Laura J.Maechtlen

Partner

Laura is passionate about helping her clients build strong workplace cultures focused on compliance, diversity, and inclusion. Her goal is to minimize her clients’ involvement in systemic discrimination litigation.


More About Laura

Corporate clients seeking to innovate and improve their talent culture look to Laura for her experience and practical advice. Laura is a member of the firm's executive committee, chair of the national Labor & Employment department, co-chair of the firm's National Diversity & Inclusion Action Team, and a leading member of the firm's Workplace Compliance group, which focuses on change management and the delivery of proactive solutions that help global clients avoid mass litigation and develop internal compliance initiatives.

Employers across the country value Laura's broad knowledge of legally defensible and practical solutions for achieving diversity and inclusion objectives. She provides counsel and advice on diversity and inclusion best practices, metrics, progress management, and change management. If litigation arises, Laura is prepared to resolve class, collective, and multiplaintiff discrimination actions as quickly and efficiently as possible, while preserving business strategy and talent culture.

Through training and counsel, Laura helps clients avoid litigation risks. She has conducted a multitude of employee and management trainings on diversity and inclusion, anti-harassment, and positive employment relations. Laura has also counseled senior executives and boards of directors about how to resolve or avoid mass litigation, and develop internal compliance initiatives matters. In addition, Laura has assisted clients in conducting pay equity and "barrier analysis" related to underrepresented employees in the workforce, helping craft solutions and strategies for addressing pay equity risk, improving diversity, and creating a culture of inclusion.

Laura also manages administrative agency investigations. These include systemic initiative, pattern-and-practice, and disparate impact claims involving unequal pay, hiring and pre-employment testing, background checking, promotion, and reasonable accommodation processes.

Additionally, Laura has extensive litigation and trial experience. She has litigated against the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing in systemic actions, both at the early charge stage and in large-scale EEOC pattern-and-practice litigation. In addition, Laura has helped clients secure defense verdicts in the California Superior Courts in the counties of San Francisco, Alameda, and Santa Clara. She has handled a significant number of high-profile matters arising from employer practices and policies in the wake of the #MeToo and #BlackLivesMatter movements. These include investigations, audits, compliance reviews, and rebuilding of company policy/practice following PR events, and/or legal claims.

  • JD, Boston University School of Law

    Silvia Bieckne Robinson Award

  • BA, University of Colorado Boulder
    Political Science and Music

    Cum laude

  • California
  • New Mexico
  • US Supreme Court
  • US Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
  • US District Court, Central District of California
  • US District Court, Eastern District of California
  • US District Court, Northern District of California
  • US District Court, Southern District of California
  • US District Court, District of New Mexico