Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C. (Ogletree Deakins), one of the largest labor and employment law firms representing management, is pleased to welcome Patricia (Patti) Perez as a shareholder in the firm’s San Diego office. Perez is the seventh shareholder and 13th attorney to join Ogletree Deakins’ San Diego office since it opened in January 2013. Ogletree Deakins has also experienced swift growth across its network of five California offices, which now include more than 100 attorneys.

Perez has served human resources professionals, across the U.S. and internationally, with issues related to employment law for more than 20 years. After spending the early years of her career representing management in employment law related matters, in 2001 Perez founded Puente Consulting, a human resources and employment law consulting firm. Puente Consulting quickly became recognized as one of the premier firms in California for workplace investigations, wage and hour audits, and compliance trainings. Her ability to speak Spanish fluently was frequently of great assistance in providing these services to employers. Over the 13 years Perez operated her business, she developed an impressive client list consisting of many of the state’s top employers. Perez joins the firm as a shareholder and will continue to hold the title of President of Puente Consulting, the brand under which the firm will continue to provide Perez’s helpful services.

Recognizing Perez’s unique abilities, in 2008 then California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed her to the state Fair and Employment Housing Commission, and she was quickly confirmed by the State Senate. In this role, Perez and her fellow Commissioners adjudicated employment related disputes and drafted guidelines interpreting California’s primary anti-discrimination statute, the Fair Employment & Housing Act. Perez served on the Commission until 2011. Just two years later, in May 2013, Governor Jerry Brown appointed Perez to the Fair Employment and Housing Council, which was created to succeed the Fair and Employment Housing Commission. Being appointed to similar roles by a Republican and a Democratic Governor demonstrates Perez’s wide appeal. She is also a former project director for a U.S. government-sponsored judicial exchange and education program in Mexico City, where she worked in collaboration with a judicial advisory board to design and deliver educational conferences in the U.S. and Mexico. Perez earned her J.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) School of Law.

“Patti is one of California’s premier HR consultants, and our lawyers have frequently hired her on behalf of clients,” said Spencer Skeen, managing shareholder of Ogletree Deakins’ San Diego office. “Over the course of her lengthy career, Patti has conducted hundreds of workplace investigations and trained thousands of employees in a range of employment law and HR topics. We are ecstatic for Patti to join our firm and know that her wide-ranging experience and commitment to public service will benefit our attorneys and clients across the nation and in Mexico.”

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