Find Lawyers in Massachusetts, United States for Litigation - Labor and Employment
Practice Area Overview
Often, these employment disputes culminate in a lawsuit, which can be costly, time-consuming, and damaging to employee relations. The number of employment-related litigation filings has been steadily increasing over the last decade, ranging from large-scale class actions to individual complaints. Employers are facing greater challenges and financial exposure from both current and former employees than ever before.
Employment litigation covers many types of claims, including discrimination; harassment; wage-hour pay, classification, and overtime violations; wrongful discharge; entitlement to employee benefits; misappropriation of trade secrets and confidential information; unfair competition; enforcement or avoidance of restrictive covenants; labor union disputes; workplace safety violations; defamation and other employment-related torts. These claims often involve the many laws governing employee relations, which are often referred to as “employment law alphabet soup.” These include Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII), the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), whistleblower claims under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) or Dodd-Frank Act, the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA), the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) and the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA).
Resolving employment litigation requires knowledge of these laws and regulations, the applicable case law, and a careful case analysis and strategy. More so than in other less personal litigation, a perceptive understanding of the people involved is essential for success. Often, suits will be settled among parties or ended before trial through summary judgment based on the facts of the case. When early resolution is not achieved, however, the case will go to trial in court or before an agency tribunal. Verdicts in employment-related cases can be enormous, especially in wage-hour and other class actions, creating a high-stakes situation for employers.
Select a city from the list below to find the best legal talent for your needs.
Cities
Joe Ambash is the managing partner of the Boston office. His practice includes all aspects of employment law, including labor-management relations, employment discrimination and wrongful discharge litigation, and preventive labor relations. He also has an extensive practice training managers in all areas of employment law compliance. Joe represents management in a broad range of industries, including health care, higher education, financial services, retail, media, sports and state and local ...
Lisa G. Arrowood is a Founding Partner of Arrowood LLP. Previously a Founding Partner of Todd & Weld LLP and a partner and associate at Hale and Dorr, she has over thirty years' experience practicing law in the areas of business litigation, employment disputes, medical malpractice, personal injury and legal malpractice. She is well known for her ability to try to a jury, judge or arbitrator breach of contract claims, medical malpractice cases, legal malpractice cases, sexual harassment an...
Russell Beck is a business, trade secrets, and employee mobility litigator, nationally recognized for his trade secrets and noncompete experience. He was invited to the Obama White House to develop guidelines for the proper use of noncompetes and has been cited as an expert on trade secrets and noncompetes by The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, the White House, the Treasury Department, National Public Radio, PBS, the BBC World News Service, Le Monde, and many others. Russell has over...
Ms. Bernstein has active criminal defense and civil litigation practices in both state and federal courts. She was named Best Lawyers' "Lawyer of the Year" for Boston Employment Law - Individuals in both 2015 and 2018. She has been listed in Best Lawyers in America every year since 2007 for both criminal defense and employment law, more recently, she has been also been listed for Litigation - Labor and Employment. In 2002 she was awarded the highest possible rating -- AV -- by Martindale-Hubb...
Michael R. Bertoncini is a principal in the Boston, Massachusetts, office of Jackson Lewis P.C. He is a co-leader of the Healthcare industry group and a member of the Higher Education group. A former Deputy General Counsel, Michael understands first-hand the competing demands and unique challenges in-house counsel must balance. Before joining Jackson Lewis, he was responsible for all labor and employment law matters for the largest fully integrated community care hospital system in New Englan...
David I. Brody represents individuals in a wide range of matters, including contract negotiation and enforcement, wage and hour issues, wrongful termination, discrimination, retaliation, and whistleblowing. He is an experienced employment litigator, having represented individuals at trial in state and federal court, and in public hearings before the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination and the Civil Service Commission. In addition to his litigation practice, David advises executive...
Jeffrey S. Brody is the office managing principal of the Boston, Massachusetts, office of Jackson Lewis P.C. He exclusively represents management in workplace law, including counseling and litigation. Jeff routinely advises clients regarding day-to-day employment issues, such as employee discipline and discharge, disability management issues, reductions in force, and restrictive covenants. He also regularly conducts training programs for employers on a variety of employment-related topics, su...
Mark Burak has specialized in the representation of employers in labor and employment matters for over 20 years. Mr. Burak’s practice focuses primarily on defending employers in state and federal courts and before administrative agencies. Mr. Burak has successfully handled cases involving virtually the entire spectrum of employment related laws, with a particular emphasis on discrimination laws. He has tried several cases successfully to conclusion and obtained dismissals or summary jud...
Larry has over 30 years of experience successfully litigating employment-related matters on behalf of executives, professionals and employers in state and federal courts, arbitrations and agency hearings. He has argued appeals before the First Circuit Court of Appeals, Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court and Massachusetts Appeals Court. Larry also has extensive experience negotiating executive employment and transition agreements in various industries. He advises executives of private and pu...
Nicole Daly represents employers in a wide array of labor and employment matters, from counseling companies on day-to-day employee-relations issues to litigating cases in court and administrative agencies. Nicole Daly is a partner at Beck Reed Riden LLP. Her principal focus is on the defense of discrimination, retaliation, harassment, wrongful termination, wage & hour, and related claims. A significant portion of Nicole’s practice involves advising employers on issues involving the ...
Sandy Dibble is a member of the Litigation, Health Care and Employment practice groups. Prior to joining the firm, Sandy served as a law clerk for Justice Francis J. Quirico of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. Since then, he has concentrated his practice in resolving problems and disputes for individuals and for-profit and non-profit enterprises through advice, negotiation, litigation, arbitration and mediation involving a wide range of matters including health care, antitrust, trade...
Andrew L. Eisenberg is a partner in the Boston office of Constangy. His practice encompasses all aspects of labor law, labor relations and employment law. Mr. Eisenberg has extensive experience assisting the firm's clients in responding to union organizing campaigns, negotiating and advising clients with respect to the administration of collective bargaining agreements and representing clients in grievance and arbitration proceedings. He also assists clients with respect to the full range of ...
Jennifer Fay is a partner in Goodwin’s Employment practice and a former member of the firm’s Executive Committee. She is also a founding member of the firm’s Trade Secrets & Restrictive Covenants practice. Ms. Fay focuses her employment law practice on servicing the firm’s technology, life sciences, private equity/venture capitalist and financial services clients, as counselor, a litigator and an employment law compliance expert. She has developed a particular expe...
Adam P. Forman advises employers in a broad range of employment law matters. His practice is dedicated to providing day-to-day counseling to clients on all issues that touch the workplace and to drafting critical employment-related documents such as employment contracts, severance agreements, handbooks and reduction-in-force documentation. Adam also conducts employment-related trainings for clients on topics as varied as harassment prevention, hiring techniques, conducting investigations and ...
Jeff provides employers of all sizes and in all industries with strategic advice and counsel with respect to their business operations and employment law compliance. My focus All employers have employment law issues. I help clients with all aspects of employment law, but much of my work is focused on these areas: Advice & Counsel I regularly advise clients with respect to negotiating the myriad wage-hour laws, managing employee performance and leaves of absence, drafting and negotiating e...
Philip is the Managing Partner of Gordon Law Group, LLP and a past President of the Massachusetts Employment Lawyers Association. He is an experienced and well-regarded employment attorney whose practice focuses on the employee, representing individuals in every aspect of the employment relationship, with a particular concentration on class action litigation for discrimination, minimum wages, pay equity and wrongful termination. As a class action employment attorney, Philip has represented th...
Patrick is a seasoned trial attorney, concentrating on employment and employment-related litigation and arbitration, as well as disputes between partners and shareholders in closely held corporations. Patrick leads the firm’s trial practice. Patrick began his career as a trial attorney with the United States Department of Justice and has litigated hundreds of cases (conducting both bench and jury trials) in state and federal courts across the country. Since entering private practice, Pa...
According to Chambers USA, “Top-flight executive advocate James Hartley” is held in extremely high regard by his peers and clients for the quality of his representations, particularly in executive transitions and litigation, and is lauded as ‘a fabulous lawyer’ with ‘extraordinary expertise’ and a ‘creative approach’ to disputes. He and his partners pioneered the firm’s nationally-ranked executive advocacy practice which focuses on the leg...
Tamsin is an employment lawyer and business litigator, and serves as outside general counsel to diverse nonprofits and private schools. She has extensive experience representing businesses, executives and other high-level professionals in a full range of employment-related issues from recruitment through termination. Tamsin frequently conducts workplace investigations, provides trainings on diversity and harassment, and advises employers regarding employee handbooks, employment audits, and wo...
Ellen Kearns represents management in a full range of traditional labor and employment issues, including NLRB proceedings, negotiations, and arbitration. Ellen has obtained injunctions in labor disputes, and has resolved strike issues. She has appeared before federal and state courts and administrative agencies with respect to employment discrimination, sexual harassment, wrongful discharge cases, wage and hour matters, and other employment related litigation. Ellen is recognized nationally f...
Paul Kelly is a principal in the Boston office of Jackson Lewis P.C. He has extensive experience in white collar criminal defense, internal investigations, NCAA enforcement investigations and infractions cases, and complex civil litigation. Paul chairs both the Collegiate and Professional Sports industry group and the White Collar and Government Enforcement resource group at the firm White Collar and Investigative Experience Paul is a trial attorney with substantial experience in both state a...
Mary Jo Kennedy leads the Employment practice group. With a focus on employment law, Mary Jo has successfully represented employers in defense of employment and discrimination claims in administrative proceedings before the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD) and in state and federal courts. She has also successfully represented employers in state court on wage and hour claims. Mary Jo regularly advises employers on personnel and wage and hour issues, reviews and drafts per...
Jamie L. Kessler is a principal in the Boston, Massachusetts, office of Jackson Lewis P.C. Her practice focuses on representing and defending employers in workplace legal issues, including preventive advice and counsel. Prior to joining Jackson Lewis, Jamie worked in the Boston office of a Chicago-based law firm for more than three years as a litigator. During this time, Jamie represented employers before regulatory bodies, state, and federal courts. Jamie also represented legal, real estate,...
Samia M. Kirmani is a principal in the Boston, Massachusetts, office of Jackson Lewis P.C., serves on the firm’s Board of Directors, and is co-leader of both the Workplace Training and the Corporate Diversity Counseling practice groups. She is also co-leader of Jackson Lewis' Women's Interest Network (WIN) resource group. Samia’s practice is an effective combination of skill and advocacy in employment counseling, investigations, training, and DEI policy development and programming...
Paul G. Lannon Jr. is a partner in Holland & Knight's Litigation Section and a member of the firm's Labor, Employment and Benefits Group and Energy Team. He is co-chair of the Education Team and chair of the Non-Competition, Trade Secrets and Employee Defection Team. Mr. Lannon represents public and private companies in complex civil litigation, counsels businesses on asset protection and workplace issues, and advocates for management in employment disputes. Mr. Lannon also serves as the ...
Brian E. Lewis is a principal in the Boston, Massachusetts, office of Jackson Lewis P.C. He exclusively represents management in all facets of workplace law. Brian routinely advises clients regarding day-to-day employment issues, such as employee discipline and discharge, disability management issues, proper payment of wages, reductions in force, and restrictive covenants. Brian also has experience in representing clients on traditional labor law issues and has appeared before the National La...
Brian J. MacDonough, chair of the firm's Employment Department, concentrates his practice in employment law and executive advocacy. He handles a wide range of matters, including contract negotiation and enforcement, discrimination, whistleblowing, wage and hour issues, and wrongful termination. In particular, Brian counsels and represents executives and professionals regarding sophisticated employment and compensation matters, including employment agreements, change of control agreements, equ...
Miriam J. McKendall is co-chair of the Education Team and concentrates her practice in employment law, education law and related litigation. She provides counseling to clients in employment related issues, such as investigation and defense of sexual harassment and discrimination claims; development of disability and reasonable accommodations policies and procedures; wage and hour compliance and defense of audits and claims; defense of claims pending at the MCAD, EEOC, DOL, OCR, DOE, and state...
Mr. McKittrick has extensive trial experience in employment and business disputes. He has represented clients in a wide array of litigation, including (1) allegations of workplace discrimination and harassment; (2) cases involving disputes over trade secrets, non-disclosure, non-competition and non-solicitation covenants in financial services, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, high technology and other industries; and (3) the defense of class and collective actions, with particular experience i...
Our Methodology
Recognition by Best Lawyers is based entirely on peer review. Our methodology is designed to capture, as accurately as possible, the consensus opinion of leading lawyers about the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same geographical area and legal practice area.
The Process
Best Lawyers employs a sophisticated, conscientious, rational, and transparent survey process designed to elicit meaningful and substantive evaluations of the quality of legal services. Our belief has always been that the quality of a peer review survey is directly related to the quality of the voters.