Jessica M. Pearigen is a litigation associate in the Orange County office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. Her practice focuses on class actions and complex litigation at both the trial and appellate levels, with special emphasis on labor and employment litigation, consumer litigation, and environmental litigation and mass torts.
Jessica has significant experience at all stages of litigation, including trial work, case management, motion practice, depositions, witness preparation, and working with experts. She has briefed cases in federal and state courts across the country, including multiple federal appeals courts, and the U.S. Supreme Court. She has represented clients in a wide variety of industries, including technology, healthcare, elder care, retail, manufacturing, agriculture, education, and transportation.
Recent successes of Jessica’s teams include:
- Defending trucking company against claims by 6,000+ participants in commercial driver’s license training program who alleged they were employees and securing complete victory following bench trial.
- Defeating certification of damages classes in putative class action alleging consumer claims against technology company.
- Winning a full defense verdict for leading online retailer in a bench trial of employee misclassification claims in federal court.
- Obtaining summary judgment for global agricultural producer in environmental litigation alleging exposure to DBCP.
- Defeating class certification for various technology, retail, and manufacturing clients on wage and hour and consumer claims.
Jessica also maintains an active pro bono practice. Highlights include:
- Securing from the Ninth Circuit a new jury trial on a grandmother’s excessive force claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983.
- Obtaining a remand from the Fifth Circuit then persuading the government to dismiss removal proceedings against a Honduran refugee.
- Helping to negotiate a favorable settlement on behalf of a horse sanctuary for damages and removing neglected horses from abusive facility. Gibson Dunn received the Animal Legal Defense Fund’s Pro Bono award for its work in this matter.
Before joining the firm, Jessica served as a law clerk to the Honorable Rhesa H. Barksdale of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Jessica earned her law degree cum laude in 2017 from Duke University School of Law, where she was as Editor in Chief of Law & Contemporary Problems. While in law school, Jessica also served as a judicial extern to the Honorable Nita L. Stormes of the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of California. She also served as a Teaching Assistant for Distinctive Aspects of U.S. Law, and as a Research Assistant to Professor Ernest Young. Jessica earned her bachelor’s degree magna cum laude from the University of Southern California.
Jessica serves on the Firm’s Pro Bono and Associates committees. In her free time, Jessica enjoys volunteering at the local animal shelter, hiking with her husband and dogs, and watching USC football and Duke basketball.
Capabilities
- Litigation
- Appellate and Constitutional Law
- Class Actions
- Environmental Litigation and Mass Tort
- Labor and Employment
- Trials
Credentials
Education:
- Duke University - 2017 Juris Doctor
- University of Southern California - 2014 Bachelor of Arts
Admissions:
- California Bar
Clerkships:
- US Court of Appeals, 5th Circuit, Hon. Rhesa H. Barksdale, 2017 - 2018