at LSE. Spencer graduated from Tulane with honors and a Bachelor of Arts from Newton College, including a double major in political science and philosophy, in May, 1998.

Early Work Experience and Professional Education

From July, 1998 to December, 1999, Spencer was a paralegal in the labor and employment department of Morgan, Lewis and Bockius, LLP in New York City. In 2000, he was a paralegal in the compliance department of ING Bank and a bartender at the Thirsty Scholar on 2nd Avenue in Manhattan.

Spencer moved back to the East Bay in December, 2000. He was a paralegal in the environmental section at Sedgwick, Detert, Moran & Arnold, LLP (currently Sedgwick, LLP) in San Francisco from January, 2001 to August, 2001.

Spencer attended Golden Gate University School of Law from fall 2001 to spring 2004. He studied business at GGU’s Ageno School of Business from fall 2002 to spring 2004. While studying at GGU, Spencer worked for Aids Legal Referral Panel, GGU’s Environmental Law and Justice Clinic, Federal Magistrate Judge Maria Elena-James, and her husband, Commissioner Newton J. Lam.

Spencer graduated with a Juris Doctor and a Masters of Business Administration in May, 2004. He was the first person at GGU to graduate with a joint J.D./M.B.A. in only three years. He graduated with honors in both programs, and was awarded “Outstanding Student” by Judge James and GGU Honors Lawyering Program faculty and staff in 2004.

Associations and Licensed Attorney Work Experience

Spencer passed the California State Bar Exam in 2005. He immediately joined the San Francisco Trial Lawyers’ Association, the National Lawyers’ Guild, California Employment Lawyers’ Association, National Employment Lawyers’ Association, and was admitted to practice in Northern District Federal Court.

During Spencer’s employment with the Law Office of Mary Dryovage in 2005, Spencer represented federal employees in front of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Merit Systems Protection Board, and co-chaired a discrimination trial in front of Chief Justice Patel in Northern District Federal Court. In January, 2006, Spencer opened his private practice in Oakland, California, where he remains to this day.

Over the past decade, Spencer has represented hundreds of clients in California State Courts, Northern District Federal Court, the California Department of Labor Standards Enforcement, the California Fair Employment and Housing Commission, the California Public Employees Relations Board, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and the Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board. He is currently an active member of the California State Bar Association, California State Bar Labor & Employment Section, Alameda-Contra Costa Trial Lawyers’ Association, and California Employment Lawyers’ Association. He also attends local Trial Lawyers’ College events and is on the leadership of Success Link, an Oakland chapter of Business Networking International.

Spencer has ten years of experience litigating wrongful termination, discrimination, retaliation, whistleblower claims, wage and hour disputes, premises liability, vehicle accidents, contract breach, and other labor, employment and commercial cases. His legal experience and law practice management skills date back to 1996. In 2011, Spencer was a speaker at the California Employment Lawyers’ Association panel for work and life balance.

In his spare time, Spencer enjoys traveling, cooking, fishing, camping, hunting and practicing martial arts. He completed a six year yoga, mediation and martial arts program with his teacher in Berkeley, California and Phu Reua, Thailand in November, 2010. Spencer applies the fundamental principles of warriorship – loyalty and selfless service – to his clients and their causes throughout California. He is widely considered a “polite bulldog” that achieves “spectacular” results. He has a long list of thrilled clients who have posted their reviews on Yelp and Avvo.