Amidst a continually challenging economic environment, the number of individual employment litigation and arbitration claims continues to rise, along with an increased desire by corporate counsel to defend these claims as efficiently as possible. Morgan Lewis's Labor and Employment Practice works closely with clients to continually assess the risk of individual employment litigation and arbitration matters and apply creative and cutting-edge solutions using our global resources and shared experience.
We partner with our clients by providing counseling, case management, and trial proficiency. We also defend our clients in state and federal courts, before arbitrators, and before European employment tribunals—always with an eye toward efficient and effective resolution. Our clients benefit from our combination of industry know-how—in the financial services, manufacturing, publishing, pharmaceutical and medical, technology, and retail sectors, among others—and our geographic coverage and practice depth and experience.
Coverage of the Full Spectrum of Employment Disputes:
- Discrimination actions, including those on the basis of age, race, gender, marital status, disability, sexual orientation, religion, and national origin
- EEOC, DOL, OFCCP, and state agency claims
- Unfair competition litigation
- Wrongful termination claims
- Retaliation claims
- Whistleblower actions, including Sarbanes-Oxley and Dodd-Frank claims
- Harassment claims
- Defamation actions, including U-5 defamation and expungement
- Compensation- and deferred compensation-related claims
ADR and Financial Services Arbitration
Our attorneys also handle alternative dispute resolution and industry-specific programs such as Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and other financial services arbitration, disputes before the American Arbitration Association (AAA), mediation, and internal grievance alternative dispute resolution programs. In addition, we counsel clients about the use, development, and implementation of arbitration agreements and class-action waivers.
Preventive, Creative, and Cost-Effective Strategies
Careful management of individual employment claims is an essential preventive strategy to cut off matters that could evolve into costly class or collective actions. We work closely with our clients to monitor litigation and identify patterns and trends, and our reservoir of rapidly accessible research tools maximizes our ability to handle cases effectively. We also understand the cost pressures facing our clients when defending individual employment claims, particularly matters that involve relatively lower immediate economic stakes. We have crafted a number of solutions for providing the best defense in the most cost-effective manner by using our knowledge of our clients and their industries and our internal resources. These solutions are efficient, reflect an alignment with our clients' business objectives, and ultimately serve the long-term interests of our clients.
California-Specific Representation
For companies with operations in California, our teams of attorneys in San Francisco, Palo Alto, Los Angeles, and Irvine are knowledgeable about the nuances of California and federal law. The team is well versed in California's unique approaches to personnel issues and how its particular labor code sections and common-law rules can present challenges for companies that do business in California.