Olesja Cormney
Olesja Cormney is Managing Counsel in the Labor and Employment Group for Toyota Motor North America, Inc. in Plano, Texas. In her role, Olesja provides strategic advice and training to her clients on all aspects of labor and employment law, and oversees defense of employment matters. Olesja has company-wide responsibility for supporting immigration and global mobility matters and non-employee issues. Olesja also handles all labor and employment matters for two manufacturing facilities in the United States and for Toyota Connected North America, Inc., a company leading Toyota’s transition from an automotive to a mobility company. Most recently, Olesja has been on the front line of the response to the pandemic, helping guide human resources and the executive team through all the challenges and opportunities presented by COVID-19.
In her previous roles at Toyota, Olesja had extensive experience supporting various logistics and manufacturing operations, human resources policy work, talent acquisition and talent development functions, as well as export control matters. She was also one of the lead attorneys assisting Toyota with consolidating its headquarters operations in Plano, Texas, and helping establish the One Toyota culture. Olesja came to Toyota straight from law school. Prior to joining Toyota, Olesja was an economist and an entrepreneur. She founded three businesses, one of which she still owns.
Olesja is passionate about paying it forward in the legal community and beyond. She serves on Toyota Legal Department’s Diversity Committee and has been involved in creating and implementing various innovative initiatives for outside counsel and Toyota attorneys. Olesja has also been on the Board of ACC’s DFW Chapter since 2019, currently serving as the Member Engagement Chair, Annual Meeting Co-Chair, and Wellness Committee Co-Chair. Olesja is serving as a Co-Chair of the Dallas Bar Association’s Equal Access to Justice Campaign Committee, which has a goal of fundraising $1.25 million for free civil legal services in the DFW area. Olesja also serves on the Boards of the Dallas Women Lawyers Association, the Dallas Bar Association Community Service Fund, First Generation Women Achievers of the Bluegrass, and SPARK! in Dallas, Texas. Olesja was recently recognized for her contributions to advancing women under the law by the National Association of Women Lawyers when she was named to the organization’s 2021 Rising List.
Olesja holds a B.A. in Economics and Accounting from Transylvania University, where she graduated first in her class. She earned her M.B.A. from Sullivan University and J.D. from Salmon P. Chase College of Law, graduating with honors.
Hailing from Latvia in the North-Eastern Europe, Olesja now lives in North Dallas with her husband and two small children. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family, traveling, being active, learning new languages, volunteering, mentoring students, and writing. Olesja recently published articles on diversity and wellness in the ACC Docket.
