The California Senate has retained a prominent Bay Area employment attorney to investigate public allegations of “pervasive” sexual harassment and abuse leveled by dozens of women who work in and around the state Capitol.

Amy Oppenheimer of the Law Offices of Amy Oppenheimer in Berkeley was chosen to review claims—publicized in a letter published Oct. 17 by the Los Angeles Times—that unnamed men “groped and touched us without our consent, made inappropriate comments about our bodies and our abilities.” The letter was signed by 147 lobbyists, lawmakers and staff.