ABA Midyear Meeting 2016: Hot Topics in Diversity Law

In this Special Report, Legal Talk Network producer Laurence Colletti meets with Principal at The Marquez Law Group Victor Marquez, Director of the California Office of the Civil Rights Education and Enforcement Center Julie Wilensky, MRP Program Adjunct Faculty Erica Powers, Partner at Seyfarth Shaw L.L.P. Samuel Schwartz-Fenwick, and Senior Counsel and the Anna M. Curren Fellow at Williams Institute Christy Mallory. The group kicks off the conversation with an analysis of Title 7 and discriminatory practices in hiring and employment. The discussion then hones in on discrimination protections for LGBTQ people and focuses on employers creating a more diverse and open work environment for their staff. The interview then wraps up with a discussion about laws that prohibit discrimination in public accommodations.

Victor Marquez is a former president of the Hispanic National Bar Association and the owner of The Marquez Law Group. He is a graduate of The University of California, Santa Barbara and received his J.D. from Santa Clara University School of Law.

Julie Wilensky litigates disability access and other civil rights class actions, as well as employment and employee benefits cases on behalf of LGBT individuals. She has clerked for Judge John T. Noonan, Jr. of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. Julie was named by the National LGBT Bar Association as one of the Best LGBT Lawyers under 40, and selected to the “Superlawyers” Northern California Rising Stars list in 2014 and 2015. She graduated from Yale Law School and summa cum laude from Yale College.

Samuel Schwartz-Fenwick is a partner in the Labor and Employment Practice Group of Seyfarth Shaw LLP. He defends complex class actions and single-plaintiff lawsuits under ERISA and has defended various types of claims including those for benefits and breach of fiduciary duty as well as 401(k) fee litigation. Samuel leads the firm’s LGBT Affinity Group and is also a member of the policy committee of the Illinois Safe Schools Alliance, an organization dedicated to the safety, support and development of LGBT youth in Illinois schools.

Christy Mallory oversees state law and policy work at the Williams Institute. In that capacity, she focuses on a variety of topics, including sexual orientation and gender identity non-discrimination protections, state-level recognition for same-sex couples, and other state and local level laws and policies impacting LGBT people. Her work has been published in several media outlets, journals, and books including “When Mandates Work” (UC Press, 2013), the Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review, the LGBTQ Policy Journal at the Harvard Kennedy School, and the Albany Government Law Review. Christy received her J.D. from UCLA School of Law and her B.A. from the University of Arizona.