Haeggquist & Eck, LLP

Bios

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  Alreen Haeggquist

  Managing Partner

  Alreen Haeggquist is dedicated to representing employees who have been wrongfully terminated, harassed, and discriminated against at work. Over the past 17 years, she has recovered millions of dollars for her clients in cases involving wrongful termination, sexual harassment, discrimination, retaliation, and wage theft. She founded Haeggquist & Eck in 2008 and serves as the firm’s managing partner. Alreen’s passion for representing employees started at a very early age. Her parents immigrated to the United States to create a better life for their family, and watching them work tirelessly to provide her with every opportunity informed her unwavering commitment to advancing human rights and giving a voice to the underrepresented. Today, the overwhelming majority of Alreen’s clients are women who have suffered egregious wrongs at the hands of their employers. No defendant is too large or powerful for her to tackle: she has recently represented plaintiffs in employment claims against such major corporations as Trader Joe’s, Sharp Healthcare, Wyndham, Kaiser Permanente, and the Grand Del Mar. In 2017, her jury trial verdict in a disability discrimination case against Kaiser Permanente was awarded one of the Top 50 Employment Verdicts in California. In 2018 alone, Alreen represented a female scientist in a well-publicized gender discrimination case against The Salk Institute, which ended with a confidential settlement shortly before trial. That same year, she also secured a confidential settlement on behalf of an employee of Jollibee, a national fast-food chain, in a case involving claims of sexual harassment, which after the motion for fees, totaled over $1.2 million. Alreen also served as class counsel in the high-profile consumer fraud litigation against presidential contender Donald Trump and Trump University, which settled in November 2016 for $25 million. The settlement was deemed one of California’s Top 50 Class Action Settlements in 2016. For their seven years of work in the case, Alreen and her partners took no fees or costs. Alreen’s commitment to equality, respect, and giving a voice to all, despite race, religion, gender, or disability drives her every day to do her very best for each person who entrusts her with that opportunity. She comes from a very large family and treats each one of her clients as an extension of her own, and believes each of her clients should have the same quality of representation that she would want for her loved ones. When Alreen is not fighting for equality, she loves spending time outdoors with her husband, Michael, and their daughter, Maya.

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  Link: Alreen Haeggquist

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  Amber Eck

  Partner

  Haeggquist & Eck partner and trial attorney Amber Eck is a tenacious advocate for employees, consumers and shareholders, and has been for the past 26 years. Amber has taken cases to trial in both state and federal court as lead trial attorney, and has recovered millions of dollars for her clients in settlements, including multiple six- and seven-figure settlements. Amber doesn’t shy away from high-profile defendants — a fact well-illustrated by her role as co-lead counsel in the well-publicized class action against President Donald Trump and Trump University, which settled for $25 million. For her work in the case, which spanned seven years, Amber and her partners took no fees. In 2016, the Trump University settlement was deemed one of California’s Top 50 Class Action Settlements. Amber has represented plaintiffs in employment cases for wrongful termination, sexual harassment, unequal pay, and discrimination based on gender, race, religion, pregnancy, disability and age against such major corporations as Trader Joe’s, LuLaRoe, Dollar Tree, Cemex, and an international fast-food chain. Amber is dedicated to providing pro bono legal assistance to underserved populations. She is a current member of the Southern District of California’s Pro Bono Panel, and just this year was lead trial counsel representing an inmate in a jury trial for violation of his 8thAmendment rights. She is also a member of the Lawyers Club of San Diego Human Trafficking Collaborative. She previously received the SDVLP Distinguished Service Award for her pro bono work in the case Sanchez v. County of San Diego (alleging searches of welfare applicants’ homes were unconstitutional); and the Wiley M. Manuel Pro Bono Service Award for her work in Badua v. City of San Diego (contending that the City’s long-term disability policy unlawfully discriminated against employees with mental disabilities). Amber frequently speaks on employment and other legal issues. She spoke most recently in January 2019 at the Public Interest Advocacy Collaborative on “Using a Victim Advocate to Strengthen Your Civil Case,” and served as a discussion facilitator at the Lawyers Club Solutions Summit on the topic of Eliminating Sexual Harassment, Sexism & Bullying in the Workplace. Amber was also a panelist discussing “The Law as a Tool” at the 2018 International Agro-Ecological & Environmental Conference in San Francisco, and was a panelist at the 2017 California Women Lawyers Conference on “Transitions to Leadership.” Amber has been a featured guest on ESPN’s Real Talk Downtown and a guest speaker on the topic of small law firms and solo practitioners at the Lawyers Club of San Diego’s annual symposium. She is a Master in the Welsh Inn of Court, a member of the California Employment Lawyers Association (CELA), Lawyers Club of San Diego, Federal Bar Association, Consumer Attorneys of San Diego and Consumer Attorneys of California. Outside the office, Amber enjoys hiking, biking, skiing, and scuba diving. Her favorite pastime, though, is spending time with her husband, Jeff, their two incredible daughters, Jordyn and Kathryn, and their poodle puppy, Cody.

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  Link: Amber Eck

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  Aaron Olsen

  Partner

  Aaron M. Olsen is a partner in the employment law and complex consumer litigation departments of Haeggquist & Eck. Aaron has resolved hundreds of individual labor and employment law cases on behalf of employees. He has recovered millions of dollars in damages. Notably, Aaron was on the trial team in a unique associational disability discrimination matter against Kaiser Permanente that resulted in one of the top 50 largest labor and employment verdicts in California in 2017 on TopVerdict.com. Aaron has served as co-lead counsel prosecuting class action suits, including consumer fraud actions, product defect cases, wage and hour actions, and unfair competition and false advertising claims. He has successfully litigated against major corporations such as Apple, Sony, AT&T and UFC, and served as co-lead counsel on a team that negotiated a $25 million settlement on behalf of students who attended (now U.S. President) Donald Trump’s infamous Trump University. Aaron is currently local counsel for two groups of immigrant parents and children separated at the Mexican border under the United States government’s “zero tolerance” immigration policy. He is also serving as local counsel in a case seeking to uphold The Information Quality Act to ensure government agencies properly disseminate information about immigrants. Aaron has also dedicated much of his time to charitable organizations throughout San Diego. Aaron has been selected to the California Super Lawyers List every year since 2015, an accolade given to only a small percent of attorneys in Southern California, and his written work has appeared in the California State Bar Litigation Review and San Diego Lawyer. Aaron grew up alpine ski racing and competing in downhill mountain bike venues across the country. This competitive drive drew Aaron to triathlons, with him completing his first 140.6-mile Ironman triathlon in 2015. While he continues to enjoy the outdoors, Aaron’s true passion these days is spending time with his wife and two children.

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  Link: Aaron Olsen