Lacey Sipsey

Overview

Since 2021, Lacey Sipsey has focused her practice on defending public entities and their employees in complex civil rights litigation, claims against social services for failure to protect, failure to cross report claims of sexual abuse or abuse, claims under FEHA/employment law for wrongful termination and discrimination, 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claims of interference with parent-child relationship, unreasonable search and seizure, fabrication of evidence, judicial deception, excessive force, false arrest and failure to provide adequate medical care in the jail by nursing and correctional staff, and general liability claims under Government Code § 835. Ms. Sipsey also has experience defending entities against childhood sexual abuse claims brought pursuant to California Code of Civil Procedure § 340.1.

Ms. Sipsey focuses on dispositive law and motion practice, where she has obtained dismissals and favorable rulings at the pleading and summary judgment stages. Her practice is defined by rigorous legal analysis and strategic motion practice aimed at narrowing or resolving claims at the earliest practicable stage, where she routinely advances defenses such as qualified immunity, absolute immunity, and other statutory protections.

Ms. Sipsey is also an accomplished appellate advocate and has handled complex appeals before the California Courts of Appeal, the California Supreme Court, and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Most recently, Ms. Sipsey demonstrated both her writing and trial skills in Porio v. Barbari, et al., Case No. 8:25-cv-00812-RGK wherein the plaintiff alleged that the County of Orange and a County Jail nurse were deliberately indifferent to his medical needs while he was detained at the County Jail. Ms. Sipsey successfully obtained summary judgment for the County of Orange on the plaintiff’s Monell claims. Ms. Sipsey then served as third chair trial counsel in this case where the jury returned a unanimous defense verdict for the County Jail nurse. Currently, Ms. Sipsey serves as appellate counsel for the County of Orange and the County Jail nurse in this matter where she authored the appellate brief that was argued before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals panel and submitted for decision on April 20, 2026. See Porio v. Barbari, et al., Case No. 25-1294.

Ms. Sipsey has represented numerous public entities in complex litigation, including the County of Orange, County of Riverside, County of San Bernardino, and the cities of Hemet, Victorville, Azusa, Huntington Park, Redondo Beach, West Covina, Baldwin Park, Anaheim, Santa Monica, and others. She has also represented public entities’ employees such as law enforcement personnel and social workers.

Prior to practicing public entity defense, Ms. Sipsey founded and managed her own law firm, where she handled complex criminal immigration matters. She has also litigated a broad range of civil cases including business disputes, premises liability, employment, securities, and intellectual property, reinforcing her ability to address multifaceted claims through strategic motion practice.

Ms. Sipsey earned her Juris Doctor from the University of Mississippi School of Law in 2016, where she graduated in the top 15% of her class with a 3.66 GPA and served as an Associate Editor of the Mississippi Law Journal. She is the author of Inducing Congress to Create Separate Patent Infringement Categories: A Solution to Multiple Actor Liability Evasion, 85 Miss. L.J. 209 (2016).

Outside the office, Lacey enjoys paddleboarding, hiking, cooking, and spending time with her family.

General

Education

Legal

• – Juris Doctor, Magna Cum Laude
  • University of Mississippi School of Law
  • 2016

Undergraduate

• – Bachelor of Science, Biology
  • University of Southern Mississippi
  • 2011

Professional

Notable

Publications:

• – Inducing Congress to Create Separate Patent Infringement Categories: A Solution to Multiple Actor Liability Evasion, 85 Miss. L.J. 209 (2016).