From the beginning – even back in high school – Patricia Lantzy has worked in law-related and people/business-focused roles. “I’ve always been drawn not just to the law, but specifically to employment law,” says Trish. It was during her pre-law years, while managing people and projects, that she experienced firsthand the myriad complexities in the labor and employment space, largely a function of workers’ individual personalities and the highly-regulated nature of the workplace. “Getting ‘people’ right is vitally important, though often challenging for employers,” explains Trish, “and as an OGC, I have opportunities every day to really help my clients in meaningful ways.”
Trish’s labor and employment law career started as a litigator with a large law firm (where she also served as outside general counsel to one of the firm’s clients), and later as senior in-house labor and employment counsel. Of her many in-house responsibilities, Trish recalls devoting significant time to managing the company’s legion of outside counsel, “literally hundreds of attorneys at dozens of firms working on a variety of urgent legal matters for the company.” From these experiences, Trish gained an understanding of the critical role of legal operations and budgets, the value of an agile approach, and the benefits of investing time to learn about a client’s business model and objectives. “In-house lawyers are always pivoting to stay aligned with organizational priorities. I get that, and it is this insight – coupled with my understanding of operational issues – that enables me to serve my OGC clients with great efficiency.”
Before joining OGC in 2019, Trish ran her own fractional law practice, handling the full range of compliance and employment law issues for several companies for nearly 16 years. This work included counseling on day-to-day workplace issues, handling hundreds of administrative agency charges, managing thousands of internal investigations, and providing support on business transactions and litigation management. On her decision to join OGC, Trish explains, “I had reached a point in my career where I missed being part of a collaborative team, but did not see myself returning to a traditional law firm or working in-house for only one client. Fortunately, OGC offers the best of all worlds: an excellent culture, amazing partners with expertise in various practice areas, and dynamic clients operating in numerous business sectors.”
More about Patricia Lantzy
In addition to her thriving practice, Trish regularly contributes to the firm’s blog and speaks at industry conferences on a range of employment law issues. She recently led a webinar discussion on “The Future of DE&I in the Workplace;” and in June, she will lead an employment-focused roundtable at Consero’s General Counsel Forum.