The #MeToo era has prompted employers across the country to review their internal mechanisms for screening and investigating complaints of sexual harassment in the workplace. Federal, state, and local laws—and more recently, cultural mandates—require companies to implement prophylactic and remedial procedures to address or mitigate sexual misconduct.

Those procedures often require in-house counsel to participate in crafting defensible measures to address employee complaints, perhaps with the assumption that involvement by counsel will provide a cloak of privilege surrounding internal investigations. However, a recent decision from the Southern District of New York, Barbini v. First Niagara Bank, No. 16-cv-7887, highlights the challenges companies can face in protecting attorney-client privilege when defending claims that arise from or turn in some way upon internal investigations involving in-house counsel.

On Wednesday, April 24, 2019 at the Employment Law Insitute 2019 conference, Alisha McCarthy and her co-panelist will discuss: the use of mandatory arbitration agreements in the entertainment industry, particularly in high profile cases; lack of diversity on arbitration panels; misclassification of employees as independent contractors; FLSA and overtime issues for on-air talent (exempt v. non-exempt); and unpaid wages in the fallout of the Fyre Festival.

Details and Registration here.

Phillips Nizer is pleased to host Paul Stuart, Inc., the American fashion brand, on Tuesday, April 16th at the firm's New York City office for a lunch presentation and trunk show.  

Lunch Presentation:  12:30 PM
Trunk Show:  9:00 AM - 7:00 PM*

RSVPs required for the lunch and/or to schedule a *personal fitting by April 15th to: events@phillipsnizer.com  

Paul Stuart offers fashions for men and women, and they will be showcasing customLAB, the latest innovation in made to measure suiting for men, and their Spring 2019 women's collection. 

The authors Patrick J. Burke and Alisha L. McCarthy discuss a recent Illinois Supreme Court ruling, which is a boost to plaintiffs in Biometric Information Privacy Act lawsuits, and carries a cautionary note for companies that collect biometric information from consumers or employees in Illinois.

Details and registration here. 

Seventeen Phillips Nizer attorneys were announced on September 13, 2018 as selected for inclusion on the 2018 New York Metro Super Lawyers and Rising Stars lists. Attorneys represented a cross-section of several practice areas and industry teams.

On September 21, 2016 it was announced by Super Lawyers® that twenty-three Phillips Nizer attorney were selected for inclusion on the 2016 Super Lawyers and 'Rising Stars' lists.  This is the second consecutive year the firm has had twenty-three lawyers recognized.