Kennaday Leavitt is Pleased to Welcome Senior Associate, Brenda Verduzco-Portillo
Kennaday Leavitt is pleased to welcome its newest Senior Associate, Brenda Verduzco-Portillo. Brenda is a skilled litigator and policy advisor who joined Kennaday Leavitt in 2025. She represents health plans and other entities in various legal affairs, including regulatory compliance, transactional matters, payor-provider disputes, and all phases of litigation and arbitration.
Brenda brings a unique and comprehensive perspective to her work, drawing on her deep experience in healthcare law and policy at both the state and federal levels. Prior to joining the firm, she was a Deputy Attorney General for the California Department of Justice’s Healthcare Rights & Access Section. In this role, she represented the State of California in high-profile, multi-state litigation challenging federal regulatory actions impacting insurance coverage and access to social safety-net programs. One of her notable achievements was leading a multi-state lawsuit in which she argued and secured a summary judgment in federal court against a federal billing regulation. This victory was crucial in protecting health plans from significant administrative costs and preserving consumers’ access to healthcare coverage. She also successfully led a bipartisan coalition of 29 Attorneys General seeking to advance the development of the 340B Drug Pricing Program at federally qualified health centers.
Brenda began her legal career in Washington, D.C., working with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Civil Rights Center and the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. Her federal background also includes working at the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Office for Civil Rights, where she drafted federal regulations impacting health programs across the country. In addition to healthcare and policy expertise, her practice includes labor and employment, having worked at a medium-sized law firm representing public and private employers. There, she offered clients measured and effective advice and counsel, litigation defense, and conducted workplace investigations involving C-suite executives.
Brenda is an active member of the State Bar of California and is fluent in English and Spanish.