Penn earned her undergraduate degree from Stanford University and her law degree with honors from Emory University School of Law, where she was elected to the Order of the Coif and taught legal research and writing to first-year students.

Fellow, College of Commercial Arbitrators. Has been recognized in: The Best Lawyers in America; Who's Who Legal USA - Management Labor and Employment; Who's Who Legal USA - Arbitration; Georgia's Legal Elite published by Georgia Trend Magazine; and The Guide to the Best Attorneys in Georgia published by Atlanta Magazine and Georgia Super Lawyers (in the areas of employment litigation and alternative dispute resolution).
Formerly served as:

• Board Member and Board President, Federal Defender Program
• Board Member, Atlanta Bar Foundation
• Atlanta Bar Association - Member of Board of Directors of Labor and Employment Section
• Emory Law School Alumni Council
• State Bar's Rules of Evidence Study Committee
• Master of the Lamar American Inn of Court, Executive Committee member

Penn Payne serves as a mediator and arbitrator for all types of employment and commercial disputes, is a Fellow of the College of Commercial Arbitrators, and is a member of the Commercial and Employment Panels of the American Arbitration Association. Penn is also an independent investigator for employee complaints and workplace disputes.   She regularly conducts arbitrations and mediations using the Zoom platform, as well as in person.

By temperament and training, Penn is ideally suited to serve in these neutral capacities. Known for her fairness, her respect for all parties, and her skill in obtaining the trust of each party, she has cultivated the ability to be open-minded and to analyze all sides of a dispute. Her proficiency as an arbitrator and mediator is based on her broad experience during 28 years of representing both plaintiffs and defendants, employees and management, in the litigation, mediation, arbitration, and negotiation of employment, general business and commercial cases, as well as providing sound business judgment and common sense solutions to her clients.

Penn has served as a mediator since 1998 and an arbitrator since 2002. Her cases have involved:

·      complex commercial contracts

        sexual and racial harassment

·       discrimination on the basis of sex, age, race, national origin, ethnicity, pregnancy, religion and disability

·       retaliation

·       employee classification and wage and hour disputes under the Fair Labor Standards Act, including arbitrating a collective action

·       restrictive covenants (non-compete, non-solicit, trade secrets and confidentiality agreements)

·       employment contracts and change of control agreements

·       stock options and other forms of executive compensation

·       the Family and Medical Leave Act

·       the Equal Pay Act

·       intentional infliction of emotional distress

·       invasion of privacy

·       negligent hiring and retention

·       civil assault and battery 

Penn previously represented parties in all the types of employment issues listed above, as well as litigating reverse race discrimination, affirmative action, and governmental employee issues.  She also represented parties in cases involving:

·       antitrust

·       business dissolutions

·       securities

·       business fraud and other business torts

·       creditors' rights and bankruptcy

·       UCC

·       general contract

·       partnerships and fiduciary duties

·       Computer Fraud and Abuse Act

·       Computer Systems Protection Act

$450 per hour or fraction thereof for mediation preparation and mediation sessions and for arbitration rulings and awards, study time, discovery disputes, and hearings. Reimbursement for reasonable & related out-of-pocket expenses, including travel, meals & lodging if arbitration or mediation is outside metro Atlanta.