“Success is measured by how well you help others succeed.”

About 

WENDI S. LAZAR is a Former Partner at Outten & Golden LLP in New York where she served as the co-head of the Individual Practice and the Executives and Professionals Practice Group. Ms. Lazar practiced in many areas of executive compensation and employment law with a focus on executive agreements, including retention, expatriate, non-competition, talent, severance, and compensation arrangements. She also represented teams of executives, founders and partners transitioning during a sale, merger and acquisitions and other corporate transactions. Ms. Lazar’s practice was international in scope, and she advised clients and attorneys in the U.S. and abroad on employment, contract, and often related immigration issues. Ms. Lazar represented individuals, partners, and management teams at portfolio and public companies, financial institutions (including banks, hedge funds, private equity companies), and entertainment, advertising and media companies. She also represented law partners and associates, accounting professionals, doctors and medical practitioners in all transactional matters.

Ms. Lazar has a particular practice and stellar reputation representing senior women in employment negotiations, partnership agreements, pay equity and discrimination issues.  She has represented women in all phases of their careers and is a trusted counselor to many female executives and partners.

From 2015-2018 Ms. Lazar served as a commissioner on the American Bar Association’s Commission on Women, and she continues to work on the critical issues she advocated for when she chaired the Sexual Harassment and Gender Based Bullying Committee.  She is currently working with the Commission on a project basis.

As former Diversity Co-Chair for the New York State Bar Association’s Labor & Employment Section Ms. Lazar served in numerous positions for 8 years. She remains on its Executive Committee. She is an active member of ABA Labor & Employment Section and other NYSBA committees. She is former Employee Co-Chair of the American Bar Association Labor and Employment Law Section’s International Labor and Employment Law Committee where she is an active speaker and leader.

Ms. Lazar was the founder of a quarterly column for the New York Law Journal entitled “Employees in the Workplace.” She has continued to write a column for Thomson Reuters on executive compensation and employment law. She regularly lectures on employment issues to bar associations and industry groups and has had numerous legal articles and book chapters published. She is the Editor in Chief of the book, Zero Tolerance: Best Practices for Combating Sex-Based Harassment in the Legal Profession, an ABA guide to combatting sexual harassment in the legal profession, published in 2018. She also co-authored as Co-Editor In-Chief, “Restrictive Covenants and Trade Secrets in Employment Law: An International Survey,” published in 2010 by the BNA and its supplements through 2013, which includes the chapter “Confidentiality, Trade Secrets, and Other Duties and Restrictive Covenants in a Global Economy.” In addition, she is also the author of the chapter “Negotiating and Drafting Expatriate Employment Agreements,” in the 3rd Edition of Vol. 1B of International Labor & Employment Law, published in 2009 by the BNA.

Ms. Lazar is the recipient of the esteemed 2020 Margaret Brent Women Lawyers of Achievement Award. Martindale-Hubbell recognizes Ms. Lazar as an AV “Preeminent” rated attorney.  Ms. Lazar was recognized by Chambers in 2021. She was named to Best Lawyers in America 2012 – 2022 in the field of Employment Law – Individuals. Ms. Lazar was also recognized by Super Lawyers in 2012 – 2021. She has been selected as a 2013 – 2019 Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyer. In 2014, Ms. Lazar was elected as a Fellow to the College of Labor & Employment Lawyers. Ms. Lazar was named a New York Law Journal: Top Women in the Law 2016. She is also a Board Member of Work Life Law, UC Hastings College of the Law. Before she began practicing law in 1993, Ms. Lazar was a film and television producer. Her ten years of experience in that field include many television and feature film credits as well as an Emmy Award. Ms. Lazar graduated magna cum laude from Hunter College and received her J.D. cum laude from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, where she received a Ford Foundation Fellowship in International Law and was an Alexander Fellow, participating as a federal judicial law clerk.

Press (Abbreviated List)

  • Quoted: Tammy Worth, The Crisis Inside – Leader’s Edge Magazine, May 20, 2020.
  • Quoted: Emma Jacobs, Lessons from the Litigants, Financial Times, March 31, 2010, at 14.
  • Quoted: Amy Engeler, Older And Out!, MORE, Nov. 2008, at 104, 105, 171.

Podcasts

(*Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.)

Bar Admission and Professional Activity

  • Ms. Lazar is admitted to practice law only in New York.
  • Ms. Lazar is admitted to the following federal courts: The United States District Courts for the Southern District of New York and Eastern District of New York; and the Supreme Court of the United States.
  • Past Commissioner, American Bar Association (ABA) Commission on Women in the Profession
  • Board Member, UC Hastings College of the Law, Work Life Law
  • Member, International Bar Association
  • Former Co-Chair, Diversity Committee, New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) Labor & Employment Section
  • Executive Committee, NYSBA Labor & Employment Section, International Labor and Employment Committee
  • Former Chair, International Women’s Rights Committee of the Women’s Bar of the State of New York
  • Chair, National Employment Lawyers Association’s (NELA) Executives and Professionals Committee
  • Former Co-Chair, International Labor and Employment Law Committee, American Bar Association (ABA), Labor and Employment Law Section
  • Former Member, International Human Rights Committee of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York

Video & Podcasts

May 22, 2018

Outten & Golden LLP partner Wendi S. Lazar discusses gender pay inequity, and O&G’s work protecting the rights of women in the workplace.

Play Video
May 13, 2018

Wendi Lazar, partner at Outten and Golden, LLP in New York, speaks about the rights of both employers and employees regarding workplace communications via company-owned computers, mobile devices and other digital media.

The Stored Communications Act: in some states, including NY, employers are not allowed to access employee accounts (gmail, social media) even if they are logged in on their work computers. Similarly, employees cannot access employers data in their offices without permission or direction.

Advice to employers: Have clear, written policies that describe in detail what an employee can and cannot do on a workplace computer, and other company-owned devices. Also companies must understand the certain limited privacy rights for employees. Advice to employees: Use your own electronics. Deal with any personal information on personal email, not your work email.

Play Video
November 10, 2015

Outten and Golden LLP partner Wendi Lazar talks about social media policies in the workplace and the recent NLRB (National Labor Relations Board) decisions regarding social media. COSTCO used to have a policy against employees posting negative comments about their work experience online. Wendi also discusses the impact posting about your employer on social media could have on your employment.

Play Video
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Speaking Engagements

2023

  • Speaker: “Executive Compensation: Managing Risks and Rewards Across Borders,” Practising Law Institute

2022

  • Speaker: “Money Talks: Linking Executive Compensation to Social Change,” ABA Section of Labor and Employment Law, 2022 Employment Rights and Responsibilities Committee, Puerto Vallarta

2021

2020

2019

  • Panelist: “Solving the Privacy Puzzle in the Workplace,” ABA Section of Labor and Employment Law, 13th Annual Labor and Employment Law Conference, New Orleans, LA
  • Speaker: “You Can’t Change What You Can’t See: Key Lessons from the 2018 Report on Racial and Gender Bias in the Legal Profession,” ABA Employment Rights Committee, Midwinter Meeting, Las Vegas, Nevada

2018

  • Moderator: “The College of Labor & Employment Program: Setting the Bar: The Elimination of Unprofessional Conduct Toward Women and Minorities,” ABA Labor & Employment Section, 12th Annual Labor and Employment Law Conference, San Francisco, CA
  • Speaker: “TBA,” New York State Bar Association, Labor & Employment Fall Meeting, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
  • Moderator: “Will Women Survive at Law Firms? Taking up the challenges of a diminishing population amidst the #MeToo movement, diversity challenges, and work-life balance,” New York State Bar Association, Labor & Employment Law Section Fall Meeting, Montreal, Canada
  • Panelist: “Protecting Business Interests in International Team Moves – Pursuing Litigation, and Enforcing Orders and Awards Across Borders,” Global Business Protections 2018 One Day International Restrictive Covenants and Confidential Information Conference, London, UK
  • Panelist: “ABA Forum: #MeToo, Time’s Up—Sexual Harassment in the Workplace,” American Bar Association, Office of the President and the Commission on Women in the Profession, Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL
  • Moderator: “#Metoo, #QuellaVoltaChe, #YoTambien, #BalanceTonPorc: Examining Global Policies and Regulations in the Wake of the Sexual Harassment Scandal,” American Bar Association Section of Labor & Employment Law, International Labor and Employment Law Committee Midyear Meeting, Milan, Italy
  • Panelist: “Embracing Transformation in the Legal Industry,” Thomson Reuters: The Early Careers Network and the Technology Practice Group, New York, NY
  • Moderator: “International Executive Compensation Hot Topics,” Practising Law Institute, Cross-Border Employment Law 2018, New York, NY
  • Keynote Speaker: “The Future of Work in the Second Machine Age,” Georgetown University Law Center, The Changing Nature of Low-Wage Work: How Automation & the Gig Economy Impact the Future of Work, Washington, DC

2017

  • Moderator: “The College of Labor & Employment Program: Setting the Bar: The Elimination of Unprofessional Conduct Toward Women and Minorities,” ABA Labor & Employment Section, 12th Annual Labor and Employment Law Conference, San Francisco, CA
  • Speaker: “TBA,” New York State Bar Association, Labor & Employment Fall Meeting, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
  • Moderator: “Will Women Survive at Law Firms? Taking up the challenges of a diminishing population amidst the #MeToo movement, diversity challenges, and work-life balance,” New York State Bar Association, Labor & Employment Law Section Fall Meeting, Montreal, Canada
  • Panelist: “Protecting Business Interests in International Team Moves – Pursuing Litigation, and Enforcing Orders and Awards Across Borders,” Global Business Protections 2018 One Day International Restrictive Covenants and Confidential Information Conference, London, UK
  • Panelist: “ABA Forum: #MeToo, Time’s Up—Sexual Harassment in the Workplace,” American Bar Association, Office of the President and the Commission on Women in the Profession, Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL
  • Moderator: “#Metoo, #QuellaVoltaChe, #YoTambien, #BalanceTonPorc: Examining Global Policies and Regulations in the Wake of the Sexual Harassment Scandal,” American Bar Association Section of Labor & Employment Law, International Labor and Employment Law Committee Midyear Meeting, Milan, Italy
  • Panelist: “Embracing Transformation in the Legal Industry,” Thomson Reuters: The Early Careers Network and the Technology Practice Group, New York, NY
  • Moderator: “International Executive Compensation Hot Topics,” Practising Law Institute, Cross-Border Employment Law 2018, New York, NY
  • Keynote Speaker: “The Future of Work in the Second Machine Age,” Georgetown University Law Center, The Changing Nature of Low-Wage Work: How Automation & the Gig Economy Impact the Future of Work, Washington, DC

2016

  • Speaker: “Bias, Prejudice & Harassment in the Legal Profession: A Proposal for a New Rule (E),” ABA, Labor & Employment Law Section, ABA Annual Labor & Employment Law Conference, Chicago, IL
  • Speaker: “Understanding the Employment and Immigration Implications of Terminating Expatriates: At the Journey’s End,” American Bar Association, Section of Labor & Employment,, Employment Rights and Responsibilities Midwinter Meeting, New Orleans, LA
  • Speaker: “Federal Privacy Laws: International Employment Issues and the Impact on Your Practice,” 2016 National CLE Conference, Vail, CO

2015

  • Speaker: “Managing Expatriates in the U.S. and Overseas,” Practising Law Institute, International Employment Law 2015, New York, NY
  • Speaker: “Restrictive Covenants and Labor Mobility: A Case Study of Non-Competes, and Choice-of-Law Provisions, in the Legal Profession,” American Bar Association, Section of Labor & Employment Law, International Labor and Employment Law Committee Midyear Meeting, Barcelona, Spain
  • Speaker: “Noncompetes on the Cutting Edge,” National CLE Conference, Law Education Institute, Vail, CO
  • Panelist: “Private Equity CEO Compensation Structures,” Hypatia Capital Group, Luncheon, New York, NY
  • Speaker: “International Employment Issues and the Impact on Your Practice,” National CLE Conference, Vail, CO
  • Speaker: “Representing the “Sweat Equity” Worker in a Startup or Early-Stage Venture,” “Sweat Equity” in Startups and Early-Stage Businesses, Legal, Tax and Employment Issues for Founders, Key Executives and Independent Contractors,” NYSBA, Employment Law Issues for the Startup Venture, New York, NY
  • Speaker: “Pre-Emption Claims Under the UTSA,” National CLE Conference – Labor & Employment, Vail, CO
  • Moderator: “Learning to Lead: Facing Today’s Challenges,” American Bar Association, 2015 Women of the Section of Litigation Conference: Leading, Litigating, Connecting, Chicago, IL
  • Speaker: “Restrictive Covenants and Unlawful Competition in Employment Law,” IBA, Annual Employment and Discrimination Law Conference: The dynamics of a globalised workforce: challenges and solutions in the modern labour landscape, Rome, Italy
  • Speaker: “Representing the Start-Up Venture Institute,” New York State Bar Association, New York, NY
  • Speaker: “Running a Cross Border Restrictive Covenant Case,” ELA Conference, London, UK
  • Speaker: “Retaining & Promoting Women & Minorities in the Legal Profession: Getting It Right,” NYSBA, Annual Meeting, Plenary One, New York, NY
  • Panelist: “What Works for Women at Work: Navigating Workplaces Shaped by Subtle Bias,” UC Hastings WorkLife Law, UCHastings Leadership Academy for Women, San Francisco, CA

2014

  • Panelist: “Professional Responsibility and Gender Equity,” Committee on Women in the Law, of the New York State Bar Association Program Annual Meeting, Edith I. Spivack Symposium, New York, NY
  • Panelist: “Mediation Advocacy Strategies in Executive Employment Disputes,” JAMS and the New York Law Journal, Insights and Strategies on the Effective: Mediation of Employment Disputes, New York, NY
  • Moderator: “Doing Business in the Asia Pacific: Pitfalls and Advantages for Employers and Employees,” ABA Section of Labor and Employment Law, 8th Annual Labor and Employment Law Conference, Los Angeles, CA
  • Speaker: “What Works for Women,” New York City Bar, Committee on Women in the Legal Profession & Committee on Career Advancement and Management, Women Lawyers 2014 Book Club Series, New York, NY
  • Speaker: “FMLA, ADA, PDA Update,” National CLE Conference, Law Education Institute, Vail, CO
  • Speaker: “Challenges Facing Women Lawyers in a Global Practice,” American Bar Association Section of Labor & Employment Law, International Labor & Employment Law Committee Midyear Meeting
  • Speaker: “International Compensation Challenges,” Practising Law Institute
  • Panelist: “Mediation Strategies in Executive Employment Disputes,” New York Law Journal Labor & Employment Law breakfast, New York, NY
  • Speaker: “Effective Strategies for Drafting Executive Employment Contracts,” NELA, Annual Convention: Blazing the Trail, Courage, Challenge, Change, Boston, MA

2013

  • Panelist: “Team Moves and Restrictive Covenants,” ELA International Committee, Third Transatlantic Conference, London, UK
  • Speaker: “Settling the Case and Wrapping Up Employment: Negotiating Strategies, Drafting Realities,” 46th Annual Pacific Coast Labor & Employment Law Conference, Seattle, WA
  • Panelist: “Where Have all the Women Gone?,” International Bar Association, IBA Employment and Discrimination Law Conference, Boston, MA
  • Panelist: “It’s as Easy as a Day at the Beach: Basics of Restrictive Covenants and Duties,” American Bar Association, Section of Labor & Employment Law, International Labor & Employment Law Committee Midyear Meeting
  • Speaker: “Tips for Successful Negotiations,” American Bar Association, Labor and Employment Law Section, Webinar
  • Panelist: “The Changing Landscape of Trade Secrets and Restrictive Covenants,” American Bar Association, Section of Labor and Employment Law, and the Center for Professional Development, Webinar
  • Speaker: “What’s Love Got to Do With It? Work Romances and Sexual Favoritism,” National CLE Conference, Law Education Institute, Vail, CO
  • Moderator: “ABA Panel: Team Moves and Restrictive Covenants,” ELA, Third Transatlantic Conference, London, UK
  • Speaker: “Cross-Border Assignments & Employment Agreements,” Practising Law Institute, International Employment Law 2013, Seminar/Webcast
  • Speaker: “Wrapping Up the Case: Things You Should Know But Don’t,” Pacific Coast Labor & Employment Law Conference

2012

  • Speaker: “Executives Gone Wild: Special Employment Law Issues,” National Continuing Legal Education Conference
  • Speaker: “Retaliation Claims: Don’t Get Mad, Don’t Get Even, Don’t Get Sued,” Practising Law Institute, Employment Discrimination Law and Litigation
  • Speaker: “Foreign Companies Doing Business in the U.S.: Special Challenges,” Practising Law Institute, International Employment Law Conference
  • Speaker: “Global Trade Secret Protection and Drafting Global Policies,” American Bar Association, Section of Labor & Employment, International Labor & Employment Law Committee Midyear Meeting
  • Speaker: “International Restrictive Covenants & Trade Secrets,” American bar Association International Law Section, Spring Meeting
  • Speaker: “Negotiating and Drafting Expatriate Employment Agreements (Cross-border Litigation),” International Bar Association, The Paradigm of Employment Law Conference
  • Speaker: “Drafting Expatriate Agreements,” American Bar Association, Labor & Employment Section, 6th Annual Section of Labor & Employment Law Conference, Atlanta, GA
  • Speaker: “Trade Secrets from the Employment Lawyers Point of View,” American Law Institute and American Bar Association, Video Telecast
  • Speaker: “Retaliation in the Context of Discrimination,” Practising Law institute, International Employment Law

2011

  • Lecturer: “Non-Competition Clauses and Restrictive Covenants,” New York State Bar Association, Annual Meeting
  • Lecturer: “International Restrictive Covenants in a Global Workplace,” 28th Annual National CLE Conference in Labor and Employment Law, Vail, CO
  • Commentator: “Economic Dismissal Legislation in Other Countries,” New York University, New York University 64th Annual Conference on Labor, New York, NY
  • Co-Moderator: “Restrictive Covenants in Employment Contracts,” American Bar Association (ABA) Section of Labor & Employment Law, International Labor & Employment Law Committee Midyear Meeting, Berlin, Germany
  • Moderator: “Are You Protected? Privacy, Intellectual Property, Trade Secrets and Non-Competes in Web 2.0,” American Bar Association, National Symposium on Technology in Labor & Employment Law, New York, NY
  • Lecturer: “Innovative Ways to Incentivize Employees,” International Bar Association Conference, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
  • Lecturer: “Drafting Non-Competition & Non-Solicitation Agreements: Supporting the Agreements & Avoiding the Pitfalls,” American Law Institute-American Bar Association, Webcast

2010

  • Lecturer: “Obama’s Employment & Labor Rulings, Laws and Enforcements: An Update,” Five O’ Clock Club, New York, NY
  • Lecturer: “Enforcing Post Employment Restrictions Across Borders,” ABA International Labor & Employment Law Committee, Midyear Meeting
  • Lecturer: “Around the World in 90 Minutes: Highlights of Current Peculiarities and Pitfalls of Individual Transnational Employment Contracts,” ABA Section of Labor & Employment 4th Annual Law Conference, Chicago, IL
  • Lecturer: “Sex Discrimination Behind the Camera: How to Deal With Harassment in the Industry,” New York Women in Film and Television (NYWIFT), New York, NY
  • Lecturer: “International Labor and Employment Law: A Bootcamp for U.S. Attorneys,” American Conference Institute (ACI), New York, NY
  • Lecturer: “How to Retain Talent And Survive in a Challenging Economy,” Five O’Clock Club, New York, NY
  • Lecturer: “Keeping up with the Competition and Keeping the Taxman at Bay: Employment Contracts, Severance Agreements, and 409A,” American Bar Association, Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA
  • Lecturer: “The Changing Landscape of Discrimination Law: New Developments in Privacy and Technology,” Practising Law Institute, Employment Discrimination Law and Litigation

Blogs & Publications

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Watched While Working: Use of Monitoring and AI in the Workplace Increases

The last several years have marked a seismic shift in workplace norms. First, while initially an emergent response to the Covid-19 pandemic, remote and hybrid work arrangements are undoubtedly here to stay, meaning that traditional in-person supervision of employees is no longer an option. Second, rapidly expanding and contracting market conditions have created the need for companies to make large-scale hiring and layoff decisions. Many employers have turned to evolving technologies to address these needs – the first through monitoring software and the second through the application of AI-directed decision-making. These trends raise serious concerns for executives and employees around privacy, discrimination, and the nature of work.

For years, employers in the private sector paid little attention to concerns about workplace privacy, as few laws prevented them from monitoring employees and their communications, whether electronic or otherwise. An employee's activities while using an employer's computer were largely unprotected by federal or state privacy laws.

Seeking to Strengthen Pay Equity Laws in New York

Though decades have passed since equal pay legislation was first introduced, significant pay inequity persists across gender, race, ethnicity and other protected characteristics. According to the National Women's Law Center, women in New York typically make 88 cents for every dollar paid to men. For Black women, it's 65 cents, and for Latina women, it's 56 cents.

Negotiating Executive Arrangements in Private Equity

Reuters Legal News and Westlaw, By Wendi S. Lazar & Katherine Blostein, July 21, 2021

Understanding Executive Arrangements in Private Equity

Reuters Legal News and Westlaw, By Wendi S. Lazar & Katherine Blostein, July 14, 2021

Multinational Corporate Expansion and Relocation: The U.S. Employee Perspective

Corporate Social Responsibility: (ESG) a United States Perspective

Co-authored by Wendi S. Lazar and Cody Yorke. Developments and Trends for Responsible Business Conduct in the Modern Workplace, 2020 Employment Rights & Responsibilities Committee Midwinter Meeting, El San Juan Hotel & Casino, Puerto Rico

The State of Equal Pay in the 21st Century

Co-written by Wendi S. Lazar and Kerry C. Zaroogian, March 2019.

An Office Romance Gone Wrong (Harvard Business Review Case Study And Commentary)

Outten & Golden LLP partner Wendi S. Lazar is quoted in this Harvard Business Review case study about office romance.

When star salesperson Elizabeth starts dating Brad, the CFO of her company, she has high hopes for the relationship. She doesn't report to him, so there's no conflict there, and he's a smart, interesting guy. But when he dumps her for another coworker and flaunts the new relationship, Elizabeth finds herself in what now feels like a hostile workplace. Her boss tells her to "get over it," but she's not sure she can. Commentators Karen Firestone, author of "Even the Odds: Sensible Risk-Taking in Business, Investing and Life," and Wendi S. Lazar, partner of the employment law firm Outten & Golden, weigh in on whether Elizabeth should stay in her lucrative job or call back the headhunters who've been pursuing her and move on. (Harvard Business Review, September 2016 issue.)

Sexual Harassment In The Legal Profession: It’s Time To Make It Stop

Wendi S. Lazar, New York Law Journal, March 4, 2016

Outten & Golden LLP partner Wendi S. Lazar writes about "Sexual Harassment in the Legal Profession: It’s Time to Make It Stop".

Awards & Recognition

  • 2023: Lawdragon Legends
  • 2022: Best Lawyers – Lawyer of the Year
  • 2020: Margaret Brent Women Lawyers of Achievement Award
  • 2021-2022: Chambers
  • 2012-2024: Best Lawyers – Employment Law – Individuals
  • 2014- 2024: Best Lawyers – Litigation – Labor and Employment
  • 2012-2023: Super Lawyers – Super Lawyer
  • 2019: NY Women Super Lawyers
  • 2023: Lawdragon 500 Civil Rights & Plaintiff Employment Lawyer
  • 2018-2021: Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Employment Lawyers
  • 2013 – 2018, 2021 – 2024: Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America
  • 2019-2020: Legal 500 United States Recommended Labor and Employment Lawyer
  • 2019: AV-Preeminent Rated Attorney, Martindale-Hubbell
  • 2016: New York Law Journal: Top Women in the Law
  • 2015: New York Metro Super Lawyers Top Women
  • 2014: Fellow, College of Labor and Employment Law
  • Ford Foundation Fellowship in International Law
  • Alexander Fellow, Cardozo Law
  • Emmy Award, Academy of Television Arts and Sciences

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