Eileen R. Ridley
Partner
Eileen R. Ridley is a partner and litigation lawyer with Foley & Lardner LLP. Eileen has tried over 40 cases (both bench and jury matters) and arbitrated in excess of 200 cases. Her experience includes handling complex commercial matters for a variety of industries including the high-tech, oil and gas, telecommunications, construction, insurance, and health care industries. She is the firm’s Chief Diversity & Inclusion Partner, a role in which she is a catalyst for and leader in carrying out the firm’s commitment to diversity. Eileen was formerly a member of the firm’s national Management Committee and is vice chair of the Litigation Department. She is co-chair of the Privacy, Security & Information Management Practice and is former managing partner of the firm’s San Francisco office. Eileen is a member of the Insurance & Reinsurance Litigation; Construction; Appellate; Intellectual Property Litigation; Commercial Litigation; Trademark, Copyright & Advertising; Labor & Employment; and Privacy, Security & Information Management Practices, as well as the Insurance & Reinsurance Industry and Food & Beverage Industry Teams.
Eileen’s work has involved antitrust and class actions (including multi-district and joint jurisdiction actions), unfair competition, trade secret and copyright matters, product liability claims, environmental claims (including CERCLA and CEQA), insurance coverage and title insurance litigation, ERISA litigation, commercial disputes, and employment issues. She also has a vast knowledge base in insurance coverage and litigation issues regarding a wide variety of insurance programs. Through Eileen’s appellate practice, she has briefed and/or appeared before California’s State Appellate Courts, the California Supreme Court, the 9th Circuit and the 7th Circuit.
Eileen R. Ridley has tried over 50 cases over her career nationally in both state and federal courts, including both bench and jury trials. Her trials have concerned a wide variety of topics including insurance, health, competition and advertising, technology, ERISA, entertainment, commercial, and maritime cases. Eileen has also tried IP matters (including trade secret, inventorship, and advertising claims). In addition to trials, she has handled a number of evidentiary hearings including temporary restraining orders, injunctive relief and spoilation of evidence matters. Furthermore, Eileen has tried in excess of 300 arbitrations nationally as well. Clients value both her broad trial experience and creativity, and Eileen has developed overall business strategies for litigation involving new regulatory challenges like prompt pay statutes, managed care reasonable and customary charge assessments, recidivist plaintiffs/counsel prosecuting claims challenging commercial issues, and cybersecurity and privacy laws.
Awards and Recognition
Eileen has been Peer Review Rated as AV® Preeminent™, the highest performance rating in Martindale-Hubbell’s peer review rating system and in 2005 was named as one of the “Bay Area’s Best Lawyers in Appellate Practice” by Bay Area Lawyer Magazine. She was also selected for inclusion in the Northern California Super Lawyers® lists in 2008-2016. In 2012 and 2016, she was recognized by the Legal 500 for her work in insurance: advice to insurers. She was also recognized by Thomas Reuters as a Stand-out Lawyer in 2025.
Presentations and Publications
- Stand-out Lawyer, Thomson Reuters (2026)
- 2004 Business Litigation Conference – jointly sponsored with Corporate Legal Times and Martindale-Hubbell – “Maximizing the Protection of Privileged Communications”
- Mealey’s, Inc. Coverage Disputes Concerning Construction Defects Conference– “Contractual Liability Coverage” (October 2004)
- California State Bar Convention –”Fifty Years After Brown: Examining Bias in the Legal Profession” (October 2004)
- The Daily Practice of Attorney-Client Privilege – Web Conference Series for Corporate Counsel (September 15, 2005)
- Information, Security and Privacy – The Rutter Group (November 2007)
- Privacy & Nondiscrimination in Genetic Testing – Webcast with West’s Publishing (August 2008)
- Data Privacy and Security Best Practices for High Tech Companies, Manufacturers and Franchisors – Presentation at Foley’s Drive Your Business Forward: Distribution and Franchise Law Update (September 2008)
- Foley NewsFeed: Foley Quarterly Food & Beverage Industry Web Conference Series (March 2009)
Certifications
Eileen holds the Certified Information Privacy Professional/United States (CIPP/US) and the Certified Information Privacy Professionals/European (CIPP/E) credentials, a global gold standard and key industry benchmark accredited by the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP).
Articles
- “Construction’s Four-Letter Word,” The Recorder (April 30, 2004)
- “AB758: The Evolving Relationship Between Builder and Subcontractor,” California Real Estate Journal (January 23, 2006)
- “Managing The Risk of Employee Blogs,” Midwest In-House Magazine (February 1, 2007)
- “Unmasking the Anonymous Internet User, The Recorder (April 16, 2008)
- “Workplace Privacy and Employer Monitoring,” BNA’s Privacy & Security Law Report (July 2008)
- “Unresolved Questions: When Are Actual Damages Required in Stored Communications Act Cases?” – BNA’s Privacy & Security Law Report (April 13, 2009)
Published Cases
- Kendall v. Visa U.S.A., Inc., et al., 518 F.3d 1042 (9th Cir. 2008)
- Reyn’s Pasta Bella, LLC, et al. v. VISA, U.S.A., Inc., et. al. 442 F.3d 741 (9th Cir., March 27, 2006)
- Reyn’s Pasta Bella, LLC v. VISA, U.S.A., Inc., et al. 259 F. Supp.2d 992 (N.D. Ca. 2003)
- Somerset Marine, Inc. v. Forespar Products Corp., 876 F.Supp. 1114 (C.D. Ca 1994)
Foley Secures Landmark Victory for Pro Bono Client in Federal and State Cases
Eileen Ridley on Cyber Outage Legal Fallout - 'Claims may not be as straightforward'
Eileen Ridley Honored with Legal Momentum’s Women of Achievement Award
CCPA Business-to-Business and Employment Information Exceptions Ending
California Attorney General Announces First CCPA Enforcement Action
