Patricia A. Wise Re-Elected as Vice Chair of Ohio Board of Professional Conduct

December 1, 2019

Patricia A. Wise recently was re-elected as vice chair of the Ohio Board of Professional Conduct. Patty has served on the Board since 2014, and is in her third term. She previously has chaired the Board’s Budget and Personnel Committee and a Board committee tasked with identifying and recommending new disciplinary counsel for the State of Ohio.

The Board is composed of 28 volunteer members who are appointed by the justices of the Supreme Court of Ohio. Its role includes conducting hearings concerning allegations of ethical violations by Ohio attorneys and judges, and recommending discipline in the event of professional misconduct. The Board additionally participates in outreach and educational activities to encourage compliance with the Rules of Professional Conduct and to promote a transparent disciplinary process.

Patty practices in Spengler Nathanson’s labor and employment section, and is certified by the Ohio State Bar Association as a specialist in that area. She represents diverse clients of all sizes and from all industries. Patty regularly handles matters involving employee discipline, employment discrimination, FMLA, wage-hour law, grievance arbitration, and alternative dispute resolution. She also represents employers in litigation in state and federal courts at the pretrial, trial, and appellate stages of litigation.

Patty is a former senior vice president and in-house counsel for a billion dollar bank holding company. She also spent more than 30 years in private practice before joining Spengler Nathanson. Patty was appointed by former Chair Jenny Yang to the EEOC Select Task Force on Workplace Harassment, and she is a member of the SHRM Labor Relations Special Expertise Panel, which she co-chaired in 2014-2015. Patty is a member of the EEOC Pro Bono Panel of Mediators.

Since 1999, Patty has served as an adjunct or visiting professor at The University of Toledo College of Law. She trains and speaks regularly on employment law issues. Patty frequently speaks for state banking associations and serves on the faculty of the Graduate School of Banking at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. She has published books on harassment and retaliation and recently completed the 3rd edition of her book, Understanding and Preventing Workplace Retaliation, published by the Thompson Publishing Group, Inc.

Patty served as Special Counsel for the Ohio Attorney General from 2003 to 2007. She holds Martindale-Hubbell’s AV Preeminent rating.