Rebecca Speer’s professional activities place her on the leading edge of today’s employment issues.  As founder and principal of Speer Associates/Workplace Counsel, she brings over twenty years of experience to her work with a wide range of organizations, providing employment law services with a specialized focus on internal investigations, employee relations management, and the prevention of workplace violence, discrimination, harassment, and other employee misconduct. Clients have included major corporations across a variety of industries, public-sector organizations, and professional firms.

As an important aspect of her work, Rebecca conducts numerous internal investigations regarding alleged or suspected misconduct at all levels of an organization. With a particular emphasis on allegations affecting senior and executive management, she has examined claims of discrimination; harassment; retaliation; ethical breaches; abusive management; assault and other physical impropriety; and sub-standard performance and neglect of duties.

Rebecca also provides advice and counsel, and expert witness services, with an emphasis on effective employee relations practices, particularly employee complaint resolution procedures; the prevention of workplace violence, discrimination, and harassment; and methods to ensure a solid approach to a variety of employee behavioral and disciplinary matters.

Rebecca is a nationally-recognized expert in the area of workplace violence prevention.  She applies a multi-faceted expertise to help employers implement comprehensive workplace violence prevention programs, and to engage in successful incident management when faced with problematic behavior jeopardizing employee safety. In addition to her client work, Rebecca participated in a ground-breaking national working group on workplace violence established by the FBI, contributing to the FBI publication, “Workplace Violence: Issues in Response.” She also participated in a Joint Working Group on Workplace Violence led by the Special Operations Division of the San Francisco Police Department focused on improving the private sector-emergency responder interface during critical incidents. In 2001, Rebecca was designated by the US Department of Labor as a United States Representative to a Tri-National Conference on Violence as a Workplace Risk, sponsored by the governments of Canada, Mexico, and the US.  In 2002, she testified in Washington, DC before a House Subcommittee on Employer-Employee Relations at a hearing entitled “Examining the Need for Greater Workplace Security and the Control of Workplace Violence.” In 2005, Rebecca chaired a national committee convened by the American Society for Industrial Security (ASIS) to successfully develop a Workplace Violence Prevention and Response Guideline. In 2009, she was selected to lead a national committee assembled by ASIS and SHRM to devise an American National Standard for Workplace Violence Prevention and Intervention. Through her efforts, the American Bar Association in 1998 unanimously adopted a formal policy encouraging employers to proactively address workplace violence. 

Rebecca has lectured nationally concerning misconduct investigations, workplace violence prevention, and related employee relations topics. She serves on the board of the Cal/OSHA Compliance Advisor.

Rebecca is a graduate of Stanford University and the Santa Clara University School of Law.  She was associated with the national law firms of Morrison & Foerster and Seyfarth Shaw prior to establishing Speer Associates. She is a member of the State Bar of California, the American Bar Association, the Bar Association of San Francisco, and several Human Resources and Security organizations.