Accomplished employee-side attorney to receive highest award for women in the U.S. legal profession.
Wendi S. Lazar, a partner at Outten & Golden LLP, is one of five recipients of the esteemed 2020 Margaret Brent Women Lawyers of Achievement Award from the American Bar Association. Ms. Lazar will be honored on August 2, 2020, at the ABA Annual Meeting in Chicago.
Established in 1991 by the Commission on Women in the Profession, the Margaret Brent Award recognizes and celebrates the accomplishments of women lawyers who have achieved professional excellence in their area of specialty and have actively paved the way to success for other women lawyers. Past honorees include U.S. Supreme Court Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sandra Day O’Connor, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, General Counsel Michele Coleman Mayes, and plaintiff lawyer Judith P. Vladeck.
“So many of the women who have received the Margaret Brent award have been my heroines and role models. For my name to appear among theirs is truly humbling and a highlight of my career,” said Ms. Lazar, who represents executives, professionals, partners and management teams in employment and transactional matters in the U.S. and internationally. “I thank the ABA and I am so grateful to Outten & Golden and my many colleagues within and outside the firm ““ especially those in the Labor & Employment Section of the New York State Bar Association ““ who have supported and encouraged me to achieve meaningful results for women in the legal profession and in many industries.”
A former Commissioner on the ABA’s Commission on Women, Ms. Lazar worked tirelessly in 2016 to help pass a new model rule that holds lawyers accountable for discrimination and harassment which was a significant triumph for the profession and the ABA. She was the Editor in Chief of Zero Tolerance: Best Practices for Combating Sex-Based Harassment in the Legal Profession, an ABA Commission publication that has been an agent for change in the area of harassment in the profession. Ms. Lazar’s professional leadership on issues of gender equity, diversity, and discrimination have been a cornerstone of her career.
At Outten & Golden, Ms. Lazar co-chairs the Executives and Professionals Practice Group and the firm’s Individual Practice. She is a frequent speaker and has authored many articles and treatises in this area. “It has been a privilege to work alongside Wendi to grow our firm into the largest of its kind in the U.S.,” said Wayne N. Outten, Chair and Founder of Outten & Golden, “and also to witness the impressive results Wendi regularly obtains for her clients ““ men and women in C-suite and executive roles.”
Outten & Golden Partner Tammy Marzigliano, who co-chairs the Financial Services Practice Group and Whistleblower and Retaliation Practice Group, said, “Wendi is a strong advocate for women’s rights and zealously argues on behalf of her clients. She is very passionate about these issues and mentors our female associates to become future leaders.” “Wendi’s commitment and passion in making the legal and business worlds better for women serve as an example of great leadership in the law,” says Outten & Golden Managing Partner Adam T. Klein. “We congratulate her on this outstanding honor.”
Outten & Golden LLP focuses on advising and representing individuals in employment, partnership, and related workplace matters both domestically and internationally. The firm counsels individuals on employment and severance agreements; handles complex compensation and benefits issues (including bonuses, commissions, and stock/ option agreements); and advises professionals (including doctors and lawyers) on contractual issues. It also represents employees with a wide variety of claims, including discrimination and harassment based on sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, race, disability, national origin, religion, and age, as well as retaliation, whistleblower, and contract claims. The firm handles class actions involving a wide range of employment issues, including economic exploitation, gender- and race-based discrimination, wage-and-hour violations, violations of the WARN Act, and other systemic workers’ rights issues.
Outten & Golden has nine practice groups: Executives & Professionals, Financial Services, Sex Discrimination & Sexual Harassment, Family Responsibilities & Disabilities Discrimination, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) Workplace Rights, Discrimination & Retaliation, Whistleblower Retaliation, Class & Collective Actions, and WARN Act.
Outten & Golden has offices in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and Washington, DC.
For media inquiries, contact Managing Partner Adam T. Klein at (212) 245-1000 or atk@outtengolden.com.