Celeste M.Brecht

Celeste Brecht handles civil disputes for clients in the pharmaceutical, health care, consumer products, media and entertainment, and transportation industries. She is a first-chair trial lawyer who has been a member of trial teams in state and federal courts, has successfully argued before the California Courts of Appeal, and has obtained favorable jury verdicts and results in a variety of administrative forums. Celeste has won dispositive motions in advance of trial and has managed cases from inception through appeal.

Prior to joining Jones Day, Celeste served as lead counsel in numerous trials, including winning a motion to dismiss with prejudice on behalf of a national pet food company in a putative class action alleging that it failed to disclose toxic lead and other disease-causing heavy metals in its dog food. She also resolved disputes arising from California's Prop 65 environmental regulation on behalf of manufacturers, distributors, and retailers; won an anti-SLAPP motion, affirmed on appeal, on behalf of a high-profile actor, producer, and comedian, defeating allegations of harassment, discrimination, and defamation; on behalf of a pharmaceutical company, obtained dismissal in a high-profile personal injury case involving a college athlete; and on behalf of a gasket manufacturer, obtained summary judgment in a products liability case by demonstrating plaintiff could not show specific causation.

Celeste is dedicated to pro bono service and works with the Los Angeles County Bar Association's Domestic Violence Project, the Inner City Law Center, and the Los Angeles Women's Circle, an organization dedicated to funding programs that benefit the development and well-being of young women.