STACY L. FODE

Experience:

BROWN LAW GROUP: San Diego, CA

Partner, April 2002 – Present (including its predecessor, Vantage Law Group)

Ms. Fode’s practice focuses on business litigation with an emphasis on employment litigation and advisement. She specializes in the representation of business clients in all aspects of employment law including wrongful discharge, discrimination, sexual harassment, whistle blower, employment agreement disputes, and wage and hour compliance matters. Ms. Fode’s clients include employers in the financial, insurance, technology, energy, and telecommunications industries. Ms. Fode also conducts training seminars and investigations of employee misconduct and discrimination for her clients, and has negotiated and drafted a variety of employment agreements for high-level executives.

SMAHA & DALEY: San Diego, CA

Associate, April 1999 – April 2002

Press & Media:

Ms. Fode has been a speaker on employment and diversity related topics and has published articles on these subjects. She has appeared on television segments relating to Sexual Harassment, Wrongful Termination and Recent Developments in Employment/Labor Laws and has been featured on: CBS Morning News (San Diego affiliate), NBC Morning News (San Diego affiliate); and KGTV Morning News (San Diego affiliate).

Awards:

Rated AV®-Preeminent by Martindale; San Diego Business Journal’s Women Who Mean Business Award (2009); San Diego Metro Magazine Movers to Watch (January 2012); San Diego Magazine Top Lawyers (January 2013).

Community Involvement & Service:

Ms. Fode is very active in the community. She is a past member of the Board of Directors of the San Diego County Bar Association and a past President of the Lawyers Club of San Diego, a specialty bar association with over 1000 members. Ms. Fode is also an active member of many other professional and law-related organizations, including the American Bar Association, Association of Business Trial Lawyers, California Women Lawyers, DRI, and The National Association of Minority and Women Owned Law Firms. She was also a former member of the Louis M. Welsh American Inn of Court, and a member of the Board of Directors of the Barristers Club of San Diego. She is a 2009 recipient of the San Diego Business Journal’s Women Who Mean Business Award, and active in non-legal community organizations including the Girl Scouts, San Diego-Imperial Council (Corporate Development Committee), and I Love A Clean San Diego, where she provides pro bono legal services.

Personal & Community Interests:

Ms. Fode is married to Dr. Matthew Spydell, an oceanographer at Scripps Institution of Oceanography and they have two children. She enjoys yoga, golf, and walking in her Point Loma neighborhood.

Education:

UNIVERSITY OF OREGON SCHOOL OF LAW, Eugene, OR

J.D., 1998

Member of the California State Bar since December 1998

Awards: Dean’s Scholarship Award

Activities: Journal of Environmental Law and Litigation: Associate Editor

Oregon Law Students’ Public Interest Fund: Co-Director

Certified Mediator: Small Claims Court Mediation Volunteer

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, Santa Barbara

B.A., Law and Society, cum laude, March 1994

Honors: College of Letters and Science Honors Recipient

Law and Society Honors Recipient (Distinction in Major)

Dean’s List Scholar’s Award