Texas partner Laura De Santos has recently been elected to the board of directors of the prestigious International Association of Defense Counsel (IADC). She will serve a three-year term on the board.
De Santos will join 16 other board members including the president, president-elect and the immediate past president. Collectively, the members act as liaisons to the IADC's committees, task forces, and various projects and events. They oversee and guide the entire Association, constantly examining the various programs to keep in line with its mission and vision and offer their members the highest value of resources. Each member of the Board of Directors is elected and chosen by the Association's membership, rather than selected by past presidents and leaders.
De Santos has been an active member of the IADC since 2003. Recently, she served as the Vice President of the IADC Foundation Board and the 2015-2016 General Convention Chair. For more than a decade, De Santos has been heavily involved in the IADC's Substantive Law Committees, served as the Foundation Board's Secretary-Treasurer and the Chair of the Membership and Diversity Committees. She also has been a speaker at and assisted with planning educational programming at the IADC's annual conferences.
De Santos has extensive experience representing corporate clients in state and federal courts in Texas and throughout the United States. In addition, her experience encompasses all forms of alternative dispute resolution, including mediations and arbitrations. She concentrates her practice on employment law litigation, product liability, and commercial Litigation. She represents employers on matters involving discrimination, wrongful termination, harassment, and retaliation brought under Title VII, FMLA, ADA, and various state employment statutes. She also regularly counsels employers on personnel policies, harassment investigations, wage and hour issues and represents employers before administrative agencies, including the TWC, EEOC, and DOL.
The IADC has been serving a distinguished membership of corporate and insurance defense attorneys and insurance executives since 1920. Its activities benefit the approximately 2,500 invitation-only, peer reviewed members and their clients, as well as the civil justice system and the legal profession. Moreover, the IADC takes a leadership role in many areas of legal reform and professional development. The IADC membership is comprised of the world’s leading corporate and insurance lawyers and insurance executives. They are partners in large and small law firms, senior counsel in corporate law departments, and corporate and insurance executives. Members represent the largest corporations around the world, including the majority of companies listed in the Fortune 500.