Farella Lawyers Take on 2025 BASF Board Leadership Roles
Erica Villanueva Elected Secretary and Jaya Bajaj Narang Elected to Barristers Club Board of Directors
Farella Braun + Martel is proud to announce that Insurance Recovery Partner Erica Villanueva has been elected to the Executive Committee of the Bar Association of San Francisco (BASF), and will assume the position of Secretary effective January 1. Service on the BASF Executive Committee is customarily a four-year officer role commitment, culminating with a year of service as BASF President.
Additionally, Employment Senior Associate Jaya Bajaj Narang was nominated to serve on the BASF Barristers Club Board of Directors for a three-year term starting January 1.
BASF was established in 1872 and provides its San Francisco Bay Area membership with pro bono and networking opportunities. BASF works to advance the professional standards of the legal profession, provide legal services to disadvantaged and underserved members of the community, and cultivate culture and diversity in the legal profession. The Barristers Club is a community of BASF member attorneys in their first 10 years of practice, as well as law students. The group aims to help these lawyers develop the skills they need for a successful career.
Erica chairs Farella’s Insurance Recovery practice group. She advises policyholders seeking to maximize recovery under their insurance policies, helping her clients navigate the insurance claims process, litigating breach of contract and bad faith claims against insurers, and advising on policy wording and coverage renewals. Erica previously served on the BASF Board of Directors from 2019-2021, as chair of the BASF Insurance Law Section in 2018 and as an Insurance Law Section executive committee member from 2015-2017, and on the BASF Judiciary Committee from 2016-2018. She is a fellow of the prestigious American College of Coverage Counsel. For her work as an insurance recovery practitioner, Erica is recognized in Chambers USA(2019-2024) and in Best Lawyers in America (2023-2025). She earned her J.D. from Yale Law School.
Jaya represents employers in single-plaintiff, class, and representative actions with a focus on the technology and consumer products industries. She litigates disputes regarding discrimination, harassment, retaliatory discharge, and wage and hour law in federal and state courts, before administration agencies, and before arbitrators. She also counsels clients on a wide range of employment matters, including developing employment policies, conducting investigations, overseeing leaves of absence and accommodations, and managing workplace disputes. In 2022, Jaya was named to the Lawyers of Color Hotlist. She earned her J.D. from Northwestern Pritzker School of Law.
Farella Braun + Martel is a leading Northern California law firm representing corporate and private clients in sophisticated business and real estate transactions and complex commercial, civil, and criminal litigation. Clients seek our imaginative legal solutions and the dynamism and intellectual creativity of our lawyers. We are headquartered in San Francisco and maintain an office in the Napa Valley focused on the wine industry.
Contact:
Cheryl Loof
Farella Braun + Martel LLP
415.954.4433 / [email protected]
