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Jackson Lewis said Thursday that it added a veteran Silicon Valley litigator from rival labor and employment powerhouse Littler Mendelson, giving the firm its 60th office globally.

Neda Dal Cielo, who joins as a firm principal and who will lead the firm’s new San Jose office, spent more than two decades at Littler.

The Silicon Valley outpost is Jackson Lewis’ sixth office in California. It will complement the firm’s existing San Francisco office, the firm said Thursday.

“I have been familiar with Jackson Lewis for years as a leader in the employment space,” Dal Cielo said in a statement. “I am excited to join their talented team in California and help continue to grow the Silicon Valley team.”

Dal Cielo, who joined Littler in 1997 and eventually became a shareholder in the firm’s San Jose office, focuses on defending employers against allegations of wrongful termination, employment discrimination, sexual harassment, retaliation, wage and hour, and other related claims arising out of employment disputes.

“There is not a doubt in our minds that Neda is the right person to help us plant the flag in Silicon Valley as office managing principal,” said firm co-chairs Kevin Lauri and William Anthony in a joint statement. “Her impressive courtroom skills and reputation in the Silicon Valley legal market, combined with her counseling style and ability to effectively partner with clients, make her a very welcome addition to the Jackson Lewis team.”

The labor and employment firm has recently bolstered its San Francisco office by hiring partners Gina Roccanova from Meyers Nave Riback Silver & Wilson and Donald Sullivan from Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker. That office, which opened in 1978, has about 35 attorneys. The firm has more than 160 attorneys across California.

Litter did not respond to requests for comment on Dal Cielo’s departure.

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