Providing solutions for
the workplace

DLN Advisors is a company committed to providing strategic employment law and HR support through all aspects of the employment relationship.  While every workplace has employment relationships, not all companies or interactions are the same.  This is why a “cookie-cutter” approach to fostering employment relations does not work.  DLN Advisors takes a collaborative, business-minded approach to working with clients.  We listen to and work with you to address your unique business needs.  Together, we can accomplish your goals.

Dena Narbaitz, Esq., SPHR

Ms. Narbaitz is an expert in employment law and HR services.  She provides counseling and HR support on a wide range of issues affecting the workplace.  She conducts workplace investigations and, when necessary, testimony regarding investigations.  Ms. Narbaitz provides training to employees, including Preventing Sexual Harassment and Managing 101:  Fostering Excellence and Avoiding Pitfalls.  She also represents clients in employment law litigation before state and federal courts and various arbitration forums, including the American Arbitration Association (AAA), and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (FINRA) (formerly the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. (NASD)). 

After graduating from law school, Ms. Narbaitz clerked for The Honorable William Cahill and The Honorable David Garcia of the San Francisco Superior Court from 1994 through 1996.  She was an associate attorney at Jenkins, Goodman & Neuman and Steefel, Levitt & Weiss.  She became a shareholder with Steefel, Levitt & Weiss in 2002, and held management positions within that firm, including Co-Chair of the Litigation Group and Chair of the Hiring Committee.  Ms. Narbaitz was a partner at Curiale Hirschfeld Kraemer and Epstein, Becker & Green.  She has also been the Regional Director of Human Resources for ABM Onsite Services - West, Inc. and the Vice President of Human Resources for the San Francisco Zoological Society.  Ms. Narbaitz has also served as an EEO Programs Senior Specialist for the City and County of San Francisco Public Utilities Commission. In this role, she conducted discrimination, harassment, and retaliation investigations for the City and addressed employee reasonable accommodations.

CERTIFICATIONS/LICENSES

• Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR)

• California State Bar

• U.S. District Court for the Northern, Eastern, Central and Southern Districts of California

• U.S. Court of Appeals, 8th and 9th Ninth Circuits

EDUCATION

Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations:  Advanced Certificate in Strategic Human Resources Management, December 2012

Syracuse University College of the Law:  
Juris Doctor, magna cum laude, May 1994

University of California, Santa Barbara:
Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy, June 1991
Bachelor of Arts in Law & Society, June 1991

PROFESSIONAL/CIVIC AFFILIATIONS

• Member, Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) and the Northern California Human Resources Association (NCHRA)

• Lambda Legal: Board of Directors (October 2010 to 2014), San Francisco Host Committee (December 2003 to 2014), National Leadership Council (Fall 2006 to October 2010) and Co-Chair of SF Event (2008 through 2010)

• Bar Association of San Francisco Executive Committee (2004-2005)

• Pride Law Fund (Board of Directors from 1999-03/Co-Chair from October 2002 to October 2003)

• Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) Compliance and Legal Division

• Firm Liaison to the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights (1999)

• Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom (1998 Amicus Brief Committee)

• Edward J. McFetridge American Inn of Court (1996 to 1998)