Find Lawyers in Cleveland, Ohio 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.
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...
Andrew devotes his practice to counseling and representing employers in all aspects of employment law and labor relations. He counsels employers of all sizes on key issues, including: compliance with discrimination and wage and hour laws; drafting, revising, and implementing employment policies; drafting employment, independent contractor, non-competition, and severance agreements; managing leaves of absence; issuing employee discipline; and various aspects of the collective bargaining proces...
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...
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...
Elected by fellow partners as the first-ever Managing Partner and to the inaugural Management Committee at Frantz Ward, Chris is involved in establishing the firm’s strategic direction and its day-to-day operations for the growing needs of the firm and the expanding needs of the firm’s clients. He is named to Cleveland Magazine’s Cleveland 500, a list of the most powerful and influential leaders in our community. In addition to his Managing Partner and Management Committee r...
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...
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...
Dan O'Brien is partner in the firm's Cleveland office. His practice focuses on Risk and Claims Management. His five major areas of concentration are in Workers' Compensation, Unemployment Compensation, Alternative Risk Transfer Methods, Establishment of Best Practices Claims Management Programs and the impact of workers' and unemployment costs in a Merger or Acquisition. He has over 30 years of experience representing employers before the Industrial Commission of Ohio and the Ohio Bureau of W...
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...
Scott is a lifelong Clevelander who loves this city and treasures his ability to represent people across the Greater Cleveland Area. His mother’s parents were Holocaust survivors and his parents instilled in him the value and need to fight for the little guy. He does this every day in his work. Scott enjoys providing people with some measure of comfort during difficult times and works to be a reliable, trustworthy voice and advocate for his clients. When he’s not in the office, Sc...
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...
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...
Rachel L. Hazelet is an Associate in Hahn Loeser’s Cleveland office, where she is a member of the firm’s Labor & Employment practice. She assists clients with complex workplace disputes, and guides clients through legal issues that may arise during the employment relationship, from hiring through termination. Additionally, Rachel has experience with pre-filing investigation and negotiation, discovery, motion practice, trial preparation and appeals.
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 ...
Litigation associate Trisha Hudkins is your classic overachiever, a trait that revealed itself at an early age when she started college classes before ever receiving her high school diploma. Trisha has carried this moxie past graduation, as when she’s not working, the former college athlete is active in CrossFit and races. Trisha gives the same 110% to her clients, whether there are millions of dollars at stake or a few thousand. Obtaining positive results and keeping her clients satisf...
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...
Mark Mikhaiel’s practice focuses on litigation, encompassing a range of interconnected legal disciplines. He frequently represents clients in complex commercial and professional liability disputes, with a particular emphasis on non-medical professional malpractice; shareholder, fiduciary and business tort litigation; probate litigation; and employment-related disputes. He is driven by complex cases, striving to provide practical and efficient advice to his clients. Mark has handled over...
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 ...
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.