Our People

Melanie represents and regularly advises cities, counties, community college districts, school districts, public safety departments and special districts regarding employee and labor relations matters.  The breadth of her experience as both a negotiator and a litigator informs her practical approach to the myriad of labor and employment issues faced by public entities.

As Executive Director, Gary Connally manages the day-to-day business affairs of Liebert Cassidy Whitmore, including finance and administration, human resources and firm-wide operations.  In this role he provides daily guidance to the firm on the myriad of issues a small business faces, and in addition helps to formulate and implement our long-range strategic plans. Since Gary joined the firm in 2001, LCW has more than doubled in size.

Heather DeBlanc is the Chair of the firm's Business & Facilities Practice Group and serves on the Executive Committee of the Retirement, Health and Disability Practice Group. She serves as the lead partner in both Affordable Care Act and Section 125 Plans practice. She practices education, construction, business, and employment law, representing clients in transactional and litigation matters, as well as administrative hearings.

Jenny Denny, an associate at Liebert Cassidy Whitmore’s Los Angeles Office, provides assistance to clients in matters pertaining to employment law, litigation services, private education and public education law.

As IT Director, Jay provides the overall strategic direction of the firm's technology with primary responsibilities of evaluating and deploying new technology, information and network security and managing IT operations.  Jay also manages the firm’s litigation technology including document review applications, workflows and procedures in the discovery/production process.  He is also responsible for establishing the firm's IT policies and procedures, systems documentation, IT best practices, backup and disaster recovery strategy, IT department budgeting and supervises application training for LCW attorneys and staff.

With almost 40 years of experience in labor, employment, and education law, Mary Dowell has assisted clients in a myriad of employment and education-related issues.  Her primary area of expertise is representing and advising community college districts in a general counsel role, specifically in education, labor and employment-related matters.

Christopher provides representation and legal counsel to school and community college district, special districts, and independent schools.  His practice focuses on matters pertaining to business and facilities including general business contracts, construction contracts, and litigation. Christopher is also a LEED (Leadership in Energy Environmental Design) Green Associate, meaning he has been accredited by the U. S. Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI) as a professional with extensive knowledge of green building practices, construction, and operations.  The LEED Green Associate is a highly accredited degree that recognizes individuals who specialize in green building practices and design, implementation, and regulatory requirements.

Kaylee Feick is an Associate in Liebert Cassidy Whitmore’s Los Angeles office where she provides representation and counsel to clients in all matters pertaining to labor, employment, and education law.  She provides support in litigation claims for discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wage and hour disputes, and other employment matters. Kaylee has experience in litigation procedures such as drafting pleadings and discovery. She also has experience in trial preparation, including researching and drafting pretrial motions and preparing witnesses for trial.  

Jenny-Anne Flores is an associate in Liebert Cassidy Whitmore’s Los Angeles Office where she provides representation and legal counsel to the Firm’s education and public agency clients. An experienced litigator, Jenny-Anne has extensive experience in all aspects of the litigation process including pleadings, discovery, dispositive motion practice, settlement/mediation and trials. 

Christopher represents clients in employment, facilities, and construction law matters. As a litigator, Christopher has extensive experience defending clients against claims of discrimination, harassment, retaliation and wrongful termination.  He has repeatedly leveraged facts uncovered during the discovery process into favorable resolutions for his clients and has successfully obtained dismissals of cases at the pleading and summary judgment stages.  Christopher also has extensive experience both advising clients on handling stop payment notices, bid protests and other construction related issues, as well as defending clients in construction and leasing related proceedings such as defect, change orders, sub-contractor counterclaims, and breach of lease