Seyfarth Shaw LLP announced that Laura Maechtlen has been named chair of the firm’s Labor & Employment Department, after serving as vice-chair since January 2016.

Laura Maechtlen

The department Maechtlen will head up is the firm’s largest, and represents employers in what the firm described as “complex and strategic workplace legal matters.”

Maechtlen is a partner in the firm’s San Francisco office, where she focuses on employment litigation, including defending businesses against class, collective and multi-plaintiff actions.

Earlier this year, Maechtlen led the development of the firm’s Future Employer initiative, launching a new collaborative community for the firm’s clients where they can share new and emerging legal issues related to the future of work, the firm said in a statement.

Seyfarth called Maechtlen a well-recognized advocate for diversity in the legal industry, saying she serves as co-chair of the firm’s Diversity & Inclusion Action Team. She has also served as the president of the national LGBT Bar Association, co-chair of the California Minority Counsel Program and in leadership roles with the National Hispanic Bar Association. She was also an inaugural Fellow of the Leadership Council for Legal Diversity.