Ashley graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law in Los Angeles, California. While in law school, Ashley served on multiple student organization boards, including Co-Executive Director of El Centro Legal Clinics and Co-Vice President of the First Generation Law Students Association. Ashley was also a UCLA Law Achievement Fellow, and her startup OYA Femtech Apparel won 3rd place at the Lowell-Milken Institute Sandler Prize Pitch Competition. Prior to law school, Ashley graduated cum laude from University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California with a B.S. in Global Health.

Prior to joining Vela Wood, Ashley worked as an associate at Liebert Cassidy Whitmore, a California-based employment law firm. During her time at LCW, Ashley handled a wide range of employment matters, including disciplinary and termination appeal hearings, internal investigations, unfair practice charges, and several litigation cases. Ashley also advised clients on a variety of employment issues, including background checks and drug testing, employee leave rights, imposing discipline, employee handbook best practices, and local and federal discrimination, harassment, and retaliation laws.

Ashley spends her free time with her husband, Dane, and their two dogs, Louie and Beau. She enjoys reading, watercolor painting, and exploring the outdoors to soak up as much sunshine as possible. Ashley is an avid traveler. She is always planning her next trip to complete her goal of visiting 50 countries before she turns 50.

Services

  • Human Resource and Employment Law Matters
    • Advising on, creating, and streamlining employment hiring and onboarding processes and systems
    • Advising on and drafting employment documents, contracts, and handbooks
    • Advising on worker classifications
    • Advising on executive compensation, employee wages and benefits, overtime, and leave laws
    • Advising on and drafting documentation for discipline and termination
    • Advising on and preparing documentation for reductions in force and individual employee lay-offs
    • Advising on disability issues and reasonable accommodations
    • Advising on the enforceability of and drafting restrictive covenants such as non-competes, non-solicits, non-disparagement, and non-disclosures
  • Risk Prevention Strategies
    • Creating and implementing preventative policies
    • Performing reviews and audits of employee handbooks and other employment documentation
  • Representation in Administrative Proceedings
    • Responding to wrongful termination, discrimination, harassment, and retaliation charges filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and Texas Workforce Commission
    • Responding to and advising on wage and hour disputes and audits with the U.S. Department of Labor and Texas Workforce Commission

In my moments of doubt, I have told myself firmly: If not me, who? If not now, when?

– Emma Watson

Fun Facts:

  • Ashley co-founded a startup while in law school and helped draft the company’s first patent
  • She has been to 17 different countries and over 30 U.S. states
  • She regularly fosters dogs and cats, having successfully placed over a dozen animals in their forever homes since 2020
  • She once walked in shows at both New York Fashion Week and Los Angeles Fashion Week

Education:

  • University of Southern California, B.S. in Global Health, Minor in Environmental Studies, Cum Laude
  • University of California, Los Angeles School of Law, J.D.