Clients turn to Patti Bartis for advice and counseling on all aspects of employment law, including their most challenging and urgent employee relations and compliance needs. She is also a leader within Parker Poe, having served as the firm's Raleigh Office Development Partner.
Patti's clients include a leading global life sciences company, pharmaceutical businesses with employees across the U.S., large healthcare practices, multistate professional services firms, and a range of midsize employers. Across organizations of all sizes, clients value her ability to quickly uncover and clearly communicate a practical solution, informed by her over 30 years of experience.
Patti has counseled clients on large reductions in force, thorny separation and discipline issues, and complex employment aspects of mergers and acquisitions. She has significant experience with workplace investigations, including high-profile harassment allegations. Patti and her team have also helped employers navigate hundreds of investigations involving the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and state agencies, including involving allegations of discrimination and other claims.
In addition, she has deep experience in policy design and implementation, including employee handbook creation and revision for a broad range of clients. She has extensive experience drafting, negotiating, and litigating noncompetition agreements. She has advised on virtually every employment compliance issue a client could encounter, including the interpretation and application of the ADA, FMLA, FLSA, and state wage and hour laws.
Patti has extensive experience with litigation as well. She has handled cases arising under Title VII, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, Sarbanes-Oxley, and state wage and hour laws. Patti has defended cases in both state and federal court in at least 14 states.
Before entering law school, she completed the Financial Management Program at General Electric and worked in GE's aircraft engine operations in Lynn, Massachusetts, and Paris, France.