Bullying and Sexual Harassment Within the Legal Profession: Speaking Up and Speaking Out

Kara D. Beverly joined Johns Hopkins in July 2016. Kara is a licensed attorney, with experience in labor and employment law. She is a graduate of the Howard University School of Law and Villanova University, where she obtained her B.A. in Economics.

Prior to joining OIE, Kara practiced at a regional law firm in their Labor & Employment and Corporate Practice Groups, where she advised clients on employee issues involving Title VII and the ADA. Kara also served as an in-house Staff Attorney for an international dining services company, where she handled all employment-related matters, including the investigation and resolution of discrimination and harassment claims. Ms. Beverly is committed to serving her community and is currently the President of the Board of Directors of the Women’s Housing Coalition, the Community Impact Vice President of the Junior League of Baltimore, an Executive Board Member of the Psi Phi Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, and member of the Young Hearts Board of the American Heart Association.

Shayda Le advises employers, management, and higher education institutions on a wide range of employment issues and litigation, including trade secrets, noncompetition agreements, wrongful termination, discrimination, policy review, workplace investigations, Title IX, and Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). Shayda counsels clients with the aim of providing efficient and proactive solutions, and carries that approach into litigating claims to resolution. She has successfully represented clients before Circuit and District Courts through all stages of employment litigation, including depositions, oral argument, mediation, and trial. She uses her advocacy skills to argue on behalf of clients before judges and administrative agencies. In addition, she is experienced in workplace investigations and completed a certificate through the Association of Workplace Investigators (AWI) Training Institute. Shayda regularly provides trainings on compliance and changing legislation. She recognizes that legal advice should be tailored to work hand-in-hand with the business goals and needs of each individual employer, and should suit their particular workplace. As a result, she strives to get to know her clients and their businesses.

Shayda is also actively engaged with the broader community. She has served as an adjunct professor for graduate classes at Lewis and Clark College. She is Immediate Past President of the Multnomah Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Section, and also serves as the Board’s Delegate to the American Bar Association. She is active with the American Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Division, having served as Director of Marketing & Communications and as District Representative for Oregon and Washington. She will be joining the Board of Governors of the American Bar Association in 2020. As part of her commitment to justice and equity, Shayda was also a Co-Chair of the Campaign for Equal Justice, which is the fundraising arm for Legal Aid Services of Oregon. She is a proud member of the Andisheh Center for Iranian cultural heritage and is a Past-President of its Board of Directors. Shayda has been listed as a “Rising Star” by Oregon Super Lawyers Magazine since 2014, and was awarded by the American Bar Association as an On the Rise—Top 40 Young Lawyer in 2017.

Shayda earned her B.S. at Portland State University, and her J.D. at Boston University School of Law. She is licensed to practice in Oregon, the U.S. District of Oregon, and Massachusetts.

Tomas Garcia is an associate in the firm’s Litigation group. His practice includes a variety of commercial, healthcare, torts/personal injury, and transportation litigation, as well as lobbying. As a litigator, he has experience representing business professionals in corporate disputes, health care facilities and medical professionals in malpractice and regulatory matters, governmental entities in matters arising under the New Mexico Tort Claims Act, and commercial transportation companies in actions in state and federal court. As a lobbyist, Tomas represents businesses and nonprofit organizations with public policy issues before the New Mexico Legislature.

Tomas is a former chair of the State Bar of New Mexico Young Lawyers Division, the public service arm of the State Bar. He has served on the New Mexico Board of Bar Commissioners, and has been a member of the New Mexico Supreme Court Rules of Civil Procedure Committee. Tomas has achieved an AV? rating from Martindale-Hubbell based on a peer review and has been recognized by Southwest Super Lawyers? as a Southwest Rising Star. He was named “Young Lawyer of the Year” in 2015 by the New Mexico Defense Lawyers Association.

An Albuquerque native, Tomas received his law degree from the Georgetown University Law Center. While attending law school, Tomas practiced as a student attorney in the Georgetown Federal Legislation and Administrative Clinic, where he assisted in the representation of a client with a legislative proposal pending before the United States Congress. Tomas also worked as an extern at the U.S. Department of Interior in the Immediate Office of the Solicitor, where he researched issues related to records management, rulemaking, public requests under the Freedom of Information Act, and other administrative law matters. Tomas received a bachelor’s degree in political science from Yale University, and a master’s degree in public policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Prior to joining Modrall Sperling, Tomas clerked for the Honorable Charles W. Daniels of the New Mexico Supreme Court.