Full Name
Anne Barnett
Job Title
VP, Deputy General Counsel, Employment Legal and Employee Relations
Company
Lyft
Speaker Bio
Anne Cherry Barnett is a nationally recognized employment law leader with more than two decades of experience guiding companies through complex workforce challenges, high-stakes legal decisions, and periods of significant organizational change. As Vice President and Deputy General Counsel at Lyft, Inc., Anne leads the company's Global Employment Legal and Employee Relations verticals across the globe serving as a trusted advisor to senior leadership on matters spanning labor and employment law, workforce planning, compensation, pay equity, executive transitions, restructuring, reductions in force, M&A integration, and organized labor. She is a member of both Lyft's Legal Leadership and People Leadership Teams.
Reflecting the breadth of her expertise at the intersection of law and human resources, Anne also served on an interim basis for nearly a year as a senior leader of a significant portion of Lyft's People Team. This cross-functional leadership experience gives her a distinctive vantage point on how legal, HR, and business leaders must align, especially when navigating workforce disruption and organizational uncertainty.
Before joining Lyft, Anne held an extensive tenure at AMLaw 100 firms, most recently as a Partner at Reed Smith LLP in San Francisco. She built a distinguished practice advising employers across high-growth technology, healthcare, financial services, and manufacturing. Her expertise bridges the gap between pragmatic business counsel on complex HR issues and robust advocacy in both class action and single-plaintiff employment litigation, encompassing significant trial and deposition experience.
A prolific thought leader, Anne has been published in Bloomberg Law, Law360, the Daily Journal, Society for Human Resource Management, and Employment Relations Today, and has presented at major CLE programs on topics including independent contractor classification, wage and hour law, pay equity, and workforce compliance. She is a sought-after voice on the evolving landscape of employment law and the critical role of legal leaders in periods of organizational change.
Anne is a graduate of the University of San Francisco School of Law and The Pennsylvania State University. She is a member of the California, District of Columbia, and Pennsylvania bars.
Anne has dedicated significant time to pro bono service, including serving on the Board of Directors of Hamilton Families and representing minors in guardianship and school discipline matters through Legal Services for Children
Reflecting the breadth of her expertise at the intersection of law and human resources, Anne also served on an interim basis for nearly a year as a senior leader of a significant portion of Lyft's People Team. This cross-functional leadership experience gives her a distinctive vantage point on how legal, HR, and business leaders must align, especially when navigating workforce disruption and organizational uncertainty.
Before joining Lyft, Anne held an extensive tenure at AMLaw 100 firms, most recently as a Partner at Reed Smith LLP in San Francisco. She built a distinguished practice advising employers across high-growth technology, healthcare, financial services, and manufacturing. Her expertise bridges the gap between pragmatic business counsel on complex HR issues and robust advocacy in both class action and single-plaintiff employment litigation, encompassing significant trial and deposition experience.
A prolific thought leader, Anne has been published in Bloomberg Law, Law360, the Daily Journal, Society for Human Resource Management, and Employment Relations Today, and has presented at major CLE programs on topics including independent contractor classification, wage and hour law, pay equity, and workforce compliance. She is a sought-after voice on the evolving landscape of employment law and the critical role of legal leaders in periods of organizational change.
Anne is a graduate of the University of San Francisco School of Law and The Pennsylvania State University. She is a member of the California, District of Columbia, and Pennsylvania bars.
Anne has dedicated significant time to pro bono service, including serving on the Board of Directors of Hamilton Families and representing minors in guardianship and school discipline matters through Legal Services for Children
Speaking At
