Raymond A. Wendell

Attorneys

Raymond Headshot

Raymond A. Wendell joined Goldstein, Borgen, Dardarian & Ho in 2014 and became a partner in 2022. He represents plaintiffs in disability access, consumer rights, wage and hour, housing, and employment discrimination cases. He has helped secure settlements requiring numerous cities throughout the United States to make their sidewalks and curb ramps accessible to people with mobility disabilities. In 2020, Raymond was selected as a top lawyer under 40 by Law360. He has served on the board of directors for the National Trans Bar Association since 2019 and has spoken on topics including California labor standards, Title VII, and diversity in the law. Prior to joining GBDH, Raymond clerked for the Honorable Marilyn L. Huff in the Southern District of California. In 2013, Raymond graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School, where he was an editor of the Harvard Law Review and was recognized for excellence in research and writing.

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Education

  • J.D., cum laude, Harvard Law School, 2013
  • B.A., magna cum laude, Sociology, Georgetown University, 2007

Bar and Court Admissions

  • California (2014)

  • U.S. District Courts: Northern and Central Districts of California

  • U.S. Courts of Appeals: First Circuit and Ninth Circuit

Awards

  • Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Employment & Civil Rights Lawyers (2021)

  • Law360 Top Attorneys Under 40 (2020)

  • Super Lawyers Rising Star (since 2015)

  • Irving Oberman Memorial Award for best written work on law and social change (2013)

  • Dean’s Scholar Prizes for best grade in Torts, Legal Research and Writing, Disability Law, Antitrust Law and Economics, and Complex Litigation (2010-2013)

Professional Associations and Memberships

  • National Trans Bar Association (Board of Directors since 2019)
  • California Employment Law Association
  • Disability Rights Bar Association

Prior Employment

  • Law Clerk, The Hon. Marilyn L. Huff, U.S. Dist. Ct., Southern District of California, 2013-2014
  • Student Attorney, Post-Foreclosure Eviction Defense Clinic, Boston, MA, 2013
  • Legal Intern, Davis, Cowell & Bowe, LLP, San Francisco, CA, 2012
  • Legal Intern, California Dep't of Fair Employment & Housing, Elk Grove, CA, 2011

Representative Cases

  • Muehe et al. v. City of Boston, Case No. 1:21-cv-11080-RGS (D. Mass. Oct. 19, 2021): Certified class action on behalf of individuals with mobility disabilities challenging City’s lack of accessible curb ramps. Under settlement, City must install or upgrade an average of 1,630 curb ramps per year until there is a compliant curb ramp at every corner. See Muehe, 2021 WL 5086404 (Nov. 2, 2021) (approving attorneys’ fees and characterizing settlement as “a ‘game changer’ for the class (and, indeed, for all residents and visitors of the City)”); WBUR, In win for residents with disabilities, Boston must upgrade curb ramps across the city (Nov. 24, 2021).

  • Bazerman v. American Airlines, Inc., Case No. 1:17-cv-11297 (D. Mass. Apr. 8, 2019): Certified class action against American Airlines for systematically promising passengers that they could check certain bags for free, only to charge them to check those bags when they arrived at the airport. Under settlement, most class members who filed a claim received a full refund, plus interest, totaling over $7 million in refunds. See JT Genter, American Airlines Settles Baggage Fee Lawsuit – How Much Are You Owed?, The Points Guy.

  • Reynoldson et al. v. City of Seattle, Case No. 15-cv-01608 MJP (W.D. Wash. Nov. 1, 2017): Certified class action on behalf of people with mobility disabilities who have been denied access to Seattle pedestrian right of way as a result of City’s failure to provide and maintain accessible curb ramps. Settlement requires City to install more than 20,000 accessible curb ramps over eighteen years.

  • Willits et al. v. City of Los Angeles, Case No. 10-cv-05782 (C.D. Cal. Aug. 26, 2016): Certified class action on behalf of approximately 280,000 people with mobility disabilities challenging City’s failure to maintain sidewalks and install accessible curb ramps. Settlement requires the city to spend more than $1.4 billion on improvements to the pedestrian right of way. Recognized as the largest disability access class action settlement of all time.  See Sarah Goodyear, Why L.A.’s $1.4 Billion Sidewalk Repair Case Is Such a Big Deal, Bloomberg (Apr. 7, 2015).

Representative Publications