- Find a Lawyer
- /
- United States
- /
- Employment Law - Management
- /
- Ohio
- /
- Cleveland
Find Lawyers in Cleveland, Ohio for Employment Law - Management
Practice Area Overview
Employment law is the practice area of lawyers who advise employers about workplace related issues.
Regulations governing the way employees are hired, managed, disciplined, and terminated are complex and constantly evolving. These laws affect companies differently depending on size, industry, and workforce makeup. Businesses must ensure that employment policies, training program, and everyday practices are in compliance – or risk crippling lawsuits. Employment law practices emphasize preventive counseling to minimize liability and potential business interruption for employers. Employment law audits are frequently utilized to expose problem areas before they become legal nightmares.
Despite the best efforts of conscientious employers to comply with the law and to treat employees fairly, lawsuits can occur. Such suits present problems both obvious – large verdicts, for example – and more insidious – such as the waste of management’s time and resources which can interfere with productive, efficient business operation. This ever-increasing scope of employment litigation intersects with virtually all types of business litigation including class actions, products liability, premises liability, traditional torts, and business contract disputes of all types. The employment litigation practice continues to expand with each new right or legal obligation enacted by federal and state legislators or recognized by the courts.
Rebecca focuses her practice on representation of management in all areas of labor and employment law, litigation and counseling, including claims involving employment discrimination under federal and state law. She is an experienced trial lawyer and has obtained defense verdicts, arbitration awards, dispositive rulings and favorable settlements on behalf of employers. Rebecca advises employers regarding personnel policies; discipline and discharge; affirmative action, federal and state anti-...
Mike represents management in all aspects of labor and employment law, including representing employers in court, arbitrations, administrative proceedings, and other disputes. He advises companies, both large and small, on human resources issues and litigation prevention, including advice on terminations, compliance with employment laws, workplace investigations and the preparation of policies and employment agreements. Mike prides himself on providing strategic and practical advice to minimi...
Elizabeth Crosby specializes in Labor & Employment Law and in Workers’ Compensation Law . As the challenges of labor and employment matters increase, employers benefit from Liz’s deep level of expertise with dual certifications in labor & employment law. She counsels employers and management in every aspect of employment law, including termination, handbook preparation, discrimination and wrongful discharge claims, wage and hour compliance, intentional tort, restrictive co...
For over forty years, Mike’s practice has been devoted to the exclusive representation of employers and their management teams in dealing with the full range of labor and employment issues. He has represented employers in contract negotiations with virtually every major union in the U.S. and Canada. Throughout his career he has focused on representing health care and higher education institutions, as well as manufacturing companies and service organizations. Mike’s practice also i...
Wade Fricke has practiced management-side labor and employment law since 1989. He was one of three attorneys who founded the Cleveland office of the firm. Prior to joining the firm, Wade was a partner in Cleveland’s oldest law firm, and before that, he worked for the Cleveland office of a national full-service law firm.Wade represents companies of all sizes across the country in virtually all aspects of employee relations in union and non-union settings. In both settings, Wade’s p...
John Gerak routinely advises employers on all aspects of the employment relationship. John has developed a reputation as a true business partner, assisting employers to avoid litigation through highly focused custom training, human resource policy and process improvement and legal compliance. In the event litigation cannot be avoided, John has extensive experience litigation sing-plaintiff employment cases as well as class action discrimination and wage and hour cases.
Joel focuses his practice on the representation of management in all phases of labor relations and employment litigation. He routinely advises employers on all aspects of their relationships with employees, as well as with respect to matters concerning litigation prevention and human resources management, and he regularly defends them in federal and state courts of all jurisdictions on claims arising under the various federal and state labor and employment laws. Joel additionally represents e...
Jeffrey B. Keiper is a principal in the Cleveland, Ohio, office of Jackson Lewis P.C. Throughout his career, Jeff has devoted his practice exclusively to several areas of management side employment and labor law. Jeff has successfully defended complex single- and multi-plaintiff employment litigation matters for large manufacturing and service companies, both in court and in arbitrations, and has also handled countless labor arbitrations. He has represented employers before multiple state and...
Brian is the Chair of the firm’s Labor and Employment Practice Group and is named to the prestigious Chambers USA: America’s Guide to Leading Lawyers for Business in the area of Labor and Employment. Brian focuses his practice on the representation of management in all phases of labor relations and employment litigation. Brian regularly represents employers in litigation before federal and state courts, administrative agencies and arbitrators involving employment discrimination an...
Ann E. Knuth focuses her legal practice in labor and employment law. With over 25 years of experience, Ann guides employers through the entire employment relationship, from recruitment to termination. She counsels businesses of all sizes, from start-up companies to international corporations, to help them manage their human capital and meet their business goals. Ann leverages her deep understanding of labor and employment law to assist clients in building policies and adopting proactive compl...
Terry Lardakis is a partner in the firm's Cleveland office. He has extensive experience in the negotiation of collective bargaining agreements and the representation of employers in union organizational campaigns and elections nationwide. Terry has represented employers in traditional labor matters including arbitrations, union decertification, craft severance, and unfair labor practice litigation across the country. He has also handled numerous matters involving wage and hour, family and med...
Rich Millisor is a partner in the firm’s Cleveland office. His practice focuses on representing employers and consumer reporting agencies in complex litigation, including claims asserted under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), Title VII and other federal and state employment laws. He has developed strong experience litigating collective and class actions asserted under the FLSA, the FCRA and other employment laws. Rich also has extensive experien...
Christina advises and represents employers in a broad range of employment law matters, from discrimination, retaliation, wrongful discharge, and harassment, to cases involving contract disputes, restrictive covenants, trade secret theft and misappropriation, and unfair competition. She has litigated and tried cases in state and federal courts and frequently represents employers in various state and federal administrative agencies, including the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Ohi...
Steve Nobil is the managing partner of the firm's Cleveland office. He devotes his practice to representing public and private sector employers in all areas of traditional labor law including union organizing campaigns, contract negotiations, arbitrations, union avoidance, supervisory training, and other related labor advice and counsel. He has an outstanding success record in countering union organizing attempts and he has been involved in many mergers and acquisitions from a labor and emplo...
Suellen Oswald focuses her practice on labor law, employment litigation and staffing and contingent workers. Suellen has represented employers of all sizes, from small businesses to Fortune 100 companies, in: Numerous employment lawsuits in both federal and state courts Union organizing campaigns Collective bargaining negotiations Contract administration Labor arbitration cases Suellen also has extensive experience representing employers before various governmental agencies, including the Equ...
Mr. Peters counsels clients in in the power management, manufacturing, insurance, contingent staffing, financial services, transportation and logistics, building materials, construction, technology, and retail industries, among others. He advises clients on hiring, promotion, discipline, and termination decisions; negotiates executive employment agreements; drafts and reviews employee policy manuals for compliance with state and federal law; and manages multi-state employment law compliance p...
Richard T. (“Ted”) Prasse has represented private and public sector employers in NLRB and SERB matters, labor negotiations, arbitrations, wage and hour issues (including employment class actions), equal employment litigation, employer counseling, OSHA, and Ohio Workers’ Compensation. His work has included representation of schools in constitutional and statutory issues in public, student and employee matters.
Doug focuses his practice on employment litigation and counseling on human resource issues. His employment litigation experience includes representing employers before state and federal courts and administrative agencies in Ohio and throughout the region in wrongful termination, retaliation and discrimination matters arising under the Ohio Civil Rights Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Title VII, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, and the Fam...
Dave Schreiner is a partner in the firm's Cleveland office. Although he has counseled employers in virtually all areas of labor and employment law, his primary focus is in the traditional labor relations area. He has extensive experience in successfully counteracting union organizing drives, developing programs designed to maintain union-free status, and obtaining favorable contract results at the bargaining table. Dave has been recognized as one of the top labor attorneys in the Best Lawyers...
A partner in Hahn Loeser’s Cleveland office since 2007 and current Chair of the Firm’s Labor and Employment Group, Steven E. Seasly has 25 years of labor and employment law experience – exclusively representing and counseling employers across the country on the wide variety of employment and labor law issues that typically confront employers. His breadth of experience includes complex employment law litigation, collective and/or class action wage and hour litigation, labor a...
Jeff Smith is a partner in the Cleveland office and a member of the firm's Employee Benefits Practice Group. He works with clients to create, implement and maintain their retirement and health plans. He also advises employers on the impact of the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), as well as Multiple Employer Welfare Arrangements (MEWAs) and Voluntary Employer Beneficiary Associations (VEBAs). While in la...
James M. Stone is the Office Managing Shareholder of the Cleveland, Ohio office of Jackson Lewis P.C. With more than 25 years of experience in labor and employment law, Mr. Stone has conducted more than 120 negotiations with unions, defended hundreds of employment discrimination, wrongful discharge, and other claims in court and before administrative agencies such as the EEOC, NLRB, and Department of Labor. He has defended companies against a broad range of challenges including wrongful disch...
Ellen Toth resides in the Cleveland office where she defends employment discrimination lawsuits for clients in the private and public sector. Ellen also defends charges brought before the EEOC, the Ohio Civil Rights Commission and other state and federal agencies. She provides counseling and training on a wide variety of employment issues. Prior to joining Ogletree, Ellen worked in-house as labor and employment counsel for YRC Worldwide, a Kansas City-based international transportation compan...
Megan focuses her practice on the representation of management in all aspects of labor and employment law. She assists in providing day-to-day counseling to employers by researching and recommending best practices for companies on human resources issues such as terminations, compliance with employment laws, workplace investigations, and the preparation of policies and employment agreements. Megan aids in the defense of employers in discrimination, harassment, retaliation, and various other em...
Richard L. Hilbrich is an associate in the Cleveland, Ohio, office of Jackson Lewis P.C. His practice focuses on representing employers in workplace law matters, including litigation and preventive advice and counseling. After graduating law school, Richard began his career as in-house counsel to large non-profits and healthcare institutions in Northeast Ohio, focusing on employment law. In these roles, he developed a passion for employment defense litigation and came to understand effective ...
As an associate in Hahn Loeser’s Labor & Employment practice, Rachel E. Kolecky guides clients through legal issues that may arise during the employment relationship, from hiring through termination. Rachel counsels clients on employment-related matters, drafts employment agreements and policies, and conducts training on employment matters. Rachel’s practice is built on several years of civil litigation experience. She has experience counseling individuals and insurance compan...
Jim’s client-facing approach to the law aims at achieving the best results for his clients and their business interests whether it be proactively developing creative strategies to address arising disputes or legal issues, exploring unique avenues of resolution or taking a lawsuit to the mat. Using this approach, Jim has developed a multi-faceted legal practice. In addition to defending employers in a wide range of complex labor and employment matters – including representing emplo...
Jon focuses his practice on the representation of management in all aspects of labor and employment law. He represents management in state and federal courts and before administrative agencies in a wide range of matters, including employment discrimination, retaliation, harassment, and wage and hour disputes, including class and collective actions. Aside from his general employment practice, Jon represents employers in traditional labor matters, such as in arbitrations, collective bargaining ...
Lauren Tompkins is an associate in the firm’s Cleveland office. In her education practice, Lauren represents K-12 public, private and community schools as well as institutions of higher education. She supports schools, colleges and universities with employment related matters, policy review, and general compliance concerns. Further, Lauren routinely serves as a Title IX Investigator. In this role, she serves as a neutral party to investigate complaints of sex-based discrimination and se...
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.