ABOUT

Education

Juris Doctor, University of California, Berkeley, School of Law

Bachelor of Arts, Harvard College

Bar Admission and Professional Activity

Admitted to practice law in California.

Admitted to the United States District Court for the Northern District of California.

• Member, California Employment Lawyers Association

• Member, Disability Rights Bar Association

• Member, National Lawyers Guild - San Francisco Bay Area

• Member, National Asian Pacific American Bar Association

• Member, Asian American Bar Association – Greater Bay Area Chapter

  -Civil Rights Committee Co-Chair (2022 – 2024)

• Life Member, South Asian Bar Association of Northern California

  -Board Member (2016-2017)

  -Civil Rights Committee Co-Chair (2017)

  -Pro Bono Committee Co-Chair (2016)

Awards & Recognition

• 2024: Best Lawyers – Ones to Watch – Litigation – Labor and Employment

• 2024: Best Lawyers – Ones to Watch – Labor and Employment Law – Employee

• 2023-2024: Super Lawyers – Rising Star

• 2023: Fellow, National Asian Pacific American Bar Association’s Leadership Advancement Program

Publications

• When the Boss is “Hardcore,” Workers Respond with Confidence, ABA Labor & Employment Law Newsletter (February 23, 2023)

• Harassment Chapter, California Employment Law, Practicing Law Institute (October 1, 2022)

Pawanpreet Kaur Dhaliwal is a committed and compassionate advocate for employees, including executives and professionals. She provides high-caliber, client-centered representation to individuals facing a wide range of employment law issues, including discrimination, harassment, retaliation, pay inequity, and unpaid bonuses and commissions.

Pawanpreet gained invaluable experience at several high-impact civil and workers’ rights law firms and organizations for nearly a decade before founding Dhaliwal Law. She has represented workers in the technology and healthcare sectors, among others, and possesses a demonstrated track record of helping clients navigate crises and traumatic situations. Earlier in her career, she provided holistic legal support to survivors of xenophobic discrimination and hate violence, and vindicated the rights of nurse whistleblowers retaliated against for demanding workplace and patient safety during the Coronavirus Pandemic. In the years prior to starting Dhaliwal Law, Pawanpreet was a senior associate at premier civil rights law firm Outten & Golden, where she successfully advocated for clients facing workplace discrimination, harassment, and retaliation, in pre-litigation negotiations and in arbitration and litigation.

Pawanpreet has deep knowledge of California’s workplace laws, including in the areas of sexual harassment, pay equity and transparency, discrimination based on race, religion, sex, gender, disability, sexual orientation, and leave status, and whistleblower retaliation. She co-authored a chapter on California Harassment Law for a legal treatise, and has been quoted on civil rights matters by the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, and Law360.

Pawanpreet’s advocacy is informed by her commitment to social justice and her own lived experiences as a woman of color with intersectional identities. She takes pride in working alongside her clients to tell their authentic stories and reclaim their agency and dignity in the face of injustice.

Pawanpreet received her Bachelor of Arts from Harvard College and her Juris Doctor from the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law. She is an active member of the Asian American legal community and a dedicated mentor to diverse law students and new lawyers.