The Women in Law & Leadership Summit: Atlanta

Lauren Zeldin practices primarily in the areas of employment discrimination and wage and hour litigation, including the representation of employers in connection with race, sex, age, national origin, religion, leaves of absence, and disability discrimination claims in federal and state courts and before various administrative agencies. Ms. Zeldin has experience representing employers in connection with Rule 23 class actions, FLSA collective actions, and EEOC pattern and practice litigation and systemic charges. Ms. Zeldin also represents employers and business in connection with public accommodations claims under various civil rights statutes, including claims for race discrimination under Section 1981 and 42 U.S.C. §2000a, and with a particular focus on disability access claims arising under Title III of the ADA, including building accessibility and the use of service dogs.

In addition to her litigation practice, Ms. Zeldin regularly provides clients with day-to-day counseling and advice on a variety of employment issues, including creating and implementing effective workplace policies and practices, designing and conducting internal wage and hour and pay equity audits, advising employers on correctly classifying employees under the FLSA, and advising employers on requests for leaves of absence and disability accommodations. Ms. Zeldin also has experience advising employers on issues pertaining to employment-related tests and other employee selection devices. 

Nancy K. Kumar managed the operations and administration of Georgia Power’s Legal Operations function. Her responsibilities included legal operations; e-discovery management; outside counsel and vendor management; information governance; financial management; and providing legal counsel on employment litigation, information governance, cybersecurity, workplace ethics and compliance issues.  Prior to accepting the role of Lead Attorney in Georgia Power’s General Counsel Organization, she has held various positions within Georgia Power and Southern Company: Legal Services Manager, Workplace Ethics Manager, and Senior Attorney. Currently, she serves as the Immediate Past President for the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) - Georgia Chapter.  She is a Certified Compliance and Ethics Professional, as well as a member of the State Bar of Georgia, North Carolina State Bar and the Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics. Ms. Kumar received her JD from Wake Forest School of Law and BS (Commerce) from the University of Virginia. 

Dionysia Johnson-Massie is a Shareholder at Littler, focusing her practice on class, single
plaintiff, and state and federal agency claims involving employment discrimination, harassment, pay equity, and retaliation. She also focuses on strategic compliance issues, including corporate diversity and inclusion strategies, and counsels clients regarding high-level brand damaging events. Dionysia often presents to leading business associations and organizations, has authored a number of articles and papers, and has been quoted in national publications. Dionysia is the first African American female shareholder elected to serve on Littler’s Board of Directors, the first African American promoted to shareholder in the Atlanta office, the second African American female shareholder to elevate from associate to the firm’s highest equity partnership level, a founding member of the firm’s Diversity and Inclusion Council, and a founding Co-Chair of its Women’s Leadership Initiative. Dionysia earned two Bachelor of Arts degrees (English and Psychology) from Yale College and her JD from the University of Virginia.

Denise Jones joined Sarah Cannon in 2008 and currently serves as Assistant Vice President, Legal Counsel.  Mrs. Jones is lead counsel for Sarah Cannon Development Innovations (Sarah Cannon’s Contract Research Organization) and oversees the daily operations of the legal department.

Mrs. Jones has been practicing law for over 20 years.  Prior to working at Sarah Cannon, she served as charitable giving counsel for the American Cancer Society and worked as senior tax consultant at Deloitte and KPMG. She received her bachelor’s and law degrees from University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

Mrs. Jones previously served on the boards of Preston Taylor Ministries (a non-profit organization that provides mentoring, tutoring and counseling for at-risk youths) and Our Kids (a non-profit organization that provides medical evaluations and crisis counseling services in response to concerns of child sexual abuse).

Mrs. Jones is married to the Honorable Kelvin D. Jones, III; they have two children KJ and Alaina Bryce.

Candace Rodriguez is Associate General Counsel for The Home Depot. In this capacity, Mrs. Rodriguez is responsible for providing transactional and regulatory support to The Home Depot’s Merchandising, Marketing, Private Brand, and Global Sourcing teams.  In addition, Mrs. Rodriguez is responsible for managing the Company’s  global intellectual property portfolio and providing guidance related to antitrust issues, commercial disputes and product safety concerns.

Mrs. Rodriguez began her career at The Home Depot in 2002 as Corporate Counsel and has since held several positions, each with increased responsibility. Prior to joining The Home Depot, Mrs. Rodriguez was a corporate associate for King & Spalding, LLP where she handled commercial transactions.  

Stacey Wolf is the senior vice president of Business Affairs for CNN Worldwide.  She joined the Company in 1998 and is based in Atlanta. 

In 2014, Wolf created and launched the CNN Business Affairs department.  In her role, Wolf leads the negotiation of all development, production, license, and distribution deals for CNN Original Series, CNN Films, and HLN Original Series.   

Wolf has negotiated deals to acquire or commission more than 35 CNN Original Series, including Peabody and Emmy® Award-winning Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown, produced by ZPZ Production; critically-acclaimed This is Life with Lisa Ling, produced by Part2 Pictures; Emmy® Award-winning United Shades of America with Kamau Bell, produced by All3Media America; and Primetime Emmy® Award-nominated The Sixties, The Seventies, The Eighties, The Nineties, and The 2000s, and The Movies, executive produced by Tom Hanks, Gary Goetzman, and Mark Herzog.  Wolf and her team have also negotiated deals with BBC Studios Distribution Limited, Cineflix Rights, Endemol Shine International, Entertainment One Television, Fremantle, and Kew Media for the global distribution of select CNN Original Series. 

Since 2012, Wolf has negotiated deals to acquire, produce, or commission more than 40 feature and short documentaries for CNN Films, including the Academy Award and BAFTA nominated, ‘RBG,’ the BAFTA-nominated ‘Three Identical Strangers,’ an untitled documentary about civil rights icon and Georgia Congressman John Lewis, ‘APOLLO 11,’ ‘Halston,’ and more.   

Wolf has negotiated complex film distribution deals across multiple platforms, including global and domestic theatrical deals, giant screen exhibition deals, streaming platform deals, and other multiplatform agreements.  CNN Films projects have screened at Sundance Film Festival, SXSW Film Festival, Tribeca Film Festival, Cannes Film Festival, and others. With Wolf’s negotiation leadership, CNN Films has forged distribution partnerships with Magnolia Pictures, Participant Media, Paramount Pictures, Dogwoof, Universal Pictures, and others.  

Wolf also has negotiated agreements for HLN Original Series, dedicated to true crime, mysteries, and investigations.  Her successful negotiations include international distribution deals for How It Really Happened with Hill Harper, Something’s Killing Me hosted by BD Wong, Very Scary People hosted by Donnie Wahlberg, Unmasking A Killer and Inside Evil with Chris Cuomo.

Debra Bernstein is a trial lawyer with a national practice, working principally in the areas of complex commercial litigation with an emphasis on antitrust matters and class action defense. Debra has been retained by both corporate plaintiffs and corporate defendants to prosecute or defend large claims throughout the United States.

Debra has represented clients in antitrust-related counseling and commercial litigation matters in many fields, including the advertising, agriculture, automotive, banking, chemical, computer, education, food additives, insurance, manufacturing, publishing, pharmaceutical, health care, retail, shipping, textile and telecommunications industries. She also routinely counsels corporate clients on a variety of antitrust issues related to pricing, mergers, joint ventures, trade organizations, standards-setting bodies, patent pools, distribution, franchising, licensing and antitrust compliance.

Debra has contributed chapters to the Georgia Appellate Practice Handbook, and she has spoken at conferences on antitrust topics, such as the intersection of intellectual property and antitrust law. She was a faculty member at the February 2016 International Cartel Workshop in Tokyo, speaking on the challenges in obtaining discovery in Japan and the factors to consider when deciding whether to opt out of class action proceedings. Additionally, she has been recognized for her antitrust experience by Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business. Debra was a law clerk for the Honorable Orinda D. Evans, chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.

Michele Stumpe is a seasoned litigator with both plaintiff and defense experience who is a trusted adviser to clients in the hospitality and retail industries. At Taylor English, Ms. Stumpe focuses her practice on premises liability, business litigation, hospitality and dram shop litigation, as well as alcohol licensing and consulting. Known as one of the top attorneys in Georgia for alcohol licensing and permits, Ms. Stumpe provides clients with a full range of services, including licensing compliance, training, policy implementation, risk management, and disciplinary and litigation representation.

In addition to her hospitality practice, Ms. Stumpe represents individuals and corporations in general litigation matters. She works as a strategic partner to evaluate her clients’ policies, procedures and implementation to ensure they have best practices in place to minimize litigation risks. Ms. Stumpe provides consulting services for various trade associations in the hospitality industry, including the Georgia Restaurant Association (GRA), Georgia Food Industry Association (GFIA) and the Georgia Association of Convenience Stores (GACS). In 2002, she developed “The Responsible Alcohol Sales & Service” (RASS) workshops to educate owners and licensees on the legal obligations and responsibilities of serving alcohol to consumers. The program was so well received that many Georgia jurisdictions now require attendance as a prerequisite to obtaining an alcohol license.

Business groups frequently ask Ms. Stumpe to speak on alcohol sales compliance and responsibility issues. She has been a featured speaker at trade associations, legal education and law enforcement seminars, and on consumer radio programs. Her work also has gained recognition from peers, and in 2013 she was awarded the Georgia Restaurant Association Chairman’s Award.

Ms. Stumpe enjoys volunteer work, scuba diving, gardening and golf when not practicing law. She is a co-founder of The Giving Kitchen, an Atlanta non-profit organization that provides crisis medical funds to employees in the hospitality industry. Ms. Stumpe also travels to Africa annually to work with underprivileged children and endangered wildlife through her non-profit, Children of Conservation. The organization provides scholarships to schoolchildren in Africa. 

Barbara O’Connell is a corporate attorney who has represented clients ranging from startups to Fortune 100 companies, both publicly listed and privately owned.  Barbara started practicing corporate, M&A  and securities law in New York City, relocated to Washington, D.C. in time for the technology boom and moved to in-house representation in 2005.  She is currently a Vice President and Associate General Counsel for Southwire Company in Carrollton, Georgia.  Barbara came from a family that didn’t believe women needed to go to college, so found her own way to work her way through school.  She was valedictorian of her graduating class at Raritan Valley Community College in New Jersey, earn a B.A., summa cum laude, from the State University of New York at Stony Brook, and graduated from Yale Law School, all while raising three children.  She is currently working towards an LL.M. in Organizational Ethics and Compliance through the University of St. Thomas.  Barbara is passionate about helping females achieve their full potential.

Ms. Hall is Assistant General Counsel & Assistant Corporate Secretary for Cox Enterprises, Inc. where she advises the board of directors and senior leadership on corporate governance matters and directs the entity management and business licensing functions.

From 2014 – March 2018, Ms. Hall served as the Compliance Officer for Cox Enterprises and Cox Media Group, and was responsible for the design and direction of the organizations’ Ethics and Compliance Programs. She also designed and directed the Cox Enterprises' Records and Information Management (RIM) Program. 

Ms. Hall began her legal career as an Associate with Bryan Cave, LLP in Atlanta, where she advised financial institutions on corporate governance, securities, transactions and bank regulatory matters.  Prior to attending law school, Ms. Hall was in the analyst program at Goldman Sachs and worked as a marketing manager for internet and wireless startup organizations in Los Angeles and Denver.

Ms. Hall earned her B.A., cum laude, from Spelman College and her J.D. from Vanderbilt University Law School.  Additionally, she holds the designation of Certified Compliance and Ethics Professional (CCEP) from the Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics.

Angela is currently GE Power’s Global Chief Litigation Counsel.  GE Power is a $40 billion dollar subdivision of the General Electric Co.  In her role, Angela provides strategic and organizational leadership globally and is responsible for driving strategy and resolution for global litigation which has a $30 million litigation budget.  Angela also conducts business reporting for all litigations.  She meets regularly with the business CEO, CFO, auditors, and financial controllers.

Prior to joining GE Power, Angela was with GE Energy for several years. 

Angela relocated from California to Atlanta to join GE in 2008, working with the HQ Legal team. She became Executive Counsel, Litigation in June 2009.  Prior to GE, Angela spent 13 years in private practice in California working with several international law firms. She joined GE from Morrison & Foerster, where she was a Litigation Partner. 

Angela obtained her undergraduate B.S. degree in Business from the University of Southern California and her JD / law degree from UCLA. 

Angela is married with two children.

Jan S. Sigman is a Partner in the firm’s Construction and Design Law National Practice Section.  She is also a member of the Transportation Law and General Liability practice teams.

Ms. Sigman brings over 12 years of experience in construction law and construction defects litigation, including general contractor and subcontractor liability, contribution, and contractual indemnity. She also specializes in the defense of motor carriers and truck insurers, including claims for wrongful death, personal injury and cargo loss/damage. 

Ms. Sigman received her law degree from Louisiana State University Law Center and her Bachelor of Science degree from Spring Hill College. She is licensed to practice before all courts in the State of Georgia and the United States District Courts for the Northern, Middle, and Southern Districts of Georgia.

Ms. Sigman lives in Atlanta, Georgia with her husband.  

Suzanne Hill maintains a diverse commercial litigation practice with extensive experience litigating complex commercial and business disputes, lender disputes, consumer litigation, professional liability,
intellectual property, class actions and employment litigation. She has handled appeals and tried jury and non-jury cases throughout Florida state and appellate courts, federal district courts and bankruptcy courts, and the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals.

Suzanne routinely represents financial institutions, lenders, law firms, business owners and professionals in a variety of commercial matters including claims involving Florida's Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act, the False Claims Act, the Federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and its Florida counter-part, the Florida Consumer Collection Practices Act, the Uniform Trade Secret Act and civil RICO, as well as claims involving breach of contract, fraud, misappropriation, trade secrets, intellectual property, real estate, tortious interference, breach of fiduciary duties, shareholder/partner disputes, employment, commercial collections, non-compete agreements, and class actions. She has successfully obtained and defended claims seeking immediate injunctive relief. In addition to her litigation practice, Suzanne regularly consults with clients on employment matters and litigation prevention, including compliance with debt collection laws.

Suzanne has represented legal professionals throughout her career. She has defended attorneys in a wide variety of claims, including claims of negligence, malpractice, breach of fiduciary duty and other claims of intentional and negligent wrongdoing. She also defends lawyers in state bar proceedings involving grievances and claims of misconduct.

Suzanne's employment practice includes litigating and consulting on claims involving sexual harassment, discrimination, disabilities, the Family Medical Leave Act, and the Fair Labor Standards Act. She is co-chair of the firm's Employment Practice Group. She represents clients in administrative claims before the EEOC as well as in state and federal court. She assists employers with daily employment issues, and regularly consults with employers on employment matters, including the preparation and review of employee manuals and handbooks. She also conducts seminars for management and employees on employment related issues, including sexual harassment education and training.

Suzanne's intellectual property litigation practice focuses on protecting, enforcing and defending client's intellectual property rights, including patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets, and related litigation. She has successfully defended clients in federal court against claims of infringement, and prosecuted infringement claims on behalf of clients obtaining injunctive and other monetary relief. Outside of the courtroom, she also consults with clients on business strategies relating to protecting and enforcing intellectual property rights including evaluation, analysis, negotiation and agreements.

Natasha Walwyn Robinson is Legal Counsel at Splunk, a cybersecurity and observability leader, where she leads the global marketing, trademarks and brand protection practice. With nearly 15 years of in-house legal experience, predominantly in technology, she is regularly sought after for her thoughts on leadership, driving diverse initiatives and creating opportunities for the next generation of Black intellectual property lawyers and technologists. She leads the Charlotte chapter of the Blacks in Technology Foundation and was recently featured in the Charlotte Business Journal as a Woman in Technology at the Forefront of AI and Digital Transformation. She earned a B.A. in Biology from the University of Virginia, a J.D. from Suffolk University Law School, and completed Executive Education in Computer Science for Lawyers at Harvard Law School.

Courtney Carter Fletcher is the Vice President of Legal and Compliance for Doosan Bobcat North America and Oceania, subsidiaries of Doosan in Korea.  Doosan owns Bobcat Company, Doosan Construction Equipment and Doosan Portable Power in the United States.  Ms. Fletcher oversees all legal matters for North America and Oceania, including litigation, employment, corporate and IP.  Ms. Fletcher joined Doosan in 2009 as Associate General Counsel and has been in her current role since 2014.  Prior to joining Doosan, Ms. Fletcher worked at Alston & Bird in Atlanta, Ga.  Ms. Fletcher obtained her JD and BA from Emory University.

Erika C. Birg is a partner based out of the Atlanta office of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP. Ms. Birg focuses her practice on helping companies protect their businesses before, during, and after litigation, with experience in resolving business-to-business disputes through litigation, alternative dispute resolution, and state and federal appeals involving business torts, contract disputes, trade secrets, computer fraud and non-compete matters.

Anne Cox-Johnson advises private and publicly traded companies on mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and strategic investments. A partner in our Mergers & Acquisitions practice, Anne represents clients in a number of industries, including pharmaceuticals, restaurants, telecommunications, consumer products, healthcare, manufacturing, real estate and retail.

As a corporate advisor, Anne works with clients on a full range of M&A transactions. These include public and private company mergers, acquisitions and dispositions; tender offers; recapitalizations; joint ventures; strategic investments; going-private transactions; and special committee representations. She also represents private equity funds in control and non-control investment transactions and investment exit transactions.

In 2014, Anne was named one of Georgia’s Most Powerful and Influential Women by the Georgia Diversity Council. She is a member of our firm’s Diversity Committee, Partners Committee and Lawyer Development Committee.

Crista Harwood leads the organization’s legal and contracting functions with its business partners and thousands of clients across the U.S. Before joining Passport, Crista practiced corporate finance law with Nashville firm Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis. She has experience representing both borrowers and lenders in corporate financial transactions and is well versed in private equity financing and mergers and acquisitions.

Prior to becoming an attorney, Crista worked as a financial analyst at General Motors Corporation and as an industrial engineer at Ford Motor Company. She earned a law degree from Vanderbilt University, an MBA from Michigan State University and a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering from Kettering University, Flint, Mich.

Melissa Siegelman currently serves as the Vice President and General Counsel for Honeywell International Inc.’s Building Solutions division (commonly called “HBS”), where she provides legal support for a wide range of issues stemming from HBS’s global design, install, and maintenance services for government and commercial customers in relation to automated building controls, fire and security systems, airport lighting, and other solutions designed to protect assets, manage energy demand, and drive business continuity. Melissa joined Honeywell in 2021 to serve as General Counsel to Honeywell’s global Fire and Security businesses, bringing with her 17+ years of legal experience, with more than a decade of that spent in-house.  In 2022, she increased her responsibilities to cover the remaining Building Technologies products businesses – Building Management Systems and Electrical Products.  And, in May 2023, she moved into her current role for HBS.Prior to working at Honeywell, Melissa was the Deputy General Counsel for Veeam Software Corporation, managing and handling legal issues ranging from complex contract negotiation to privacy, marketing, employment, compliance, and product development.  She also worked at Discovery Warner Bros. overseeing Turner Broadcasting’s technology litigation matters and working on technology transactions and patent policy.  Before shifting to in-house work, Melissa was in private practice for many years as an IP litigator at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett in NY and at Proskauer Rose in Boston. In her current role, and in all of her past roles, she strives to create a true partnership between the business and the legal team – partnering to drive strategy, manage risk, and grow new revenue streams. Melissa is a native Atlantan (who grew up dancing with the Atlanta Ballet just down the street from Honywell’s offices).  She earned a BA in History and Sociology of Science from the University of Pennsylvania and her JD from Duke University. Outside of work, she enjoys cooking, gardening, and painting.

Laurie Webb Daniel is chair of Holland & Knight's national Appellate Team and head of the firm's Atlanta Litigation Practice Group. She has appeared in appellate courts nationwide, including the U.S. Supreme Court, and routinely assists lawyers (in-house and at outside firms) with high stakes litigation. She has held leadership positions in various bar associations, such as serving twice as chair of the ABA's Standing Committee on Amicus Curiae Briefs, which oversees all briefs filed by the ABA in the Supreme Court. Ms. Daniel also has served as a commentator for CNN on Supreme Court arguments.

Jessica Nwokocha has experience in complex commercial litigation, product liability, and mass tort litigation. Jessica helps defend business interests during all phases of litigation in both state and federal courts. Jessica knows that being an effective counselor requires an understanding of client needs and expectations and an awareness of evolving legal issues affecting client industries.

After earning her B.A. from the University of Michigan and her J.D. from Stanford Law School, Monica Howard Douglas began her legal career as a judicial law clerk for Damon J Keith on the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals of the United States.  She later joined the law firm of Troutman Sanders where she was an associate in the corporate practice group and then subsequently gained in-house experience as a generalist at the Atlanta based Equifax Corporation.  Monica joined The Coca-Cola Company in 2004 as Marketing and Supply Chain Counsel for North America.  She then had the unique opportunity to play a role in supporting the largest vertical integration in North American history when The Coca-Cola Company acquired its largest bottler, Coca-Cola Enterprises, in 2010.  The result was the creation of an integrated operating Company, Coca-Cola Refreshments, which housed the product supply and customer care businesses that Monica supported as Vice President and Senior Managing Counsel.  In 2013, Monica seized the opportunity move to Johannesburg South Africa where she served as the Legal Director for the Southern and East Africa Business Unit that includeded 24 countries in Southern, East and Central Africa.   After spending four years in South Africa, Monica returned to The Coca-Cola headquarters in Atlanta where she currently serves as the General Counsel of North America.

Kristy McAlister Brown is co-chair of Alston & Bird's Litigation & Trial Practice Group and leads Alston & Bird's Privacy and Cybersecurity Litigation Team. Kristy focuses her practice on complex commercial litigation, with an emphasis on class action and privacy litigation. She has defended putative class actions across the country and has a strong track record of defeating class certification—both at the trial and appellate levels. Kristy is an experienced privacy litigator. She has defended class actions brought under the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and Telephone Consumer Protection Act, as well as class actions asserting deceptive trade practice claims based on privacy practices. Kristy also has significant experience defending Federal Trade Commission and state attorney general investigations relating to privacy and business practice issues.

In addition to her privacy litigation experience, Kristy has represented clients in complex commercial litigation involving many types of claims, including antitrust, deceptive trade practices, unfair competition, products liability and accountant’s liability. Her clients have included several leading wireless service providers, a manufacturer of wireless telephones, a leading rent-to-own company and a Big Four accounting firm. 

Kristy was recognized by BTI as a Client Service All-Star in 2014, and she was recently selected by her peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America© 2017.

Kristine is a partner in the Winston-Salem office with experience involving every aspect of the employment relationship. She has been involved in complex litigation involving class action issues, the FLSA, all aspects of Title VII, retaliatory discharge, and state law claims for breach of contract, fraud, negligence, infliction of emotional distress, and covenants not to compete. In addition to her employment litigation practice, she has significant experience in the area of affirmative action compliance including affirmative action plan training, preparation, and compliance review defense at the desk audit and onsite stages. Before joining Constangy, Kristine was an Assistant Attorney General, Appellate Division, for the State of West Virginia.

Mary is a partner in the Nashville office with experience involving every aspect of the employment relationship. She has been involved in complex litigation involving all aspects of Title VII, the ADEA, the ADA, the FLSA, USERRA, retaliatory discharge, and state law claims for breach of contract, fraud, negligence, and negligent and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Before joining Constangy, Mary worked in human resources in both unionized and non-unionized facilities. As a result, Mary believes strongly in working closely with clients to resolve issues before they become lawsuits. Mary also enjoys speaking and providing training on relevant legal topics based on her experience, such as the re-employment of soldiers pursuant to USERRA, harassment and termination procedures.

Alana Griffin has substantial experience advising companies and boards on corporate governance, and SEC disclosure and compliance issues as well as capital markets transactions, mergers and acquisitions, and related financing transactions. With over 25 years of experience, both in-house and at the firm, Alana's background gives her a unique perspective on problems faced by public companies as well as an understanding of the need for timely, practical advice on complex corporate matters.

With more than 25 years of experience, Alana counsels companies on corporate governance and Securities and Exchange Commission disclosure and compliance issues as well as capital markets transactions, mergers and acquisitions and related financing transactions.

Alana brings substantial corporate experience to her work with clients. Previously, she was Deputy General Counsel and Assistant Secretary to the Board of Directors and Board Committees at Synovus Financial Corp. In those roles, she provided advice and strategic guidance to executives, senior management and the Board on a wide range of governance, compliance, contract, finance, executive compensation and human resources matters.

Before that, Alana was Senior Vice President, Assistant General Counsel and Secretary of HomeBanc Corp. While there, she served as lead corporate and securities counsel for a publicly traded real estate investment trust listed on the New York Stock Exchange. She also advised executive and senior management, as well as the Board of Directors, on a range of legal and strategic matters, and served as Secretary to the Board.

Alana began her legal career in New York and joined the firm's Atlanta office in 1994, where she represented a number of the firm's significant clients in connection with SEC, capital markets and Mergers & Acquisitions before going in-house in 2004.

Alana has been ranked by Legal 500 as among the best lawyers for 2016 in the M&A/Corporate and Commercial category.

Victoria Luna devotes her legal career to trial practice, defending cases in state and federal courts throughout the state of Florida. She handles a wide range of matters with a concentration in general liability defense, premises liability, transportation, workers’ compensation and commercial work. Victoria has represented various entities including hotels, shopping centers, national restaurant chains, theme parks and transportation networking companies.  Victoria was invited to present on millennials in the workplace at the August 2017 Workers’ Compensation Institute conference in Orlando, Florida.

Prior to joining Wilson Elser, Victoria represented employers and carriers in workers' compensation defense litigation for six years. During that time, she handled a full variety of claims including permanent total disability. During law school, Victoria interned in employment law at a national firm and with the Fifth Judicial Circuit.

Along with persistence and an upbeat attitude, Victoria is an aggressive advocate who believes in active communication with clients. She is the Florida representative to the firm’s WAVE (Women Attorneys Valued & Empowered) initiative and volunteers with the young lawyers division of the Florida Bar and mentors new members of the Junior League of Greater Orlando. She is a marathoner and an active member of the First Presbyterian Church of Orlando.

Robin Sangston is Vice President and Chief Compliance & Privacy Officer for Cox Communications, Inc. She leads the company’s Ethics and Compliance organization, which is responsible for the company’s Ethics and Doing Business Right compliance program. In addition, she has responsibility for privacy, antitrust compliance and employment law. In 2015, Cox was a recipient of a MARCOM award – Platinum Winner – for its Code of Conduct.

Robin is a native of Washington, D.C. where her father was an announcer for NBC and Voice of America. She received her B.A., magna cum laude, from the University of Pennsylvania where she was a member of the Mortar Board Honor Society. She received her J.D., with high honors, from George Washington Law School where she graduated Order of the Coif and was a member of the Law Review. She practiced First Amendment law with a D.C. firm before joining Cox in 1995.

Robin is passionate about helping people succeed at Cox, in the legal profession and in the community. She recently served as founding co-Chair of Cox’s Women’s Employee Resource Group, which has over 1,100 members, and is the Executive Sponsor of Cox Enterprises’ 25 year-long mentoring relationship with Chamblee High School in Atlanta, Georgia. In addition, she currently serves on the board of the Minority Corporate Counsel Association. She is also board President of Jerusalem House, Atlanta’s oldest and largest provider of free and subsidized housing and wrap around services to HIV/AIDS infected individuals and their families.

Robin has also served on numerous boards that promote diversity, inclusion and equality for everyone, including Women in Cable Telecommunications (WICT), Cable Positive, The Atlanta Legal Diversity Consortium, Page Turners Make Great Learners, the Atlanta Chapter of the Federal Bar Association, and the Boy Scouts of America, Atlanta Area Council, where she focused on the Scout Reach program to bring scouting to underprivileged youth in Atlanta.

She is also an active mentor and participates in many formal and informal mentoring relationships, including the Pathbuilders Achieva mentoring program, the Georgia Association of Women Lawyer’s Leadership Academy, the J. Mack Robinson College of Business women’s mentoring program, WICT’s mentoring program and various Cox mentoring programs.

Robin is a graduate of the Class of 2014 of Leadership Atlanta.

She has been recognized nationally and locally for her leadership and efforts to advance others by various organizations, including WICT, the Atlanta Business Chronicle and the Association of Corporate Counsel, Atlanta Chapter, Counsel on Call, OnBoard,Womenetics, and the Atlanta Chapter of the Anti-Defamation League.

Jennifer Richardson, Senior Corporate Counsel for Mood Media, has over 13 years of in-house counsel experience.  Jennifer joined Mood Media’s Legal Team in 2008 as Staff Attorney.  She works in a broad range of areas including but not limited to contracts/business law, intellectual property, compliance, risk assessment/management/insulation, restructuring and strategic planning, litigation management, employment law, licensing, marketing law and regulatory/ethical affairs.   

Prior to joining Mood Media, Jennifer served as Senior Contract Analyst/In-House Counsel for SunGard Trust Systems LLC, a Fortune 500 Company that provides processing, trust accounting, investment management solutions and mission-critical software and IT services to financial services industry institutions.  At SunGard, she initially led the negotiations of technology related contacts and later served as the primary point of legal support and counsel for the company’s various business units.

Jennifer earned her Juris Doctor degree from The Ohio State University School of Law and her Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science/Public Administration from Winston-Salem State University.  She is a member of the State Bar of South Carolina and is affiliated with professional and non-profit organizations, including the Charlotte Chapter of the Association Corporate Counsel, the Women of Color of Corporate Counsel, the Minority Corporate Counsel Association, the National Employment Law Counsel, the Women’s In-House Counsel Leadership Institute, and the Society of Corporate Compliance & Ethics, member of Olde Providence Student Leadership Team, and volunteer at the Charlotte Men’s Shelter.

Amy Cisrow-Peterson serves as Assistant General Counsel to Rack Room Shoes Inc. and its subsidiary, Off Broadway Shoes Inc., members of the Diechmann Group, with over 525 retail shoe stores operating in 38 states.  The Deichmann Group, is a German-based privately held shoe retailer that operates in over 17 countries with stores throughout Europe and Eastern Europe and sells well over 100 million pairs of shoes annually.

In her role as Assistant General Counsel Amy handles a variety of corporate matters (within the retail, technology, human resources, sales, landlord/tenant and supply chain areas), oversees and manages all litigation (which consist of a broad range of high dollar transactional and litigation matters, including but not limited to contract disputes, general liability claims, intellectual property disputes, employment claims and class action lawsuits).  Amy  also counsels  middle and senior management across multiple geographies in regards to legal issues that arise from actual or anticipated lawsuits and occasionally represent the organization in small claims proceedings (where jurisdictionally allowed). Finally, Amy also manages retained outside legal counsel and legal vendors.  As a result of the distinctive blend of Amy’s practice, she encounters the challenges involved with dealing with opposing counsel not only through retained counsel, but directly as well. Amy finds that her prior courtroom and private practice experience allows her to provide unique resolutions to her corporate client/employer. 

Prior to joining Rack Room Shoes Inc., Amy served as a Staff Attorney with The South Carolina Centers for Equal Justice (SCEJ), a non–Profit Corporation that provides free legal services in a wide variety of civil legal matters to low-income residents of South Carolina.  While serving in this role, ninety percent (90%) of her practice was concentrated in litigation. Her time working with SCEJ was a rewarding experience and has proven to be an invaluable tool in formulating successful commercial litigation strategies and in representing her client in Federal and State Employment Commission proceedings.

Outside of her duties at Rack Room and Off Broadway Shoes, Amy is involved with the Charlotte Chapter of the Association Corporate Counsel, Women of Color of Corporate Counsel, The Minority Corporate Counsel Association, and the Diversity Counsel of the Carolinas.  In 2015 Amy was one of seventy participants (out of 600 applicants)  selected by the National Society of Corporate Compliance & Ethics to participate in the FBI and US Department of Justice Corporate Compliance Outreach Event in Washington, DC and Quantico, VA. This event, a partnership between the Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, was developed to help train management level corporate employees on the dangers of internal economic espionage and money laundering, as well as the development of a comprehensive plan to address emerging cyber threats.

Amy’s distinctive background of private and corporate practice combined with her strong management skills and sound business acumen provide a creative and resourceful problem-solving approach.  Amy is a firm believer that in order to keep justice blind you must encourage the free exchange of diverse ideas within the legal community.

Ms. Johnson is a partner in the Labor & Employment Department and co-leader of the Atlanta office’s women’s affinity group, Seyfarth Women’s Network.  Ms. Johnson focuses her practice on employment-related litigation and compliance counseling involving federal and state wage-hour laws, leave issues, and discrimination.  On the litigation side, she has experience with both single-plaintiff and complex class and collective litigation.  On the counseling side, in addition to one-off counseling advice, Ms. Johnson conducts preventative workplace assessments for employers.  Ms. Johnson also has experience with civil and commercial litigation matters and with Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Ms. Johnson has defended employers throughout the United States in a wide-array of industries including financial services, insurance, consulting, manufacturing, retail, hospitality, transportation, restaurant, and real estate holdings.  The privately-brought lawsuits she has defended have ranged from complex multi-district hybrid actions under state and federal laws involving thousands of employees to the more basic single- and multi-plaintiff lawsuits asserting individual claims.  The administrative matters that Ms. Johnson has defended have involved investigations by state and federal departments of labor on issues such as independent contractor status, unemployment, exempt classification, and wage payment issues.  Finally, Ms. Johnson has conducted more than thirty preventative workplace assessments for companies regarding the classification of employees as exempt or non-exempt, the pay practices and policies with respect to non-exempt, overtime-eligible employees (including tipped employees), potential joint employment issues, and the classification of certain workers as independent contractors.

Ms. Johnson speaks at public and employer-specific seminars and has contributed to publications such as the Fair Labor Standards Act, Cumulative Supplement, ABA Section of Labor and Employment Law (2009 - 2010) and the firm’s definitive treatise on wage and hour litigation, Wage & Hour Collective and Class Litigation, ALM Law Journal Press (2012).