Jessica R. Vartanian Associate

Ms. Vartanian has experience in appellate, class action, and commercial litigation, with a focus in the area of labor and employment law. She graduated magna cum laude from the University of Toledo College of Law with a concentration in Labor & Employment Law. She received the ALI-ABA Scholarship & Leadership Award, given to the single graduate who best represents a combination of leadership, scholarship, and academic achievement.

Professional Memberships & Activities

State Bar of Michigan Labor & Employment Law Section, MemberNational Association of Minority & Women Owned Law Firms, MemberMichigan Defense Trial Counsel, MemberUniversity of Toledo Law, Dean’s Advisory Board Member

Awards

ALI-ABA Scholarship & Leadership Award ABA-BNA Labor & Employment Law AwardCharles Fornoff Intraschool Moot Court Competition, First PlaceOrder of the Coif

Publications and Presentations

Presentation, The Attorney-Client Privilege in the Corporate Context, presented to Tier I Automotive Manufacturer, November 2013.

Panelist, A View from the Inside: Appellate clerks telling it the way they see it. State Bar of Michigan, Labor & Employment Law Section’s Annual Meeting, Lansing MI, September 2013.

Article, Speaking of Workplace Harassment: A First Amendment Push Toward a Status-Blind Statue Regulating “Workplace Bullying,” 65 Me. L. Rev. 175 (2012).

Presentation, 5th Annual Colloquium in Labor & Employment Law, Paycheck Fairness Act to the Rescue! Precluding the Market Defense and Reviving the Equal Pay Act, Saint Louis University School of Law, September 2012 (with Nicole B. Porter).

Speaker, Spring Scholarship Dinner, University of Toledo College of Law, March 2012.

Article, Debunking the Market Myth in Pay Discrimination Cases, 12 Geo. J. Gender & L. 160 (2011) (with Nicole B. Porter).

Presentation, Central States Law Schools Association 2011 Annual Conference, Speaking of Harassment: The First Amendment, Hostile Environment Theory, and the Problem of Subject- Matter Underinclusion, University of Toledo College of Law, October 2011.

Presentation, 2d Annual Constitutional Law Colloquium, Speaking of Harassment: The First Amendment, Hostile Environment, and the Problem of Subject-Matter Underinclusion, Loyola University Chicago School of Law, October 2011.

Note, Confessions of the Church: Discriminatory Practices by Religious Employers and Justifications for a More Narrow Ministerial Exception, 40 Univ. Tol. L.R. 1049 (2009).

Prior Experience

Before joining Bush Seyferth & Paige in 2013, Ms. Vartanian clerked for Judge Richard Allen Griffin of the 6th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals and Justice Brian K. Zahra at the Michigan Supreme Court. She also worked in the Prehearing Division of the Michigan Court of Appeals and as a summer associate at a mid-size firm in Toledo. While attending the University of Toledo College of Law, Ms. Vartanian served as the Assistant Executive Editor of the Law Review and competed in Moot Court.

Tel/Fax: 248.822.7810

vartanian@bsplaw.com

Related ServicesAppellate

Class Action

Commercial Litigation

Labor and Employment

EducationUniversity of Toledo College of Law, J.D., magna cum laude 2010 University of MichiganB.A., Psychology 2007

Judicial ClerkshipsJudge Richard Allen Griffin 6th Circuit U.S Court of Appeals, 2012-2013

Justice Brian K. Zahra, Michigan Supreme Court, 2011-2012

Court AdmissionsUnited States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit

Michigan Supreme Court

Michigan State Courts

Eastern District of Michigan