Paulette Brown is a Partner and Chief Diversity Officer of Edwards Wildman Palmer LLP and is a member of the Firm’s Labor & Employment Group.  hroughout her career of practicing in excess of 35 years, Paulette has held a number of positions, including in house counsel to a number of Fortune 500 companies and as a Municipal Court Judge. For more than 25 years, she has focused her practice on labor and employment matters. She has litigated a variety of employment matters, including, but not limited to, class actions, sexual harassment, marital status, WARN, race and age discrimination and issues pertaining to FMLA. Paulette is also experienced in all aspects of workplace training and collective bargaining.

Paulette litigates in both federal and state courts, the NLRB and arbitration forums for both unionized and non-union employees. Paulette is a certified mediator for the United States District Court, District of New Jersey and a member of the AAA Employment Panel. She is a frequent lecturer on labor and employment issues and issues related to electronic discovery. Paulette serves as Vice Chair of the Labor and Employment Section of the New Jersey State Bar Association.

Paulette is a past President of the National Bar Association where during her tenure, she lead a delegation to monitor the first free and democratic elections in South Africa. Paulette has served on the Board of Governors of the American Bar Association and on its eight member Executive Committee and Strategic Planning Committee. Paulette is also a past President of the Association of Black Women Lawyers of New Jersey and the YWCA of Central New Jersey.

Paulette served on the ABA’s Commission on Women in the Profession and co-authored the nationally acclaimed study, “Visible Invisibility: Women of Color in Law Firms”. Paulette speaks extensively on diversity issues and issues affecting women in the profession. She recently received the prestigious Margaret Brent Award.

Paulette has been recognized by the National Law Journal as one of the 50 Most Influential Minority Attorneys in the U.S. and by New Jersey Law Journal as one of the prominent women and minority attorneys in the State of New Jersey. She has consistently been designated as one of New Jersey’s Super Lawyers and for the past four years, as one of the top 50 women lawyers and one of the top 100 lawyers. She has also been recognized by the American Bar Association with its prestigious Spirit of Excellence Award and by the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, with its Award of Excellence. Paulette has also been honored by the National Bar Association with its Equal Justice Award and Gertrude Rush Award. She was the first African American to receive the Medal of Honor from the New Jersey State Bar Foundation and now, serves on its Board of Directors.