Ms. Runyen serves as senior counsel with Emerzian Law Group providing service to the firm’s public agency, education sector, non-profit, and private business clients in the areas of business law, contracts, education law, and labor and employment law.

For the firm’s business and public sector clients, Ms. Runyen advises on contract negotiations, including vendor and independent contractor agreements, and risk identification and mitigation.

Ms. Runyen also has extensive experience advising institutions of higher education regarding compliance with Title IX including in the areas of policy development, operations, investigation of complaints, and dispute resolution. Ms. Runyen also regularly advises on the Title III of the Americans with Disability Act (ADA), and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. Ms. Runyen is passionate about guiding administrators to ensure their universities not only comply with the law but also ensure a safe and equitable educational experience for their student body.

For the firm’s non-profit clients, Ms. Runyen serves as general counsel, advising on business contracts, community partnerships, and board governance, including risk management and board policy development.

In her legal practice, Ms. Runyen has leveraged her knowledge and passion for horses by specializing in equine law, advising on liability, transactions, and dispute resolution. Ms. Runyen also provides counsel on contracts, including purchase and sale agreements, leases and co-ownership agreements, waiver and release of liability documents, and boarding and training contracts.

Prior to joining Emerzian Law Group, Ms. Runyen worked for both private businesses as general counsel and universities, managing their Title IX and ADA compliance offices. In her early career, Ms. Runyen was also a successful litigator specializing in both civil litigation and criminal prosecution. As a law student, Ms. Runyen was a legal intern at the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s office where she launched the Domestic Violence Intervention training used by all law enforcement agencies in Santa Barbara County.

A Santa Barbara native, Ms. Runyen has a passion for her community loves the outdoors and is an avid equestrian. Ms. Runyen has acted on her passions by becoming a Registered Disaster Service Worker for the California Office of Emergency Management and has served on boards for both the Santa Barbara Equine Evacuation Team and Hearts Therapeutic Equestrian Center.

In her spare time, Ms. Runyen enjoys swimming at the beach and exploring trails on horseback.