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Wendy J. Thurm
Partner

Email: wthurm@kvn.com
Tel: 415.391.5400

Education:
Harvard Law School, 1992
Tufts University, 1987

Wendy Thurm represents corporations, partnerships and individuals in complex civil cases and white-collar criminal cases throughout the country. Wendy specializes in defending lawyers and law firms in a wide variety of civil, administrative and criminal matters. In that capacity, Wendy has represented many of the largest law firms in the San Francisco Bay Area, and other firms nationwide.

In May, 2009, the Daily Journal named Wendy one of California's Top 100 Women Litgators. In 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008, Wendy was named a Northern California Super Lawyer.

In March 2009, the Ninth Circuit affirmed the summary judgment and permanent injunction Wendy had obtained in the Northern District of California for the former Thelen firm in Thelen Reid Brown Raysman & Steiner LLP v. Francois Marland. Wendy's appellate victory followed closely on the heels of the defense verdict she and partner Elliot Peters obtained from a San Francisco Superior Court jury for Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP and one of its former partners in an action alleging legal malpractice and breach of fiduciary duty over a 22-year estate planning effort. Other notable cases include: Janik v. Rudy, Exelrod & Zieff (Alameda Superior Court, successfully defended law firm in first-of-its-kind class action legal malpractice case arising out of wage and hour overtime class action); Nature's Farm Products, Inc. et al. v. Porter Wright Morris & Arthur, LLP (N.D. Cal., obtained dismissal of claims against law firm and partner for advice re: mushroom importation).

Wendy also has an active pro bono practice. She is lead counsel in Pacific News Service v. Woodford (N.D. Cal.) where she is working with the ACLU of Northern California to challenge California's lethal injection protocol on First Amendment grounds.

Wendy first joined Keker & Van Nest in 1993, after completing a clerkship with the Honorable Phyllis A. Kravitch of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. From 1997 to 1999, Wendy served as the Special Assistant to the Solicitor (General Counsel) of the United States Department of the Interior, where she represented the Department in complex and politically-sensitive litigation, rulemaking, negotiation of legislation and land transactions. Wendy rejoined the firm in July, 1999, and became a partner in January, 2001.

Wendy received her Juris Doctor degree cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1992, where she was editor-in-chief of the Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review. Wendy graduated from Tufts University in 1987, receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science summa cum laude. She is a member of Phi Beta Kappa.

Wendy is admitted to practice in California and the District of Columbia, and numerous federal courts.

Wendy lives in San Francisco with her husband and two children.