Lindsay Nako - Executive Director

Lindsay Nako represents people who have experienced workplace discrimination, unlawful denial of public benefits, and other civil rights violations. She has represented individuals and classes alleging discrimination based on race, nationality, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, and conviction history; unlawful denial of public benefits; and improper exclusion from workplace benefits. She has authored dozens of amicus briefs on class action standards, discrimination analyses, standing, and attorneys’ fees, and is a frequent speaker on issues related to class action and civil rights litigation.

Lindsay’s recent cases include:

  • Farrell v. Department of Defense (N.D. Cal.) – Counsel for plaintiffs representing a proposed class of veterans discharged during Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and earlier policies that carry markers of their sexual orientation on their discharge papers. Litigation ongoing.

  • Erdmann-Browning v. Vilsack (N.D. Cal.) – Counsel for plaintiffs representing a proposed nationwide class of food stamp recipients facing benefit interruption in the event of a government shutdown. Litigation ongoing.

  • U.S. ex rel. Terry v. Wasatch Advantage Group, LLC (E.D. Cal.) – Class counsel representing housing voucher recipients at specific properties in California and the West Coast who were required to pay excess rent. Litigation ongoing.

  • Hall v. USDA (N.D. Cal.) – Counsel for plaintiffs representing a proposed class of California food stamp recipients excluded from emergency food assistance benefits during the Covid-19 pandemic. After resolution of the case, nearly 900,000 additional California households received emergency benefits.

  • Killian v. West Contra Costa Unified School District (Contra Costa Super. Ct.) – Counsel for plaintiffs seeking to enforce Richmond’s ban-the-box ordinance and other protections for job applicants with prior convictions. Case resulted in significant updates to the school district’s hiring policies and the state-wide EdJoin job application form.

  • Ellis v. Costco (N.D. Cal.) – Class counsel representing women denied promotions to managerial positions. Case resulted in an $8 million settlement and internal changes to Costco’s evaluation and promotion practices.

Before becoming Executive Director in 2024, Lindsay served as the Impact Fund’s Director of Litigation and Training for eight years. In that role, she led the organization’s litigation and amicus advocacy as well as its attorney training program, including the annual Class Action Conference, Summer Online Training Series, and three-day Class Action Training Institute. Lindsay has  trained hundreds of attorneys around the state on legal writing, complex and impact litigation procedure, mitigating implicit bias, and authoring amicus briefs. Previously, Lindsay was a shareholder at a private plaintiff-side law firm in Oakland. She also taught as an Adjunct Professor at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law. Lindsay graduated Phi Beta Kappa and Highest Honors from University of California, Berkeley, and received her law degree from University of California, Berkeley School of Law.

Lindsay was named a “Top Woman Attorney in Northern California” and “Northern California Rising Star” by Super Lawyers Magazine and San Francisco Magazine each year from 2009 until leaving private practice in 2015.  She received the East Bay Community Law Center’s annual Attorney Award in 2012 and was part of the Impact Fund team recognized with the Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom’s Legal Service Award in 2021.  She was Lawyer Representative to the Ninth Circuit Judicial Council from 2017 to 2019 and a Wasserstein Public Interest Fellow at Harvard Law School in 2022-23.  She currently serves as a mediator with the Alternative Dispute Resolution Program for the United States District Court for the Northern District of California and sits on the Executive Committee of the Federal Bar Association, Northern District chapter.