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Our Practice TLJ’s employment practice has two principal components – counseling employers on matters affecting the employment relationship and representing employers in litigation. At TLJ, we understand that matters involving the employment relationship may be very sensitive and they can have a significant effect on a company’s operations. TLJ’s goal is to help employers avoid litigation, which can be expensive and time-consuming. However, litigation is unavoidable at times and attorneys at TLJ have a proven record of litigating cases to a successful conclusion. To prevent litigation, TLJ works proactively with clients to develop creative and effective employment policies, practices and procedures. For example, we help employers draft employee handbooks and develop document retention programs. We conduct wage and hour audits, train managers and employees on a variety of legal issues, including harassment prevention, address privacy issues, and develop programs that help protect trade secrets and other confidential information. In addition, we advise our clients on day-to-day issues, such as hiring and termination decisions, leave requests and employee discipline. In this regard, we draft and negotiate employment agreements and severance agreements. We also, for example, review written communications to employees, such as disciplinary memoranda. In taking these preventive steps, TLJ attorneys have extensive experience working with large, small and mid-size employers in various industries that operate in multiple jurisdictions. As for litigation, TLJ attorneys have litigated a wide variety of employment disputes in federal and state courts around the country. We also have represented clients before government agencies, including the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Department of Labor and comparable agencies at the state and local level. Our cases have included allegations of discrimination and harassment under various employment statutes such as Title VII, the ADA, ADEA, and similar state statutes, retaliation under the whistleblower protection provision of SOX, wage and hour violations (both under the FLSA and similar state laws), Family and Medical Leave Act violations, misappropriation of trade secrets and other confidential information, violating noncompete agreements, breach of contract, defamation, interference with contractual relations and other employment-related torts, among other claims. We measure success not only by our litigation victories, but also by whether we have helped our clients, where appropriate, achieve desirable resolutions without incurring the costs of extended litigation. In this regard, TLJ attorneys conduct early and thorough analyses of cases so that our clients are able to make informed decisions about the risks and costs associated with litigation. We also explore potential early and cost-effective resolutions through mediation or other forms of alternative dispute resolution. In addition to providing advice to our clients and representing them in litigation, clients sometimes seek TLJ’s expertise in conducting internal investigations into alleged misconduct. For example, clients have asked attorneys at TLJ to investigate allegations of drug use, harassment, discrimination, and fraud (both in connection with allegations under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and otherwise). Our attorneys also teach employment law by guest lecturing at local colleges and they regularly speak and write on employment law issues. |
