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Diane B. Patrick
Partner
Ropes & Gray
One International Place
Boston, MA 02110-2624
T +1 617 951 7451
F +1 617 235 0492
+1 617 854 2171 secretary
E-mail
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Practice
Diane Patrick, a partner in the Labor & Employment Department, joined Ropes & Gray in 1995. Diane advises employers with regard to their compliance with federal and state employment laws, represents clients before the National Labor Relations Board as well other federal administrative agencies, counsels employers on matters involving wage and hour regulations, and provides general advice on employment policies and practices. Diane has an extensive practice negotiating collective bargaining agreements, providing counsel on contract administration, and representing employers in labor arbitrations. She enjoys a particular expertise in assisting federal contractors meet their federal contract compliance obligations and has successfully defended numerous employers during federal contract compliance reviews.
Professional Experience
Diane has practiced labor and employment law since 1980. She began her career with a Los Angeles-based firm, practicing in both its Los Angeles and New York offices and, in 1986, she joined Harvard University, serving as University Attorney in the Office of General Counsel, and later as Director and Associate Vice President for Human Resources. In 1994, Diane became counsel at a Washington, D.C. firm providing labor and employment advice primarily to college and university clients.
Representative work includes:
- Negotiated an initial collective bargaining agreement on behalf of a multi-campus international university with a full-time faculty bargaining unit that formed their union after their vote of no-confidence resulted in the ouster in the university’s president. Handled subsequent negotiations of wage reopeners with same bargaining unit.
- Successfully represented a large university in a 10-year audit by the US DOL’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs which was prompted by a class discrimination complaint filed by female faculty members. The OFCCP investigated, among other things, wage equity concerns, hiring processes, and data collection and reporting systems, as well as retaliation claims filed by some members of the class.
- Successfully defended a major teaching hospital in an arbitration in which the union alleged that the hospital violated the collective bargaining agreement by prohibiting the union from posting notices of a strike vote in public areas of the hospital. The hospital asserted that its prohibition stemmed from concerns that strike vote notices might cause undue anxiety among patients and their families.
- Advised a number colleges and universities during the global economic downturn regarding layoffs and reductions in force, including restructuring, early retirement packages and layoff incentives.
- Successfully closed a federal government compliance review for a major international financial institution.
Honors & Awards
- Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business (2008-2010)
- Named by The Network Journal as one of 2010’s “25 Influential Black Women in Business”
Professional & Civic Activities
- United Way of Massachusetts Bay, Board of Directors; former Chair - Community Investments Committee and member of Executive Committee
- The Posse Foundation, Board of Directors; member of the Governance Committee; former Secretary
- Boston Symphony Orchestra, Board of Overseers
- Epiphany School, Board of Overseers
- Jane Doe, Inc., Board of Directors
- Brigham & Women's Hospital, Trustee (1992-1998)
- Children's Hospital, Overseer (1991-1996)
- Arts Boston, Trustee, Director (1995-1997)
- Cambridge College, Board of Trustees (1990-1994)
- Massachusetts Maritime Academy (appointment by Governor Michael Dukakis), Trustee (1989-1991)
- Member, Foster Care Review Unit, MA Department of Social Services (1987-1989)
- President, Board of Directors, Brookline Infant Toddler Center (1988-1989)
- Fellow, The Partnership (1987-1988)
Bar Admissions
- District of Columbia, 1994
- Massachusetts, 1987
- New York, 1984
- California, 1980
Education
- 1980,
J.D., Loyola Law School; Chief Justice, Moot Court Honors Program; Dean's List; American Jurisprudence Award; Winner - Best Appellant Brief in Statewide Moot Court Competition; Outstanding Graduate Award for outstanding academic performance and citizenship; Awarded Honorary Scholarship; Awarded Scholarship, Wives of the Bench and Bar 1979 and 1980
- 1972,
B.A. (Education), cum laude, Queens College, The City University of New York; Kappa Delta Pi National Honor Fraternity; departmental honors for excellence in major
©2010 Ropes & Gray LLP. All rights reserved.
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