Holly R. Lake 

Holly R. Lake is a DLA Piper partner in the employment practices and litigation group. She joined the firm in 2018 after working in the employment law field elsewhere since graduating magna cum laude from New York Law School in 1999.

Early on, she said, “I had a mentor who told me that employment law is dynamic and ever-changing and that it gives an opportunity to be an advocate for your client in litigation and at the same time give advice and counsel to build best practices, avoid lawsuits and develop relationships. And sure enough, it’s been an interesting mix of the two.”

When the U.S. Supreme Court issued its affirmative action opinion in late June, Lake quickly published an analysis — written with two colleagues — of how it could impact employer diversity initiatives. The majority decision by Chief Justice John G. Roberts held that Harvard and the University of North Carolina’s admissions programs violated the Equal Protection Clause, leading to concerns that in the business world, employer initiatives to promote diversity could risk reverse discrimination claims.

“We advise employers to assess and review their programs,” Lake said.

In her defense work, Lake represents the California Institute of Technology, where she pulled off the rare feat of winning a motion for summary judgment in a wrongful termination lawsuit. A former employee alleged he was terminated for using accrued vacation and sick time to help homeschool his six minor children and care for his special needs son during the pandemic. Roy v. California Institute of Technology, 20STCV47303 (L.A. Super. Ct., filed Dec. 9, 2020).

Lake and her team engaged in targeted discovery about the plaintiff’s work performance before and during the pandemic — and demonstrated that no triable issue of material fact existed. “I’m going to pat myself on the back here and point out I got some strong admissions in the depo,” Lake said. “I don’t like to be cookie-cutter in my cases, and this one was unique because he was invoking these new COVID statutes. But we had the winning argument: he wasn’t performing his job.”

Lake is the DLA Piper lead who represents BGC, Inc., a not-for-profit benefit corporation that provides technical education to girls of color (the initials stand for Black Girls Code). She said the firm has showcased its broad spectrum of practice areas by providing the client with IP, securities, corporate and employment advice. Lake’s part is a wrongful termination claim. Bryant v. Black Girls Code, 22CV005517 (Alameda Co. Super. Ct., filed Jan. 12, 2022).

As a longtime member and former vice president of the Beverly Hills West chapter of The Links, an African American community organization, Lake works on service projects. “We help people get back on their feet,” she said.

—John Roemer