DEI’s Legal Landscape in 2025: What’s Changing and How to Adapt

Katie Oertli Mooney is a Managing Director at Seramount. She is an accomplished DEI leader and thought partner with expertise in driving strategy and growth of diversity and inclusion change management, planning and programs. Prior to joining Seramount, she was responsible for overseeing the client delivery, staffing, operations and growth as Vice President of Jennifer Brown Consulting. She was accountable for the firm’s successful consulting project delivery to clients from the Fortune 1000, government agencies, startups, to nonprofits.

Prior to that, she managed the DEI enterprise learning and development strategy at Capital One specializing in differential investment programming to support historically underrepresented talent and communities of color. She is currently on the Board of Directors for the GSBA; the largest LGBTQ and allied chamber of commerce in North America and is supporting the organization in 2020, by advancing diversity, equity and inclusion for the Board of Directors, for the benefit of GSBA staff, members, partners and the LGBTQ+ and allied community of Washington State. Katie has a Master’s degree in Human Resource Management with a concentration on Diversity and Inclusion Management from Georgetown University. She is based in Seattle, WA.

Christy E. Kiely is a Partner in the Labor and Employment Group of Seyfarth Shaw LLP. She has 20+ years of experience focused on EEO, DEI, OFCCP and Pay Equity. Christy helps employers manage their workforce efficiently and with minimal risk while honoring their core values. Her clients range from Fortune 50 companies to family-owned businesses, in a wide-range of industries like finance, technology, energy, defense, manufacturing, retail, construction, and health care. Christy take time to learn about each unique company, their workforces, and what’s most important to them. She helps employers navigate complex and shifting legal frameworks while considering the practical, day-to-day realities of a business. She is attuned to balancing the needs of various stakeholders and the implications of any decision on the employee experience, engagement, and retention.
A substantial part of Christy’s practice is conducting DEI program reviews and risk assessments for clients. Her practice also includes advice, audits and litigation. Christy assists clients with sophisticated, proactive equal pay analyses, as well as targeted analyses to respond to compensation claims, and has significant experience with #MeToo investigations, including sensitive, high-level scenarios. She represents employers in connection with discrimination, harassment, denial-of-benefits, defamation, wrongful discharge, and other claims in front of the EEOC and state and federal courts. Christy has litigated under all the major federal employment laws, such as Title VII, ADA, ADEA, FMLA, FLSA, ERISA, and USERRA, and advises employers on risk-reducing strategies. Christy has a deep commitment to pro bono work, and is actively involved in several regional programs that provide critical legal support to low-income populations.