Sarah A. Ornelas is a Partner in the Modesto and Sacramento offices of Borton Petrini, LLP, and is the managing partner of the firm’s Sacramento office. Sarah is a civil, employment, and insurance defense trial attorney. Sarah primarily handles the defense of complex employment cases and large exposure personal injury cases (including those involving death and traumatic brain injury). In her most recent Jury Trial, Sarah obtained a directed verdict on behalf of the defense, in a case where the Plaintiff was seeking an eight-figure damage award. If you ask Sarah, she will tell you that her favorite Trial experience was when the jury (after a 3.5 week Trial) returned a full defense verdict after only fifteen minutes of deliberation.
Sarah also provides representation to many local and national businesses and employers to ensure that they remain compliant with changing laws and regulations and assist in the proper training of their staff. Sarah has practice and experience in defending businesses and employers from wrongful termination, employment discrimination, and sexual harassment claims, and provides counsel to business clients in all aspects of their business activities, including initial formation, annual meetings, sales, leases, contracts, dissolution, and business succession planning.
Sarah graduated summa cum laude from California State University, Stanislaus in Turlock, California. She graduated in three years with a BS in Business Management with a concentration in international business and received the title of Management Student of the Year. Sarah attended law school at Suffolk University Law School in Boston, Massachusetts and graduated cum laude with her Juris Doctrine in May 2007.
Sarah is licensed to practice law in California, Massachusetts, Connecticut, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California, the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, and the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut.
Sarah formerly served her community as the secretary for the Board of Directors for the United Samaritans Foundation. In her free time, Sarah enjoys volunteering in her community, escaping to the beach, and spending time with her husband and two children.
