Current Employment Position(s)

Partner

Lawyer Overview

Ruthie defends employers in all aspects of employment litigation in federal and state courts. Her litigation experience ranges from single plaintiff employment cases to class actions arising under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, in addition to collective actions under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Ruthie regularly counsels employers on a wide range of labor and employment issues, and she provides employment law training to supervisors and managers. Ruthie has served as an adjunct professor at South Texas College of Law and is a member of the Labor & Employment Sections of the State Bar of Texas, the Houston Bar Association, and the American Bar Association.

Ruthie spends considerable time working with Houston area community organizations and has served as a board member of the Association of Women Attorneys, the Association of Women Attorneys Foundation, and the Fort Bend County Women's Center. She has also served as an advisory board member to The Liberation Project and Ujima, Inc., organizations dedicated to providing services to low-income families. She is a founder of The Downtown Group, a 200-member networking organization of African American female lawyers, and contributes pro bono legal services on a regular basis to the Houston Volunteer Lawyers Program. Texas Monthly selected Ruthie in 2005, 2006, and 2007 as a "Texas Rising Star" for employment litigation in its "Super Lawyers" edition. In addition, Ruthie received the 2006 South Texas College of Law Mamie Moore Proctor Trailblazer Award for being the first African American female on the school's law review.

Prior to earning her law degree, Ruthie was a human resources manager at Conoco, Inc. After law school she worked as in-house employment counsel for ConocoPhillips.

Areas of Practice

• Labor & Employment

Representative Cases

• Johnelle Stroud v. BMC Software, Inc. (S.D. Texas) , (2009)
• Karen McNeil v. BMC Software, Inc., Case No. H-06-2492 (S.D. Texas) , (2009)
• Michael Stevenson v. Verizon Wireless Texas, LLP, Case No. 3:08 - CV-0168-G (N.D. Texas) , (2009)
• De la Mora v. CareerBuilder, LLC, Civil Action No. H-05-3316 (S.D. Texas)
• Holmes v. Verizon, Civil Action No. 06-CV-02291 (S.D. Texas)
• Howell v. Universal American Mortgage, Civil Action No. A-05-CA-275 SS (D. Ct. Travis County, TX)
• Kojin v. Allied Barton, (S.D. Texas)
• Lewis v. Allstate, Civil Action No. 03-5095 (S.D. Texas)
• Mills v. BMC Software, Inc. (S.D. Texas)
• Remels v. TOTAL, Civil Action No. H-05-2781 (S.D. Texas)
• Riefs v. Lennar, Case No. 05-18884CA 13; In the Circuit Court of the 11th Judicial Circuit in and for Miami-Dade County, Florida
• Williams v. Verizon, Civil Action No. H-05-2253 (S.D. Texas)

West Practice Categories

Collective Bargaining, Labor Arbitration, Labor Disputes, Labor Law, Labor Legislation, Labor Relations Boards & Proceedings, Unfair Labor Practices, Unions, Wage & Hour Laws, Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act

Bar Admissions

• Texas

Education

• South Texas College of Law

Address

717 Texas
Suite 3300
Houston, TX 77002-2712

Phones

1.832.239.3834 (Business Phone)

Faxes

1.832.239.3600 (Business Fax)

Emails

Contact Us (Business Email)

Websites

http://www.jonesday.com