Ogletree Deakins Strengthens Sports & Entertainment and Higher Education Practice Groups, California Bench Strength with Addition of San Diego Shareholder

SAN DIEGO – August 26, 2013 – Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C. (Ogletree Deakins), one of the largest labor and employment law firms representing management, today announced that Tracy Warren has joined the firm’s San Diego office as a shareholder and Kathryn Quarles Gray has joined as an associate. Warren and Quarles Gray, who join Ogletree Deakins from Seltzer Caplan McMahon Vitek, will bolster the firm’s Sports & Entertainment, Employment Law, and Higher Education practice groups. Warren represents employers in a range of industries including collegiate and amateur athletics, entertainment, financial services, telecommunications, medicine, non-profit, and education. She is the third shareholder to join Ogletree Deakins’ San Diego office which opened earlier this year.

 “Tracy is a dynamic attorney known for the positive results she receives on behalf of clients in a vast range of industries,” said Spencer Skeen, managing shareholder of Ogletree Deakins’ San Diego office. “A large share of her practice focuses on the representation of collegiate athletic teams and coaches, giving her valuable insight into the issues facing our sports, entertainment and higher education clients, and her arrival at the firm immediately expands our reach in the San Diego market.”

Warren focuses her practice on employment law and traditional labor relations matters including wrongful termination, harassment, discrimination, contracts, trade secrets, wage and hour claims, non-compete claims, hiring/termination, and labor audits. She has appeared before state and federal agencies including the California Court of Appeal, San Diego and Los Angeles Superior Courts, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH), the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE), California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board (CUIAB), and Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA).

Warren is very active in the San Diego community. She is a member of the Sports Lawyers Association, San Diego Sports Commission, and Habitat for Humanity, and is an advisory board member for the San Diego State University Sports M.B.A. program. In addition to her legal career, Warren is an Emmy award-winning sports broadcaster with more than 25 years local and national broadcasting experience, including a stint as a broadcast analyst during the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia. She still occasionally serves as a play by play analyst and broadcaster for televised women’s sporting events. Warren earned her J.D. from the University of Notre Dame. Earlier, she received her Master of Journalism from Temple University and B.A., magna cum laude, from the College of New Jersey, where she was an Athletic and Academic All American.

In addition to her most recent experience at Seltzer Caplan McMahon Vitek, Quarles Gray has served as a legal analyst in the Corporate Legal Department of Qualcomm, Inc. and as an intern in the Corporate Legal Department of The Coca-Cola Company. She has provided pro bono counsel to indigent asylum seekers through the non-profit organization, Casa Cornelia Law Center, and received the Pro Bono Publico award in 2009 for her work with the organization. Quarles Gray earned her J.D. from Emory University School of Law in 2007. Earlier, she received her B.A. from Stanford University, where she was a recipient of the Stanford Class of 2004 Award of Excellence, the National Panhellenic Service Excellence Award, and was a member of the Division I Field Hockey team. 

About Ogletree Deakins
Ogletree Deakins is one of the largest labor and employment law firms representing management in all types of employment-related legal matters. The firm has more than 650 lawyers located in 44 offices across the United States and in Europe. Ogletree Deakins was named “Law Firm of the Year” in both the Litigation – Labor & Employment and the Employment Law – Management categories in the 2013 edition of U.S. News – Best Lawyers “Best Law Firms” list. In addition to handling labor and employment law matters, the firm has thriving practices focused on business immigration, employee benefits, and workplace safety and health law. Ogletree Deakins represents a diverse range of clients, from small businesses to Fortune 50 companies.