Ray practiced labor and employment law with Seyfarth Shaw for over 30 years in Los Angeles, retiring as a Senior Partner in December 2016. He served the firm in various leadership positions, including managing partner of the Los Angeles office and co-chair of the firm’s California Labor and Employment Practice Group.

Ray was introduced to the field of labor law while serving as a law clerk in the United Auto Workers (UAW) Legal Department in Detroit. He began practicing law in 1977 as an associate in the Cleveland office of Squire, Sanders and Dempsey, where he primarily represented public sector employers, until his move to Seyfarth Shaw in Los Angeles in 1979.

From 1992 to 1998, Ray was a partner with Morgan, Lewis and Bockius, where he managed the firm’s Los Angeles labor and employment group.

Ray has lectured on labor and employment issues before various professional organizations, including the National Employment Law Institute, the Association of Corporate Counsel, the California State Bar Labor and Employment Section, the Practicing Law Institute, and the California Public Employers Labor Relations Association. He has taught employment discrimination law in the University of Southern California Law Center’s Advanced Professional Program.

Over the years Ray has served as a settlement officer in the Los Angeles County Superior Court mediation programs, including the Civil Referee Assisted Settlement Hearing (CRASH) program for employment cases. He also has served as a member of the Mediation Panel of the U.S. District Court, Central District of California.

Ray serves on the Leadership Council of the Western Justice Center Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting mediation, conflict resolution and diversity awareness programs. 

Active in the community, he served as President of the Board of Directors of the Pasadena Symphony Association from 2016 to 2018, and continues to serve on the organization's Executive Committee. He also is an emeritus member of the Board of Directors of the Indiana State University Foundation, where he served on the Executive Board and chaired the Personnel Committee.