Elisabeth R. Blattner-Thompson, who counsels employers on workplace legal issues, has joined Ballard Spahr as a partner in its Salt Lake City office, Chair Arthur Makadon announced today. She is a member of the firm’s Labor and Employment Group.
Ms. Blattner-Thompson, honored as the 2010 Labor & Employment Lawyer of the Year by the Utah State Bar Association, advises companies on employment law compliance and risk reduction, investigates employee complaints and recommends appropriate responses, structures and implements employee training seminars, and defends employers against employee claims and actions. Ms. Blattner-Thompson comes to the firm from Parsons Behle & Latimer in Salt Lake City, where she chaired that firm’s Employment Law Department.
“Elisabeth has a well-deserved reputation as one of the most knowledgeable labor and employment lawyers in the West, and she is joining a labor and employment practice that is one of the best in the country,” Mr. Makadon said. “We are excited about the contribution she will make to the practice, the Salt Lake City office, and our overall expansion of client services in the West.”
Blaine L. Carlton, managing partner of Ballard Spahr’s Salt Lake City office, said that Ms. Blattner-Thompson fits in nicely with the firm’s interest in growing its labor and employment practice in its western offices. “Elisabeth will be an instrumental player in that effort as a result of her reputation and experience,” Mr. Carlton said.
As part of Ballard Spahr’s continued western growth, the firm opened an office in San Diego—its sixth in the West and its 13th nationwide—last fall with a team of white collar litigators. The firm also has western offices in Denver, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and Phoenix.
“I am delighted about this opportunity to join a national full-service law firm, to partner with a sizeable group of talented labor and employment attorneys, and to help develop Ballard Spahr’s labor and employment practice in the West,” Ms. Blattner-Thompson said. “Exciting times lie ahead, and I am confident that the firm’s clients and mine will be well served by this development.”