Ogletree Deakins Promotes Five to Office Managing Shareholder

ATLANTA – January 3, 2024 – Ogletree Deakins, one of the largest labor and employment law firms representing management, is pleased to announce new leadership in five of the firm’s local offices. The new office managing shareholders include Jacqueline Barrett in Philadelphia, Kathryn Bird in Toronto, Monique Gougisha Doucette in New Orleans, Michael Matula in Kansas City, and Jack Sholkoff in Los Angeles. Three of the promoted office managing shareholders are women attorneys.

Barrett succeeds Donald Gamburg as office managing shareholder in Philadelphia. An attorney with Ogletree Deakins for more than a decade, Barrett focuses her practice on litigating discrimination, harassment, retaliation, whistleblowing, and wage and hour disputes. She also has significant experience prosecuting and defending claims related to restrictive covenants and trade secret laws and representing clients in wage and hour audits.

As the Toronto office managing partner, Bird follows Hugh Christie, who co-founded and has led the office since its inception in 2016. Bird has been with the firm for nearly two years and is a skilled employment, human rights, and labor lawyer. She advises employers, social service providers, school boards, and municipalities regarding issues arising from the employment relationship and the provision of services to the public.

Doucette succeeds Christopher Moore as office managing shareholder in New Orleans. Doucette joined Ogletree Deakins in 2009 and has more than 20 years of experience handling and managing employment litigation with a concentration on complex discrimination, harassment, and whistleblower claims. She is the chair of the firm’s Workplace Investigations and Organizational Assessments Practice Group.

Matula, who serves as the Kansas City office managing shareholder, has practiced at the firm for nearly 20 years. Matula represents employers in a wide variety of matters, ranging from discrimination and harassment cases to noncompetition/trade secrets disputes. He tried more than a dozen jury trials. Matula also serves on the firm’s Ethics Committee and the Steering Committee for the Unfair Competition and Trade Secrets Practice Group.

Sholkoff follows Robert Roginson in the role of Los Angeles office managing shareholder. Sholkoff has practiced employment law for more than three decades, including 18 years with Ogletree Deakins. Sholkoff has a robust appellate practice, where he handles a wide variety of matters, including motions for post-trial relief in the trial court, as well as appeals and writs. He serves as the co-chair of the firm’s Appellate Practice Group.

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. Premier client service, as outlined in the firm’s Client Pledge, is one of the firm’s top priorities and a cornerstone of its core values. Best Law Firms^® has named Ogletree Deakins a “Law Firm of the Year” for 13 consecutive years. In the 2024 edition, the publication named Ogletree Deakins its “Law Firm of the Year” in the Employment Law – Management category. Ogletree Deakins has more than 950 attorneys located in 55 offices across the United States and in Europe, Canada, and Mexico. The firm represents a diverse range of clients, including many of the Fortune 50 companies in the U.S. www.ogletree.com