Strickler, Stephen A.

Phyllis Katz is a member of the firm's Local Government and Employment practice groups. She focuses her practice in employment law and working as general counsel to public bodies.

For over 25 years Phyllis has represented employers (and, on occasion, employees) in drafting and enforcing employment contracts, developing and advising on personnel policies and the various employment laws, representing clients involved in enforcement actions by the EEOC, Wage and Hour Administration, OFCCP, DOL, and other enforcement agencies. She advises business and individuals on discrimination complaints, termination actions, ADA, FLSA, and FMLA complaints, and employment torts. She is frequently retained to investigate public official and employee misconduct. Phyllis also has an active practice in providing training on all aspects of employment law including sexual harassment, military laws, the Family and Medical Leave Act and the Fair Labor Standards Act.

As a general counsel, Phyllis represents local governing bodies, public authorities, and local boards by providing daily advice and counsel on matters pertaining to general governance, procurement and contracting, planning and zoning, growth management, economic and community development, employment, communications franchises, redistricting and election issues, and intergovernmental relations. She has served as County Attorney for New Kent, Virginia.

Prior to focusing her interests in local government law, Phyllis had extensive experience in providing legal representation to state agencies. As an Assistant Attorney General she practiced in the areas of education, civil rights, and disability law. She served as general counsel to the College of William and Mary and the University of Mary Washington as well as the Virginia Department of Education. She was then appointed successively by three Governors to head the Virginia Department of Employee Relations Counselors. In this role, she administered the grievance procedures for the state agencies and local governments as well as advised management on employment matters. As counsel to Governors and top management level officials, she understands how workplace policies impact the operations and mission of her clients.

Phyllis received the 2008 Lewis B. Powell, Jr., Pro Bono award from the Virginia State Bar, the profession's highest recognition for public service and commitment to improving access to legal services. Over the years, Phyllis has been recognized many other times as a community leader. Virginia Business has listed her for the past five year among their annual "Legal Elite" for public service law by votes of other Virginia attorneys. As founder of LINC (Legal Information Network for Cancer), Phyllis has been honored with the 2000 Pro Bono Publico award from the Richmond Bar Association and a distinguished service award from the Richmond Women's Bar. Various community organizations have also recognized Phyllis. She was selected as an Outstanding Woman by the Richmond YWCA. In 2005, Phyllis was the commencement speaker at the University of Richmond's School of Law.

Phyllis enjoys educating students on the law and serves on the faculty of the University of Richmond's School of Law, VCU's Especially for Non-Profits Program and Virginia Tech's Center for Public Administration and Policy. Phyllis also teaches the law of non-profit organizations and represents many non-profit organizations in the Richmond area. Phyllis has been rated AV by Martindale Hubbell, the highest possible score for experience and ethics from a panel of her peers.