Employment Litigation
Defense of Discrimination & Harassment Claims:
Obtained defense verdict for national restaurant chain after seven-day jury trial on disability discrimination case.
Obtained dismissal of age discrimination and unlawful retaliation claims of former Vice President of public company based on spoliation of electronic evidence (case was featured in Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly as one of the most significant Massachusetts cases of 2006).
Served as lead counsel to multi-national IT consulting firm in defense of charges of immigration-related discrimination pending before the U.S. Department of Justice.
Defended employers in various industries against discrimination and wage and hour claims in state and federal courts and agencies in various states, including Illinois, New Hampshire, Connecticut and New Jersey.
Obtained defense verdict for consulting firm after three-day trial in sexual harassment case.
Non-Competition Agreements:
Obtained sweeping injunction from trial court for biotech client, granting full enforcement of departing executive’s non-competition and non-solicitation covenants.
Defeated motions for preliminary injunctions to prohibit nine employees from working for new employer based on non-competition agreements.
Represented public software company in action seeking enforcement of non-competition agreements against sales executives who defected to a competitor.
Resolved demand for $20 million arising from our client’s hiring of employees from a competitor without the payment of a single dollar or the entry of any court orders.
Other Employment Litigation:
Obtained a defense verdict in an administrative trial before the Department of Labor on an employee’s whistleblower claim.
Resolved a major whistle-blower case with the plaintiff effectively retracting allegations of fraud on the government.
Won a motion to dismiss an eleven-count Complaint alleging (among other theories) civil rights violations, defamation and invasion of privacy, without the client’s incurring the cost or disruption of discovery (the decision was later upheld, after oral argument, in a lengthy opinion by the First Circuit Court of Appeals).
Brought suit in Massachusetts against a former employee who had been threatening to sue our client for wrongful discharge/whistle-blowing in California and was seeking hundreds of thousands of dollars; within 48 hours of our filing suit, the employee accepted the much more modest severance package that the company had previously offered.
Represented public company in wrongful termination/breach of contract case by former President. Obtained summary judgment on behalf of company in 63-plaintiff ERISA case involving claims for severance benefits.
Labor Relations
Averted a major strike by a very visible company while achieving a new contract with substantial savings for the employer.
Negotiated successor collective bargaining agreement in the context of highly publicized bankruptcy matter.
Negotiated collective bargaining agreements in the textile, manufacturing, trade show, human services, industrial laundry, trucking and construction industries.
Represented companies in union organizing drives by Teamsters and United Food and Commercial Workers where employees voted not to have union representation.
Effected a first of its kind agreement with all construction trades cooperating in an “open shop” project for a major biotech company located in the City of Cambridge, resulting in union and non-union trades working together without stoppage.
Negotiated plant shutdown agreements with the International Association of Machinists and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers for a major company without disruption of business.
Investigations & Training
Conducted nationwide training programs for clients in the publishing, IT consulting and biotech industries on avoiding sexual harassment and other forms of discrimination, effectively managing employee performance and conducting workplace investigations.
Represented large public company with respect to allegations of sexual harassment by Vice President against Chief Executive Officer.
