Nantiya Ruan returns to the University of Denver and the Lawyering Process program after hiatuses on both coasts. After graduating from D.U. with dual J.D. and M.S.W. degrees, Nantiya clerked for the Honorable Ronald L. Ellis in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Following her clerkship, Nantiya was a litigation associate at Outten & Golden LLP, a New York plaintiffs’ employment law firm, representing employees in discrimination and harassment cases, discrimination class actions, and contract and benefit claims. In one particularly satisfying case, Nantiya was a lead associate in a national “glass ceiling” discrimination class action against a major insurance company.

After four years, Nantiya left New York City for the more tranquil Bay Area waters. In Oakland, California, Nantiya was an associate for Goldstein, Demchak, Baller, Borgen & Dardarian (formerly Saperstein, Goldstein), a firm representing plaintiffs in complex and class action litigations across the country, including civil rights, employment discrimination, wage and hour, disability access, consumer, and other public interest class actions.

Prior to becoming an employee advocate, Nantiya represented children in custody disputes, indigent clients in criminal court in one of DU’s clinics, and was an intern and interim clerk at the Colorado Supreme Court. As a social worker, Nantiya counseled homeless, pregnant teens in Oakland and mothers with drug addictions in Charleston, South Carolina.

Nantiya has finally figured out what the rest of Denver knows, which is that the Rocky Mountain region is the perfect place to live. She returns to Denver with her spouse, Craig, and her two children, Bennett and Matilyn.

Featured Publications

• The Second-Class Class Action: How Courts Thwart Wage Rights by Misapplying Class Action Rules, co-authored with Scott Moss, 61 American University Law Review 523 (2012).
• Experiential Learning in the First-Year Curriculum: The Public Interest Partnership, 8 Legal Comm. & Rhetoric: JALWD 191 (2011).
• Facilitating Wage Theft: How Courts Use Procedural Rules to Undermine Substantive Rights of Low-Wage Workers, 63 Vand. L. Rev. 727 (2010).
• The Justices Find Religion: Why the Supreme Court Ought to Expand Religious Accommodation Rights, 92 Marquette Law Review (2008).
• Bringing Sense to Incentives: Harmonizing Courts' Chaotic Caselaw on Class Action Incentive Payments, 10 Employee Rights and Employment Policy Journal 101 ( 2006).