Jennifer S. Willis
Partner
Jennifer Snodgrass Willis is a Partner with the firm whose practice focuses on the areas of construction defect, personal injury, complex commercial litigation, premises liability and product liability litigation. She has extensive experience in the areas of commercial litigation, as well as corporate and intellectual property transactional work.
Ms. Willis is admitted to practice before all California, Washington and Oregon courts as well as the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California. Ms. Willis has appeared in federal and state cases in California, Oregon, Washington, Texas, Illinois, Florida and Pennsylvania.
Admissions
State Bar of California, 2003
State Bar of Washington, 2022
State Bar of Oregon, 2023
United States District Court, Eastern District of California
Education
University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law, J.D. 2003
Sacramento, California
- Managing Editor, The McGeorge Law Review
Competition Member, ABA Negotiations and Settlement Team
VIS International Commercial Arbitration Team (competing in Vienna, Austria)
California Polytechnic State University, B.S., cum laude, Business Administration with a concentration in International Business, 2000
Other
- Defense verdict in binding arbitration related to claims of construction defects involving commercial solar project at multiple buildings.
- Successfully resolved suit against manufacturer client involving high exposure water intrusion claim at luxury resort and spa (Southern California).
- After filing Motion for Summary Judgment, secured dismissal for waiver of fees and costs of $10 million construction defect claim (Northern California).
- Trial counsel received a defense verdict for product manufacturer after a jury trial of Product Liability and Montana Consumer Protection Act claims. On appeal, the verdict was upheld by Montana Supreme Court (Montana).
- Aggressive motions and discovery practice in commercial litigation resulted in favorable rulings from Federal District Court resulting in client recovery of more than $32 million from component part manufacturer and vendor (Florida).
- Obtained multi-million-dollar settlement from Fortune 500 Energy Company after flooding of client’s property (Oregon).
- Obtained dismissal of putative class action lawsuits in Federal Court prior to class certification (Pennsylvania).
- Earned defense award after binding arbitration initiated by vendor/manufacturer against client on breach of contract claim (Texas).
Before joining Hugo Parker, Ms. Willis was employed by Schneider, Holtz & Moore as a Senior Trial Attorney as part of Nationwide Insurance Company’s Trial Division defending a variety of construction defect and general liability cases, including liability, bodily injury commercial, premises liability and contractual disputes throughout California, from Shasta County to Los Angeles County, as well as Federal Court in the Eastern District of California.
After law school, Ms. Willis worked at the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office conducting arraignments, bench trials and law and motion practice. She interned at the United States Attorney’s Office – Civil Division where she researched pending cases, drafted discovery, and assisted in drafting briefs to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California for cases involving Indian Law, personal injury, and wrongful death.
