Employment Counseling & Litigation
Overview
Swift Currie’s Employment Counseling and Litigation practice group has significant and extensive experience in advising public and private employers across the country. Our strategies help clients remain productive, avoid litigation and successfully defend matters when litigation arises in federal and state courts, as well as before federal and state administrative agencies. We counsel clients on myriad compliance issues and potential employment disputes, including those that arise during the hiring, employment and termination phase, as well as those involving discrimination, trade secrets, intellectual property, noncompete agreements and more.
We recognize that even the smallest claim could lead to costly and disruptive litigation. We strive to place our clients in as strong a position as possible to defend against all claims. Whether the client’s goal is to win on the merits of a case, achieve a favorable result in mediation or simply seek to proactively avoid a dispute and claim from an employee, we counsel and litigate with a common-sense approach that targets expedient, cost-efficient solutions.
Timely advice is important, and we’re available when our clients need us to provide sound and prompt advice along with a proactive approach that anticipates potential problems.
The federal and state administrative agencies we work with recognize Swift Currie’s reputation for a professional, ethical and sound approach that helps resolve issues promptly, effectively and in the best interests of the client. Our attorneys tailor their counseling and defense strategies to the outcomes that are important to our clients.
Hiring, Employee Management and Termination Consulting
Understanding and preparing for pitfalls in hiring, managing, retaining and terminating employees is critical, and Swift Currie’s employment practice group attorneys work with clients to manage issues arising throughout the employment lifecycle. Employee terminations are a major source of concern for our clients, and the way an employee dismissal is handled can make the difference in whether an employee decides to challenge the termination. Swift Currie’s attorneys work with employers to guide them through the termination process, including drafting severance agreements and release of claims.
As part of our proactive counsel, we also draft documents that employers need over the course of their business, such as employee handbooks and confidentiality, noncompete and computer-use provisions. We also provide training to ensure our clients are educated on best practices for enforcing these policies. This comprehensive approach allows us to help our clients avoid litigation and leverage those pre-emptive measures to defend our clients should litigation arise.
Discrimination Litigation
Every employer is charged with complying with a litany of federal laws, such as the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), Title VII, Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Equal Pay Act (EPA), Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) and the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).
We handle all types of discrimination matters starting with charges at the administrative agency level to litigation in federal court and through the appeal process, if necessary.
In addition to reaching successful resolutions through trial, the employment practice group attorneys at Swift Currie are well versed in alternate dispute resolution techniques, such as arbitration and mediation. We have successfully defended employers against actions by administrative agencies, such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), Department of Justice investigations and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in whistleblower and anti-retaliation matters.
Trade Secrets, Intellectual Property and Noncompete
In today’s fast-paced and competitive business climate, the ability of a company to retain and protect its customers, goodwill and proprietary information is paramount to maintaining a competitive advantage. Swift Currie’s trade secret, intellectual property and noncompete practice includes attorneys with a wealth of knowledge and courtroom experience in representing and counseling clients in trade secret, noncompete and nondisclosure agreements and other competitively sensitive business disputes with restrictive covenants on solicitation of customers and recruitment of employees.
Additionally, we frequently handle disputes involving trade secrets, tortious interference with business and contractual relations, breach of fiduciary duty and duty of loyalty, unfair and deceptive trade practices, business defamation and other applicable claims under state and federal law.