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Find Lawyers in North Carolina, 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.
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Jimmy Adams is a versatile and seasoned litigator with more than 30 years of experience in arbitrations and in federal and state courts. Jimmy represents clients on dispute and litigation issues related to noncompetition agreements, taxation, health care, professional malpractice, ERISA and estate litigation, and all types of corporate and commercial disputes. He is an accomplished litigator who is very familiar with the process, strategy and custom at the trial and appellate levels. His goal...
A Board-Certified Specialist in Immigration Law, Ms. Bradshaw was named in the 2004 Business North Carolina’s “Legal Elite” as the top employment attorney in North Carolina. She has been nationally recognized by inclusion in “The Best Lawyers in America” for both Immigration Law and Employment Law, and by "Chambers & Partners" and "Super Lawyers" as a leading immigration attorney. She has also been listed in Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in Amer...
Ken Carlson is a senior litigator who has successfully defended companies in virtually every aspect of employment law. He also has a strong practice in drafting employment contracts, independent contractor agreements, and noncompetition agreements, combined with a significant amount of work involving trade secret and noncompetition law. In addition to his litigation practice, Ken regularly advises employers on how to avoid problems before they occur, and helps companies protect their intellec...
Bill Cary works with a variety of public and private entities in the emerging area of Climate Resilience planning and strategies. He also has extensive experience in employment law, counseling employers to avoid conflict and guiding them through difficult transitions, whether systemic or specific. Bill’s career has included extensive experience in litigation and mediation, especially in employment and environmental disputes. Bill’s practice includes planning, advice, and litigatio...
Seth Cohen has spent his legal career fighting against discrimination and advocating for people whose civil rights and civil liberties have been violated or infringed. The veteran labor and employment, civil rights and civil liberties attorney is Of Counsel at the Deuterman Law Group. In this senior role, he represents clients in their labor and employment claims. He works closely with the rest of the DLG team to ensure that our workers’ compensation, Social Security Disability, VA Disa...
Kevin Dalton is a partner in the firm’s Charlotte office. His practice focuses on counseling clients regarding employment issues and defending clients against claims alleging wrongful discharge, discrimination, harassment, breach of contract, and wage and hour violations. He has assisted companies in remaining non-union, including responding to unfair labor practice charges and advising employers during union representation campaigns. Before joining the firm, Kevin served as a Captain i...
M. Robin Davis is the office managing principal of both the Raleigh and Charlotte, North Carolina, offices of Jackson Lewis P.C. Robin handles individual and multi-plaintiff litigation in state and federal courts, and before various state, federal and local agencies, as well as provides counseling and advice to employers of all sizes in various employment related matters including discrimination claims, harassment claims, wage and hour claims, unemployment claims, workplace violence claims, a...
John Doyle is a partner in Constangy's Winston-Salem office where he specializes in labor and employment relations law with a practice limited to representation of management clients. Mr. Doyle has represented employers in all aspects of labor and employment law matters and is a frequent writer and lecturer on various labor and employment law subjects. He is also an experienced litigator, defending employers in federal and state courts throughout the U.S. and before numerous administrative ag...
Ben Fryer has devoted his entire career to supporting his clients' needs in labor and employment law. Ben's background includes significant experience assisting clients in the protection of trade secrets and the enforcement of non-compete agreements and other restrictive covenants. He has also advised clients in all other aspects of employment law including claims involving state and federal wage and hour regulations, and discrimination and retaliation under Title VII, the ADEA, the ADA, and ...
Tricia Goodson counsels clients on all aspects of the employer relationship. Her years of experience in providing guidance to employers and litigating on their behalf when necessary allows her to provide innovative, timely counsel to employers. She counsels management clients on a variety of employment-related issues, including federal and state discrimination and harassment laws; wage and hour compliance; employment policies and handbooks; employment agreements; restructuring; severance prog...
Matthew Gray represents and advises insurers, healthcare facilities, corporations, and individuals. His practice includes complex insurance coverage analysis and counseling, bad faith litigation, employment counseling and litigation, long-term care claims, and administrative law. Matt represents his clients in the trial and appellate divisions of the state and federal courts throughout North Carolina. Currently, Matt is assisting clients with employment matters related to COVID-19 and the Fam...
Ken leads the Labor and Employment Practice Group. His practice experience encompasses various areas of employment-related litigation. He advises clients and litigates cases involving all forms of employment discrimination, wrongful discharge, and breach of employment contracts from small start-up companies to Fortune 500 corporations. Ken is a frequent lecturer on employment discrimination, workplace retaliation, workers' compensation, and wage and hour law issues. He has been rated by his p...
· Served as a law clerk for United States District Court Judge James B. McMillan in Charlotte; partner in the firm of Ferguson Stein Chambers Gresham & Sumter, PA, until retirerment in 2010 and partner Tin, Fulton Walker and Owen 2011-present · Practice areas are employment litigation and negotiation, public employee rights, constitutional law, general civil litigation, appellate practice, and personal injury. · Recognized by his peers for his work in employment and c...
Nicole H. (as she is affectionately known in the office) advises clients and litigates disputes involving allegations of discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wage and hour violations, severance negotiations, employment contracts, non-competition, and non-solicitation agreements. She represents clients in state and federal courts, in arbitrations, mediations, and before administrative agencies, such as the EEOC, Department of Labor, and National Labor Relations Board. Nicole has successful...
Kelly Hughes has spent her career advising and supporting employers across multiple industries and in various forums. Ms. Hughes assists executives and management at all levels in crafting employment policies and agreements that not only comply with federal, state, and local laws but also complement the unique needs of the particular client and promote its financial and business objectives. Ms. Hughes is a nationally recognized authority on workplace flexibility and guides clients in creating...
Mr. Joyner represents employers in a myriad of employment-related and complex commercial matters, including litigation involving, discrimination, wage and hour, wrongful discharge and other claims and matters in state and federal courts and administrative agencies. Mr. Joyner has extensive experience representing employers in wage and hour class action and collective action defense, particularly involving alleged tip credit violations in the restaurant industry and misclassification of exempt...
Ted N. Kazaglis is a principal in the Raleigh, North Carolina, office of Jackson Lewis P.C. He handles a range of employment law issues with a particular focus on the alternative staffing industries, including professional employer organizations (“PEOs”) and temporary staffing companies. Ted assists clients in the staffing industries to define their relationship with their customers, including drafting and reviewing staffing agreements. He also defends such clients against legal c...
Mr. Keen has practiced labor and employment law in the Raleigh office of Ogletree Deakins since 1987. His practice has included employment litigation in state and federal courts, representing clients before the National Labor Relations Board and advising clients on equal employment opportunity and wage and hour issues. He has successfully litigated cases to defense verdicts in employment discrimination cases. He has also litigated matters involving ERISA, non-competition and trade secrets, wo...
Ken is a litigator who focuses his practice on employment and compliance matters , including issues arising under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), Wage and Hour claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), North Carolina’s Retaliatory Discrimination Act (REDA), the Occupational Safety and Health Act, as well as employment contract disputes, and ...
Beth Langley has over 25 years of experience counseling employers of all sizes in an assortment of employment law issues. She has represented businesses in employment litigation in matters involving civil rights, non-competition agreements, and trade secret protection. Beth provides advice and counsel to employers on a variety of employment law issues, including workplace employment compliance, executive compensation, trade secret protection, and employment agreements, including non-competiti...
Kathleen K. Lucchesi is a principal and the office litigation manager in the Charlotte, North Carolina, office of Jackson Lewis P.C. For Kathi, the business of law is about people. Working first to find creative, business-oriented solutions, Kathi prioritizes developing effective policies and practices to keep employers out of the courtroom. But when the road to resolution leads to the courthouse, her extensive trial experience provides clients with the confidence that they’ll be well r...
Dana Lumsden is a strategic business litigator and trusted legal advisor. His practice focuses on business litigation, including intellectual property disputes, securities litigation, investigations and enforcement proceedings, and the resolution of regulatory controversies concerning the consumer financial services industry. Dana advises and represents domestic and international companies, including some of the world’s largest financial institutions and manufacturers. In class action m...
With two decades of experience as a practicing attorney, Karin McGinnis, CIPP/US, is known as a true business partner when litigating and providing counsel to her clients. Well versed in employment, privacy, and general commercial litigation, Karin helps clients navigate a range of complex issues. In addition to employment and privacy matters, Karin has successfully litigated a wide range of matters, including lawsuits involving trade secret misappropriation, defamation, violations of noncomp...
A member of Manning Fulton's litigation section, Michael T. Medford has more than 37 years of experience representing clients in a broad range of complex commercial litigation and insurance disputes. His practice focuses on complex business litigation involving shareholder and partnership disputes, disputes relating to the purchase and sale of businesses, business and legal malpractice claims, lending disputes, employment disputes, securities law disputes and insurance coverage and procuremen...
Areas of Practice: Health Care , Labor & Employment , Litigation Michael Murchison has substantial experience handling civil litigation matters in federal and state courts. He regularly represents businesses, health care entities, financial institutions and others in a wide range of matters, including employment discrimination claims, breach of contract claims, non-compete disputes, and administrative proceedings. He regularly counsels businesses and health care entities with respect to l...
Brandon Neuman’s practice focuses on advising businesses and individuals on complex issues, ranging from strategic and risk management advice, regulatory and internal investigations, through bet-the-company litigation. He counsels clients on all aspects of business operations, regulatory compliance and complex commercial litigation. Brandon regularly serves as outside General Counsel for client institutions and businesses, where he manages a wide variety of legal matters such as interna...
Chris Page, a shareholder at Young Moore and Henderson, is an experienced and successful trial lawyer, serving as lead trial counsel in numerous state and federal jury trials since he began his law career in 1992. Chris represents a broad array of commercial clients, but his practice centers primarily on complex business litigation, employment litigation, and trademark/ trade secret litigation. He also regularly represents clients in non-compete litigation. Chris is listed in North Carolina S...
A frequent speaker on litigation and arbitration issues and an adjunct professor at the University of Notre Dame Law School, Paul Peralta brings extensive successful high-stakes trial experience to his varied litigation clients. Paul has handled wide-ranging employment and commercial litigation, including management representation in Title VII, ADEA, ADA and ERISA litigation, as well as proceedings before the EEOC and corresponding state and local agencies. Additionally, Paul has counseled an...
J. Heydt Philbeck concentrates his practice on complex civil litigation in the areas of civil rights, employment law, commercial litigation, contract disputes, unfair business practices, state and federal personnel law, constitutional law, and occupational licensing. Mr. Philbeck is an experienced trial advocate who has tried over 100 jury and bench trials to verdict. He has successfully represented clients before the North Carolina Supreme Court, the North Carolina Court of Appeals and the U...
Bob is a trial lawyer who regularly represents management in labor/employment law and related matters. National employers rely on Bob to advise their employment practices and represent their interest throughout the country. He has defended hundreds of lawsuits, taken hundreds of depositions and successfully obtained many jury verdicts and arbitration awards.He often represents prominent employers and their executives in high-stakes disputes and advises clients facing scrutiny by the governmen...
To his clients, Russ Sizemore is a problem solver. With a focus on employment law, Russ serves as an extended member of his clients’ human resources departments, providing legal counsel on a range of employment issues and litigating complex employment cases. A true partner, Russ invests the time to deeply understand his clients’ business models and corporate cultures. He appreciates that clients often face time-sensitive challenges and need an attorney they can turn to on short no...
Ann H. Smith is a Partner in the Raleigh/Durham office of Jackson Lewis P.C. Ms. Smith has practiced employment law since 1996 and has handled a wide variety of employment matters before federal and state courts and administrative agencies. Ms. Smith has represented and advised Fortune 250 companies as well as governmental entities. Ms. Smith’s litigation experience includes general employment law disputes involving claims pursuant to the ADA, FMLA, FLSA, and Title VII. Ms. Smith has al...
Ken Soo’s areas of practice include public school law, employment law and civil litigation. He received his law degree with honors from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1991. During law school, he was a note editor for the North Carolina Law Review. Mr. Soo completed his bachelor’s degree in comparative area studies at Duke University. Mr. Soo’s first career was as a wire service and newspaper reporter in Ohio, North Carolina and Florida, including stints w...
Luther D. (Lew) Starling, Jr. is a life-long resident of Clinton, North Carolina. He attended Clinton High School where he served as President of his senior class and President of the Future Farmers of America. He graduated from Campbell University in 1987 with a bachelor's degree in Business Administration. While at Campbell, Lew served as President of the Adam Smith Club, the university's second largest student organization. 1n 1990, he earned his Juris Doctor degree from Wake Forest Univer...
Bryan Starrett has a unique background as a litigator, employment lawyer, and in-house generalist for a new public company. This combination of experience gives Bryan an invaluable perspective for understanding how a legal issue fits within clients’ business operations and goals, and how to provide thoughtful and practical counsel to clients. In his litigation practice, Bryan represents clients in all levels of state and federal courts in North Carolina, including the North Carolina Bus...
Mr. Strach is a trial lawyer who regularly represents management in labor/employment law and related matters. A significant area of Phil’s representation of employers and management includes advising clients on covenants not to compete and litigating claims involving restrictive covenants, trade secrets, and other business-related litigation. Phil also regularly defends management and employers in employment discrimination cases and counsels management on how to prevent or reduce the ri...
Jill S. Stricklin works with employers to prevent and resolve disputes regarding all aspects of the employment relationship. She has successfully defended civil lawsuits and administrative charges involving claims of employment discrimination, harassment, retaliation, and improper denial of leave and benefits, as well as wrongful discharge against public policy, intentional/negligent infliction of emotional distress, negligent supervision and retention, breach of contract, interference with c...
Jessi Thaller-Moran focuses her practice on employment law and litigation, counseling employers on compliance with state and federal laws. She also uses her experience in the North Carolina Business Court to develop strategies for clients embroiled in a wide range of complex business litigation disputes, helping clients to think creatively about opportunities for resolution and zealously advocating for their interests in court when the need arises. Jessi seeks to help companies thrive by help...
After graduating from the University of North Carolina School of Law, Bryan began practicing in the employment law and employee benefits areas, working for large law firms that concentrated in those areas. In 2001, Bryan returned to school at the Georgetown University Law Center and studied to receive an LL.M. in Taxation with a concentration in Employee Benefits, a field that includes retirement plans, health insurance plans, short- and long-term disability, life insurance and other similar ...
Travis Vance is dedicated to responsive client service and forming a partnership with companies to help tackle their most difficult and high-profile issues. Having gained a reputation as a professional and aggressive advocate for his clients, Travis has emerged as a thought leader in the field of workplace safety. His writing and interviews are followed closely by experts in the safety arena and have been featured in premiere publications such as Inc., Bloomberg Law, Business Insurance, The W...
Joshua R. Van Kampen is the founder and leader of Van Kampen Law, PC in Charlotte, North Carolina. In 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022, SuperLawyers rated Josh in its Top 100 attorney list for all of North Carolina and in its Top 25 list for Charlotte. This follows Josh being named in the Top 100 List in 2017 as well. These are not lists ranking the top employment l awyers . Out of the 20,000 some lawyers in North Carolina, Josh is ranked among the top attorneys in any practice area . At 50, J...
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