Regulatory, compliance and advisory  

• Ongoing advice for a Fortune 500, worldwide, diversified manufacturer of complex metal components and products servicing aerospace, defense, oil and gas and general industrial markets on compliance with the California Labor Code, leave and anti-discriminations/harassment laws.  
• Acted for the transferee in the outsourcing of a life and pensions business. The deal is the largest outsourcing arrangement agreed in the European life and pensions sector, with an expected contract value of £1.5bn+ and involving the transfer of approx. 1000 employees.  
• For the last five years, we have represented a global chain of bakery-cafes, in connection with a variety of labor and employment matters, including employment counselling in the U.S. and internationally, as well as defending the company against Title III claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act, wage and hours class actions, and employment disputes. 
• Over the last 20 years, we have represented and counseled a worldwide hotel chain in nearly every area of law, including labor and employment. The matters range from employment contracting and EEOC charges to employment disputes and defending against Title III claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act.  
• Developed a training program and self-help wage and hour compliance guide for a fast food restaurant chain. These materials include time-keeping forms, guidance on calculating overtime compensation for restaurant industry employees, including salaried, non-exempt personnel and other practical materials that can be used in the restaurant environment to avoid wage and hour liability exposure. 

Investigations   

• Advised a global FTSE 100 client on a high-profile and sensitive SFO investigation into alleged wrongdoing in overseas jurisdictions. 
• Conducted a whistleblowing investigation for a UK bank into a series of allegations against the Chief Executive. 
• Conducted an investigation of workplace harassment allegations by an employee against the VP of HR at a pharmaceutical company. 

Litigation and dispute resolution  

• Advised a UK-authorized firm on numerous grievances and subsequent employment tribunal proceedings relating to alleged discrimination spanning an eight-year period.  The matter was complicated by the claimant’s serious health issues but a creative settlement was agreed pre-trial.   
• Won an arbitration defense verdict for a global financial services technology company on claims filed under the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Family and Medical Leave Act. The defense win on plaintiff’s claims came after a robust fight to compel arbitration in the Northern District of Illinois, substantial discovery battles and a two-day arbitration hearing. The arbitrator accepted every procedural and merits defense proffered by client and incorporated the bulk of our post-hearing submission into the arbitration award.  
• Defended a large privately held manufacturing and retail company in an arbitration of an employment case involving claims of disability discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Wisconsin Fair Employment Act (WFEA). The claimant, a disabled man who briefly had a job as a company retail merchandiser in Wisconsin, alleged the company failed to accommodate his disability and that he was terminated because of his disability. We obtained third party records and admissions from the claimant that led to complete victory after a multiday hearing. 
• Successfully defended a national food products manufacturer in a multi-plaintiff, multi-count federal race discrimination case.  Five plaintiffs alleged race and national origin discrimination and retaliation, including claims based on failure to hire, failure to promote, and disparate treatment in regards to work and shift assignments, performance reviews, compensation, and promotional opportunities. We obtained summary judgment on nearly all claims. On appeal, two plaintiffs obtained partial reversal of the summary judgment ruling, and a seven-day trial resulted in a complete defense verdict in favor of our client and we were awarded our costs. 
• Successfully represented a pharmaceutical company in Russian labour disputes over accrual and payment of regional coefficients and percentage allowance over and above employee salaries in 3 regions (northern hardship bonus payment). 
• Successfully defeated class certification in a putative class action against a retail client, alleging misclassification of assistant store managers as exempt from overtime law, meal/rest break violations, and wage statement violations. 
• Successfully defeated class certification in a putative class action alleging expense reimbursement violations under California law against a financial institution. 
• Obtained a summary judgment against the EEOC in an age discrimination case brought on behalf of 450 former employees. 
• Settled a nationwide class action claiming retiree health care benefits for 50,000 former employees for an international aircraft manufacturer. 
• Won at trial, and affirmed on appeal, in a WARN Act case as to whether sudden mass layoffs were “reasonably foreseeable.” 
• Successfully represented a bakery restaurant group as the defendant in a wage and hour class action brought on behalf of tipped employees alleging violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act and New York labor laws.