Partner
Ruthie White helps employers resolve labor and employment disputes in and out of court. She has an established track record of favorable outcomes in discrimination, harassment, and retaliation cases while defending educational entities, local governments, and clients in the energy, banking, technology, retail, health care, and construction industries in legal venues throughout the state.
Ruthie’s broad in-house and outside-counsel background gives her the ability to counsel employers on a wide range of labor and employment issues. She has significant experience drafting employment policies, procedures and best practices; investigating allegations of employee misconduct; implementing disciplinary, job performance and leave management procedures; and developing selection criteria for reductions in workforce. She frequently presents employment law seminars for supervisors and managers geared to meet the overall business objectives of her clients.
Having served as an adjunct professor at South Texas College of Law and on the boards of several nonprofit organizations, Ruthie is a founder of The Downtown Group, a 200-member networking organization of African-American female lawyers, and contributes pro bono legal services to the Houston Volunteer Lawyers Program. She is a frequent speaker at Continuing Legal Education seminars for law schools and bar associations.
Presentations and Publications
- “Humility is a Neglected Leadership Trait,” MCCA Diversity & The Bar, May/June 2016
- “The Benefits of Fear,” MCCA Diversity & The Bar, September/October 2016
Community Involvement
- Fort Bend County Women’s Center, past board member
- Houston Volunteer Lawyers Program
Memberships
- American Bar Association
- Association of Women Attorneys
- Association of Women Attorneys Foundation, Former Board Member
- Houston Bar Association
- National Bar Association
- South Texas College of Law, Board Member and Adjunct Professor
- State Bar of Texas, Labor and Employment Section
- The Downtown Group, Founder
Distinctions
- Houston Business Journal, Women Who Mean Business, 2022
- Best Lawyers in America, Employment Law – Management, 2013-2020, 2022-2023
- Texas Lawyer Best Mentor Award, 2020
- Texas Super Lawyers, 2014-2022
- Texas Minority Counsel Program, Trailblazer of the Year, 2019 Finalist
- Texas Minority Counsel Program, Outside Counsel of the Year, 2016 Finalist
- Association of Women Attorneys, Premier Women in Law Award, 2014
- Texas Super Lawyers, Rising Stars, 2005-2007
Contact Ruthie White at 713.212.2626 or rwhite@spencerfane.com.