People
Diana S. Brown
Diana Brown is a partner in the education group. Her practice focuses on labor/employment law, the negotiation and administration of collective bargaining agreements, grievance and arbitration disputes, employee discipline, unfair labor practice proceedings before the State Employment Relations Board, FMLA, ADA, and defending employment discrimination claims before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Ohio Civil Rights Commission.
Diana has been practicing labor and employment law for 25 years in both the public and private sector. For the past 16 years, she has represented public school districts and other public entities throughout the state of Ohio. She is a frequent presenter at various education law and human resources seminars.
Experience
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Labor contract negotiations
Finalized contract negotiations in advance of the public sector client's timetable, at the same time, disposing of a pending lawsuit that arose from interpretation of the prior labor contract. The court case, if litigated to conclusion, could have resulted in significant unbudgeted expense and a negative impact on the labor-management relationship. By resolving the lawsuit as part of the new contract negotiation, the client was able to manage its budget responsibly and avoided the uncertainty of a judicial decision, the cost of appeals, and negative publicity.
Professional & Community Activities
- Member, Ohio Council of School Board Attorneys
- Member, National School Boards Association Council of School Attorneys
Presentations & Published Works
- Speaker, "The Superintendent Role in Labor Relations," BASA New Superintendents Reception, September 2021
- Speaker, "Negotiating During COVID," BASA/Bricker Hot Topics: Labor Relations & Tensions in Our COVID-19 World, January 2021
- Speaker, "The Employment Lawyer’s Back-to-School List: K-12 Employment Issues in the Coming School Year," Ohio State Bar Association Webinar, July 2020
- Speaker, "The Labor Landscape: Preparing For Successful Negotiations." Wednesday Webinars with Bricker & Eckler, November 2019
- Speaker, "Understanding the Power of School District Technology Tools and Data Privacy," OSBA Capital Conference, November 2019
- Speaker, "Technology Tools and Data Privacy," OESCA Connect & Collaborate, September 2019
- Speaker, "Employment Separation, Resignation Letter, Retirement Letter - Chapter 6," OASBO's From Recruiting to Exit Interviews: Essentials of HR, January 2019
- Speaker, "Evaluation Requirements - Chapter 4," OASBO's From Recruiting to Exit Interviews: Essentials of HR, January 2019
- Speaker, "Evaluation Training, Performance Evaluation Criteria, Effective Conveyance - Chapter 4," OASBO's From Recruiting to Exit Interviews: Essentials of HR, January 2019
- Speaker, "OASBO Essentials of Human Resources, 2018-2019", August 2018
- Speaker, Buckeye Association of School Administrators, Ohio School Boards Association, Ohio Association of School Business Officials, and individual school districts
Bar Admissions & Activities
- Admitted, State of Ohio; United States District Court for the Northern and Southern Districts of Ohio; the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
- Member, Ohio State Bar Association; Columbus Bar Association
Education
- University of Michigan (J.D., 1996)
- Bowling Green State University (B.S., criminal justice, 1985)