San Francisco-based plaintiffs attorney Lori Andrus has specialized in mass tort cases involving faulty drugs and medical devices. But she recently won a case that hit closer to home, a gender bias suit against insurer Farmers Group on behalf of the female lawyers it employs. Andrus began her legal career at Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein before launching her own firm in 2007. Fresh from negotiating a $4 million peace deal with Farmers, Andrus spoke about her background in the women’s rights movement, being mistaken for the court reporter, and the future of diversity in the legal profession
You’ve had a lot of different roles, working for members of Congress and later going on to do consumer class actions at Lieff Cabraser. Has there been a consistent objective you’ve maintained through all of them? Not specifically, or at least not intentionally. But I will say that I have always been accused of being idealistic, throughout my life. When I was young, people always told me, ‘Oh Lori, you’ll grow out of that idealism.’ And I haven’t. My work on Capitol Hill, in addition to my work recruiting more women to run for office, and my legal practice—all of that has remained as idealistic as back in 1992 when I marched on Washington for reproductive rights. So that’s been a consistent theme throughout the path my career has taken.
