6th Annual Employment Law Institute

Friday, March 6, 2020 | 9:00 am – 5:00 pm

Networking Lunch: 12:25 pm – 1:25 pm
Register For the Live Program
Program Co-Chairs:

Stuthi Balaji
Silverman & Associates

Richard B. Friedman
Richard Friedman PLLC

Tracey Salmon-Smith
Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath

  • This year’s Employment Law Institute will examine recent trends, developments, and cutting-edge issues in employment law. Topics to be discussed include: legislative and litigation updates on restrictive covenants and wage and hour laws; parental rights at work; pros and cons of different forums for discrimination cases; collateral consequences of convictions; recreational marijuana laws and the workplace; best practices in designing employee handbooks; internal investigations and privilege; and the fine line between advocacy and criminal conduct in demand letters (ethics). The Institute will feature a plenary session on the new wave in age discrimination. The panels will include in-house counsel for New York employers, representatives from governmental agencies, and top practitioners from both the plaintiffs’ and defense bar. You won’t want to miss this one stop shop for employment lawyers!

    Program Fee:
    $399 for Members | $499 for Nonmembers
    In-House Counsel: $299 for Members | $399 for Nonmembers
    Government/Nonprofit/Academic/Judiciary: $299 for Members
    Small Law Firm: $249 for Members

  • Rod Biermann
    Offit Kurman

    Jeffrey Burstein
    Regional Attorney, New York District
    Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

    Jeanne M. Christensen
    Wigdor LLP

    Ming-Qi Chu
    Civil Enforcement Section Chief, Labor Bureau
    Co-Head, Task Force for Workers’ Equality
    New York State Office of the Attorney General

    Randi M. Cohen
    The Law Office of Randi M. Cohen

    Denise Dalton
    Director, Human Resources Strategy
    Trinity Wall Street

    Anne R. Dana
    Seyfarth Shaw LLP

    Christine T. Dinan
    Senior Staff Attorney
    A Better Balance: The Work & Family Legal Center

    Steven D. Feldman
    Murphy & McGonigle, P.C.

    Hon. James C. Francis IV (Ret.)
    Mediator & Arbitrator
    JAMS

    Joan M. Gilbride
    Kaufman Borgeest & Ryan LLP

    Bryn Goodman
    Fox Rothschild LLP

    Jerrold F. Goldberg
    Greenberg Traurig LLP

    Mark J. Goldberg
    Loeb & Loeb LLP

    Chaya Gourarie
    Joseph & Norinsberg LLC

    Jyotin “Joe” Hamid
    Debevoise & Plimpton LLP

    Brian Heller
    Schwartz Perry & Heller LLP

    Tracy Richelle High
    Sullivan & Cromwell LLP

    David C. Holland
    The Law Offices of David Clifford Holland, PC

    Steven D. Hurd
    Proskauer Rose LLP

    Julia M. Jordan
    Sullivan & Cromwell LLP

    Steven M. Kayman
    Proskauer Rose LLP
    Adjunct Professor, Brooklyn Law School

    Daniel B. Kohrman
    Senior Attorney- Litigation
    AARP Foundation

    Valdi Licul
    Vladeck, Raskin & Clark, P.C.

    Christopher Lowe
    Lipsky Lowe LLP

    Taryn A. Merkl
    Justice Program & Law Enforcement Leaders
    The Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law School

    Elena Paraskevas-Thadani, Esq. AWI-CH
    EPT Legal, LLC

    Louis Pechman
    Pechman Law Group

    Sean Pica
    Executive Director
    Hudson Link for Higher Education in Prison

    Lauri F. Rasnick
    Epstein Becker and Green, PC

    Carolyn D. Richmond
    Chair, Hospitality Practice Group
    Fox Rothschild LLP

    Jadhira V. Rivera
    Senior Trial Attorney
    U.S. Equal Opportunity Commission

    Theodore O. Rogers Jr.
    Sullivan & Cromwell LP

    Catherine Ruckelshaus
    Legal Director and General Counsel
    National Employment Law Project

    George B. Schwab
    Senior Counsel
    Kraus & Zuchlewski LLP

    Karrie Ann Sheridan
    Deputy Director, Employment Law Unit
    NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene

    Adam J. Smiley
    Associate General Counsel,
    Labor & Employment Law Group
    Consolidated Edison

    Helen E. Tuttle
    Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

    A. Michael Weber
    Littler Mendelson P.C.

    Jessie Workman
    Agency Attorney
    New York City Commission on Human Rights

    Ami G. Zweig
    Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP

  • 9:00 am – 9:15 am Introduction & Program Overview
    Program Co-Chairs:
    Stuthi Balaji, Richard B. Friedman & Tracey Salmon-Smith
    9:15 am – 10:05 am Track 1A:
    Know Your Forum for Discrimination Cases:
    Federal Court, State Court, Arbitration, or Agencies
    Lead Panelist: Richard B. Friedman
    Panelists: Tracy Richelle High, Steven D. Hurd, Valdi Licul & Lauri F. Rasnick
    Track 1B:
    Drafting Effective Employee Handbooks in New York
    Panelists: Randi M. Cohen, Mark Goldberg & Karrie Sheridan
    10:05 am – 10:10 am Break
    10:10 am – 11:00 am Track 2A:
    Internal Investigations & Privilege
    Lead Panelist: Tracey Salmon-Smith
    Panelists: Hon. James C. Francis IV, Theodore O. Rogers Jr. & Elena Paraskevas-Thadani
    Track 2B:
    Employment Opportunities Post Incarceration
    Panelists: Denise Dalton, Sean Pica & Jessie Workman
    11:00 am – 11:10 am Break
    11:10 am – 12:25 pm Track 3A:
    Recent Developments in Non-Competes & Other Restrictive Covenants
    Lead Panelist: Richard B. Friedman
    Panelists: Jerrold F. Goldberg, Julia M. Jordan, Steven M. Kayman & Ami G. Zweig
    Track 3B:
    Wage and Hour Updates
    Lead Panelist: Chaya Gourarie
    Panelists: Ming-Qi Chu, Louis Pechman, Carolyn D. Richmond & Catherine Ruckelshaus
    12:25 pm – 1:25 pm Networking Lunch
    1:25 pm – 2:40 pm Plenary Session: Age Discrimination in the New Decade
    Lead Panelist: Brian Heller
    Panelists: Jeffrey Burstein, Joan M. Gilbride, Bryn Goodman, Daniel B. Kohrman & A. Michael Weber
    2:40 pm– 2:50 pm Break
    2:50 pm – 4:05 pm Track 4A:
    Recreational Marijuana Laws & the Workplace
    Lead Panelist: George B. Schwab
    Panelists: Anne R. Dana, David C. Holland & Adam J. Smiley
    Track 4B:
    Parental Rights at Work
    Lead Panelist: Helen E. Tuttle
    Panelists: Jeanne M. Christensen, Christine T. Dinan, Jyotin Hamid & Jadhira V. Rivera
    4:05 pm– 4:10 pm Break
    4:10 pm – 5:00 pm Ethics of Demand Letters:
    The Fine Line Between Advocacy & Committing a Crime
    Lead Panelist: Rod Biermann
    Panelists: Steven D. Feldman, Christopher Lowe & Taryn A. Merkl

  • CLE Credit
    New York: 7.5 Total: 5.5 Professional Practice, 1.0 Skills, 1.0 Ethics
    New Jersey: 7.5 Total: 6.5 General, 1.0 Professional Responsibility
    California: 7.5 Total: 6.5 General, 1.0 Professional Responsibility
    Pennsylvania: 6.0 Total: 5.5 General, 0.5 Professional Responsibility
    Connecticut: Available to Licensed Attorneys

  • This program has been generously sponsored by:

    Platinum Level Sponsors:


    Gold Level Sponsor:


    Silver Level Sponsor:


    Sponsoring Association Committees:
    Labor & Employment, Katherine A. Greenberg, Chair

    Sponsorship Opportunities are Available! Please Contact:
    Angie Avila, Manager, Membership Outreach and Sponsorships | (212) 382-6608 | aavila@nycbar.org

Register For the Live Program
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