New Team Members

The VM Team is growing! We are pleased to announce new attorneys and professional staff joining our team. VM is devoted to delivering excellence in neutral investigations and hearing officer services. Our work helps employers and campuses make well-informed decisions so employees get back to work and students bet back to class. Our team is committed not just to delivering excellent services to our clients, but to creating a model workplace as well. Our new team members exemplify VM’s values:

Bethanie Thau joins VM as an Associate Attorney Investigator. Before joining Van Dermyden Makus, Bethanie practiced employment law for more than a decade. During that time, Bethanie helped employers navigate complex workplace situations and comply with local, state, and federal employment laws. In addition to providing legal advice, Bethanie represented employers and management in various formal and informal dispute forums, including mediation, arbitration, administrative procedures with the DFEH and the EEOC, and civil litigation. Bethanie has evaluated and litigated all manner of workplace claims, including discrimination, harassment, retaliation, accommodations, and wage and hour.

Stephanie Slone joins VM as a Title IX Hearing Officer Attorney. Prior to joining Van Dermyden Makus, Stephanie served as a Senior Assistant Attorney General for the Ohio Office of Attorney General in the Executive Agencies Section.  In this role, Stephanie represented State Boards and Commissions as litigation counsel. Stephanie’s wealth of experience as a Hearing Officer and in the Courtroom, has provided her with the tools necessary to elicit relevant testimony, hold compassionate hearings, and confidently render recommendations. Stephanie understands the impacts of trauma in legal proceedings and has the experience and training necessary to work through the complexities of Title IX hearings.