Today’s workplaces increasingly generate a wide array of complex dynamics that employers must traverse in a strategic and timely manner. Our team provides high-quality counsel on the full continuum of employment law matters, informed by many years of seen-it-all experience and a combination of deep institutional knowledge with fresh, innovative ideas. Conveniently offering a “one-stop” practice, our lawyers work diligently to resolve clients’ issues and concerns by using tools that range from a simple five-minute phone call to full-blown, save-the-company litigation strategies—and everything in between. We’ve earned a national reputation for providing practical, cost-effective advice that helps companies stay focused on what they do best: running profitable businesses, providing good jobs, and enhancing their communities.
Serving many types of organizations, including large and small public and private companies, tax-exempt groups, small family businesses, overseas enterprises, and individuals, our firm’s employment lawyers represent clients in a range of industries, from finance and financial services to software and high tech to manufacturing. The team advises in general employment matters, discrimination and harassment proceedings and litigation; contract preparation, negotiation, and enforcement; terminations and restructurings; personnel policies and manuals; training, executive compensation and employee benefit plans; restrictive covenant drafting and enforcement, and pension and profit-sharing issues. Always staying abreast of the ever-changing regulatory framework, we keep our clients informed and compliant with all relevant employment laws and requirements.
Why Our Experience is the Right Fit
Clients appreciate that each member of our team can serve them in a full spectrum of issues, concerns, and disputes. An attorney may do everything from craft a manual to advocate for a company in a courtroom trial. Our deep involvement with the organizations we represent means we build strong, collegial business partnerships with our clients over the long term. We get to know their businesses, goals, employees, work cultures, and human resources approaches, and this personalization lets us tailor legal strategies precisely to client needs.
Our team believes in communicating clearly and frequently with clients—and always in plain English rather than legalese. Because education is often the best tool to prevent workplace issues from arising in the first place, we routinely share knowledge with those we represent, information on everything from the big-picture issues to the nuanced details of the employment law landscape. We provide workplace training according to schedules and methods that work best for clients.
Our Innovative Approach
Overseeing Overseas Entities: Many of our clients are internationally-based companies navigating an unfamiliar and often confusing U.S. employment law and regulatory environment. We shepherd them through this complex topography to help keep them compliant and on track to achieve their commercial goals.
Privacy and Personal Information: In the age of worldwide electronic connectivity, privacy protection is a hot topic and one that crops up more and more frequently in employment law. Coordinating with related firm practice groups, including the Cybersecurity and Data Privacy area, we help clients handle issues relating to domestic and international laws regulating this emergent area of concern.
Good Advice, Good Value: We take a sensible, flexible approach to pricing and always keep our clients’ bottom lines in mind while providing efficient and effective guidance.
Employment Ebbs: Underperforming employees, the cyclical nature of the economy, and events such as recessions and the COVID-19 pandemic spark the need for individual terminations and workplace reductions. Our team always stays ready to walk employers through these difficult processes and ensure that they are handled in a strategically, ethically, and legally sound manner.
Proven Strengths
We counsel clients in a full range of employment law areas, including these and others:
Litigation: We represent clients in age, disability, race, religious, and sex discrimination cases and in administrative proceedings and court litigation generated by the federal and state discrimination laws.
Contracts: Our attorneys prepare and negotiate executive contracts and other employment-related agreements. We also prepare confidentiality, restrictive covenant, and invention agreements.
Contract Enforcement: Our team has particular expertise in the enforcement of employment contracts, particularly those containing restrictive covenants which preclude competition and misuse of confidential information and trade secrets.
ADR: We often represent our clients in arbitrations and other alternative dispute proceedings to resolve employment disputes.
Personnel Advice: Our lawyers advise clients on personnel matters, including the drafting of employee manuals, personnel policies, and employment contracts. We consult with clients on wage/hour matters, disability issues, drug testing, unemployment insurance claims, and performance evaluation and disciplinary issues.
Terminations: We advise with respect to employee terminations and severance issues and how best to avoid liability while also performing this often delicate and difficult task as fairly and sensitively as the situation warrants.
Restructurings: Clients undergoing reorganizations, relocations, reductions-in-force, plant closings, and mergers and acquisitions turn to our lawyers for legal services and guidance related to employee benefit cost analyses, employee communications and notices, WARN notices, COBRA issues and notification, pension matters under ERISA, bonuses, vacation pay, preventative measures against discriminations charges and lawsuits, separation agreements, releases, employee assistance, and out-placement and security.
Pension- and Profit-Sharing: We advise management on the requirements of ERISA, including the design and drafting of pension and retirement plans, incentive early retirement plans, profit-sharing and stock-bonus plans, employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs), and employee welfare plans.