Rifkin Law Office
Innovative. Strategic. Committed. Dynamic.
PRACTICE
AREAS
Rifkin Law Office is not currently accepting new cases and cannot respond to requests for legal representation or referrals.
DISCRIMINATION &
EQUAL ACCESS
RLO advocates for people who have been discriminated against on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, age, or any other identity-based category. These types of cases can arise in various contexts, including access to public accommodations and services, education, and employment.
RIGHTS OF PEOPLE IN DETENTION
RLO handles civil matters for people incarcerated or formerly incarcerated in jail or prison. These include issues such as medical and mental health care, wrongful death, unreasonable or excessive use of force, religious discrimination or expression, and compassionate release.
POLICE MISCONDUCT
RLO represents individuals and classes in civil matters concerning actions by law enforcement officers that violate the Constitution and civil rights laws. These include issues such as unnecessary or excessive use of force, discrimination, violation of citizens’ rights to express themselves to law enforcement officers or to record conduct of law enforcement officers, and unjustified searches, seizures, or detentions.
JUVENILE JUSTICE
RLO represents juveniles in civil matters concerning the juvenile justice process. These include issues of school referrals for arrest or detention, police misconduct, failure to provide legal representation or due process in juvenile court, and conditions of confinement in detention facilities, including failure to provide appropriate services or discrimination on the basis of race, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, or religion.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
RLO advocates for clients whose First Amendment rights have been violated by government actors or agencies, including educational institutions. These types of claims may include issues related to denials of permits for marches or gatherings, censorship of written or artistic materials or clothing, restrictions on the ability to protest, or free exercise of religion.
EMPLOYMENT LAW
RLO represents individual employees and classes in employment matters. These types of claims may include wrongful termination, discrimination, harassment, retaliation, or creation of a hostile work environment on the basis of race, sex, pregnancy, marital status, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, age, religion, ethnicity, or other protected statuses.
ABOUT
Lori Rifkin, Esq.
Lori Rifkin founded Rifkin Law Office in 2013. She has extensive experience litigating civil rights cases as an attorney in the public and private sectors, and has led numerous lawsuits to success in jury trials and settlements.
Ms. Rifkin is a former partner of the civil rights law firm Hadsell Stormer & Renick LLP. She also worked as a Senior Trial Attorney for the Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), focusing on matters involving jail and prison conditions, police misconduct, and juvenile justice. Ms. Rifkin also served on the Civil Rights Division’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender & Intersex (LGBTI) Workgroup, advising the DOJ on LGBTI issues.
Previously, Ms. Rifkin worked as a staff attorney at the American Civil Liberties Unions (ACLU) of Connecticut and Southern California, an associate at the San Francisco civil rights law firm Rosen, Bien & Galvan, LLP, and an attorney at the San Francisco-based Legal Aid Society-Employment Law Center.
EDUCATION
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New York University School of Law, Juris Doctor (JD), 2004
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Harvard College, Bachelor of Arts (AB), 2000
BAR ADMISSIONS
Active:
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State of California
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Northern, Eastern, Central, and Southern Districts of California; District of Connecticut
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Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
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U.S. Supreme Court
Inactive:
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State of New York
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State of Connecticut
RECOGNITION
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Northern California Super Lawyers
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National Trial Lawyers Top 40 under 40; National Trial Lawyers Top 100
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National LGBT Bar Association Best LGBT Lawyers Under 40
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Public Justice Trial Lawyer of the Year Finalist
View Lori Rifkin's profile on LinkedIn
NEWS
& PRESS
2022
2020
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The costs, and possible precedents, of Idaho's transgender inmate lawsuit
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A Transgender Idaho Inmate's Legal Victory Breaks New Ground
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Surgery for transgender Idaho inmate will take place thanks to US Supreme Court's choice
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Supreme Court won’t halt preparations for transgender inmate’s surgery
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Supreme Court won't put Idaho inmate's gender reassignment surgery on hold
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In a first, court says a state must provide gender-confirmation surgery to inmate
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Appellate Court Affirms Decision: Idaho Must Provide Sex Reassigment Surgery To Transgender Inmate
2019
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Idaho transgender inmate must receive 1st presurgical treatment by Tuesday, judge says
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Inmate's gender case moves forward in federal court in Boise
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Two Idaho inmates who died by suicide in year's span had gender dysphoria
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Court: Idaho must provide transgender inmate with gender surgery
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Inmate killed herself one day before parole hearing. Now California will pay $1.5 million
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AP Investigation: Many US Jails Fail to Stop Inmate Suicides
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Jury awards $1.6M to family of Monterey County Jail inmate who died
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Jury awards $1.6 million to family of inmate who died in Monterey County Jail
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Trial underway in lawsuit over Monterey County Jail inmate death
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$365k settlement reached in 2014 death of Monterey County Jail inmate
2018
2017
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Lesbian couple settles federal discrimination lawsuit with Cherry Creek Mortgage
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Alhambra woman sues former job for failing to provide health coverage for her wife
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‘Valid reasons’ claimed by Sacramento County lawyer in kicking blacks off jail-abuse jury
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Mentally ill former inmate dragged from cell to receive $950,000 in settlement
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A mentally ill inmate was dragged from a cell. Prison staff now may face punitive damages.
2016
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Goodbye to ‘Honeys’ in Court, by Vote of American Bar Association
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Bar Association Considers Striking ‘Honeys’ From the Courtroom
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Lawyer Receives Stern Benchslap And Amazing Sanction For Sexist Deposition Comment
2015
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Callous and Cruel: Use of Force against Inmates with Mental Disabilities in US Jails and Prisons
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Family alleges jail staff failed to care for deceased inmate.
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Claim alleges Monterey County Jail failed to monitor deceased inmate
2014
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A lawsuit against the Monterey County Jail is about to get bigger – what the Public Defender and the ACLU say is wrong with medical care at the facility
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California Prisons Begin ‘Use-of-Force’ Reforms for Mentally Ill Inmates
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Volunteer Lori Rifkin Gives Litigants a True Chance for Justice
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California faces new lawsuit over pepper spraying of mentally ill prisoner
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Death behind bars: Corrections officials keep investigations shrouded in secrecy
2013
Rifkin Law Office is not currently accepting new cases and cannot respond to requests for legal representation or referrals.