Samantha Abeysekera advises and litigates on behalf of management in a diverse array of industries, including financial services, market research, real estate, aviation, and technology start-ups. Both her litigation and advice-and-counseling work focuses on employment discrimination, harassment,…

Marissa Alguire is deputy chair of Akerman’s national Labor & Employment Practice Group. She represents employers in all aspects of employment-related business matters and litigation in state and federal courts, and in arbitration. Her practice focuses on the defense of management in class…

Mojan Anari represents employers in all aspects of employment disputes and counseling. She focuses her practice on pre-litigation disputes, administrative claims, civil individual and class litigation, and preventative advice and counseling. She has experience handling single plaintiff FEHA matters,…

Emily Ayvazian works with local, regional, and Fortune 500 companies in navigating various workplace matters. Her experience includes litigation in federal, state, and appellate courts, as well as before the AAA, EEOC, NLRB, and state and local administrative agencies. As part of her practice, Emily…

Ray Berti focuses his practice on employment litigation and counseling, representing companies across a wide variety of industries in all types of employment-related matters. As a litigator, Ray regularly represents employers in disputes involving claims of discrimination, retaliation, harassment,…

Danya Blair represents clients in a wide variety of civil litigation matters, including the defense of employment claims brought under state and federal statutes, trade secret and non-compete claims, workplace investigations, injunctive proceedings, appeals, commercial litigation, and defense of…

Brittany Buccellato concentrates her practice on labor and employment litigation. She represents employers in matters involving discrimination, retaliation, harassment, wrongful discharge, wage and hour violations, breach of contract, collective bargaining, and unfair labor practices. Brittany also…

Melissa Cizmorris focuses her practice on employment litigation and counseling. Melissa has litigated in state and federal courts throughout Colorado, Kansas, New York, and New Jersey and represents employers in a variety of labor and employment matters involving Title VII discrimination and…

Sarah DeFranco draws from more than 20 years of experience to provide on-call counseling to employers operating in Florida, Illinois, and New York regarding compliance with federal, state, and local employment laws, such as the FMLA, ADA, Title VII, ADEA, and FLSA. Additionally, Sarah has vast…

Christopher Duke serves as managing partner of Akerman's Palm Beach County Offices. With a diverse practice in employment law and complex commercial litigation, Chris represents clients in federal and state courts, as well as in various arbitration forums and before federal, state, and local…

Board Certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in Labor and Employment Law, Cary Farris focuses his practice on defending businesses in all aspects of labor and employment matters, including discrimination and harassment class actions, Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and…

Eric Gordon is the chair of Akerman’s Labor and Employment Practice Group, a national team representing employers in legal compliance, dispute prevention, and employment litigation throughout the United States. An experienced litigator, he represents Fortune 500 companies operating in the…

Matthew Gurnick represents employers in single-plaintiff and collective-action employment matters, discrimination, wage and hour, sexual harassment, wrongful termination, and PAGA cases before state and federal courts, administration agencies, and in arbitration and mediation. He advises employers…

Phillip Harris focuses his practice on employment litigation, defending clients in non-compete and trade secret litigation, discrimination, harassment, wage and hour, whistleblower, retaliation, and wrongful termination matters. He defends clients in a variety of venues, including state and federal…

Andrew Karter represents employers before federal and state courts as well as administrative agencies, including the EEOC, the NLRB, and state agencies across the country. Andrew’s employment litigation experience includes discrimination, harassment and retaliation claims, individual and…

Reeya Khurana focuses her practice on unemployment disputes, wage and hour, harassment, wrongful termination, and discrimination claims. She has experience representing employers in individual and class/collective litigation matters before federal and state courts, administrative agencies, and…

With a diverse, national practice focusing on employment law, complex commercial litigation, and crisis management, Jeffrey Kimmel represents clients in federal and state courts, as well as in various arbitration forums and before federal, state, and local administrative bodies. His clients operate…

Arlene Kline is a veteran litigator defending labor and employment matters on behalf of banking, hospitality, healthcare, manufacturing, media, distribution, transportation, software, law firms, and non-profit sector clients. Clients value her comprehensive practice, including policy development,…

Sarah Kroll-Rosenbaum is a trusted strategic advisor to her clients, with whom she collaborates closely to design and execute litigation strategies through the lens of their business priorities. Sarah is the Team Leader of Akerman's Staffing Law sector team which offers staffing companies…

Ryan Krone defends businesses in all aspects of labor and employment matters, including wrongful terminations, breach of contract matters, discrimination and harassment claims, Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) cases, Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) cases, wage and hour cases, as well…

A recognized authority on workforce matters with more than 25 years of experience, Debra Leder provides employers with human resources consultation, corporate due diligence assistance, review and drafting of employment-related agreements and contracts, employee handbooks and policies. Serving a…

Board Certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in Labor and Employment Law, John Linker focuses his practice on defending businesses of all sizes in matters involving wrongful terminations, union organizing, breach of contract matters, unfair labor practice charges, discrimination…

Sarah Lis has extensive employment litigation experience and routinely defends employers across the country in connection with collective and class actions arising under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and related state wage and hour laws. She also regularly advises companies on compliance with…

Tom Mandler represents employers on a nationwide basis in the full spectrum of issues dealing with their employees, whether or not they are employed at-will, pursuant to an employment agreement, or represented by a union. A substantial portion of his practice is devoted to advising employers on how…

A business litigator, Jeff has litigated hundreds of disputes, including complex collective and class actions throughout the country. Jeff represents clients in real estate, software, complex scientific and technical contract matters, as well as in select employment litigation. He serves as lead…

For nearly four decades, Rory McEvoy has practiced exclusively in the field of labor and employment law, including litigation in federal and state courts and before federal, state and local anti-discrimination agencies. Rory represents many of New York’s large hospitals and healthcare systems,…

With a diverse labor and employment practice, Lilly Moon represents employers in federal and state courts, administrative forums, and arbitration, in actions of harassment and discrimination, retaliation and wrongful discharge, whistleblowers, wage and hour, breach of contract, tortious…

Emily Patajo focuses her practice on employment litigation matters in state and federal courts and in binding arbitration. Emily represents employers in various industries, including grocery, retail, technology, and healthcare, among others. She is routinely involved in the risk assessment and…

John Roache focuses his practice on employment law and class action litigation. He represents employers in numerous wage and hour issues arising under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and Illinois wage statutes, including collective and class actions involving claims for off-the-clock work,…

Paul Rutigliano has been instrumental in developing the Firm’s transactional risk practice, primarily focusing on representing underwriters in connection with transactional risk insurance policies, including representations and warranties insurance, tax insurance, and contingent risk…

Adept at navigating complex labor and employment matters, Scott Silverman is noted by Chambers USA for being "expeditious" and "excellent at providing all points of view." His range of experience includes representation of employers in administrative proceedings, federal and state court litigation,…

Nancy Sotomayor represents employers in complex employment litigation matters, involving class actions and single-plaintiff suits. Her practice is focused on employment issues, including wage and hour, harassment, wrongful termination, and discrimination. Nancy also has trial experience in state and…

Matt Steinberg is co-office managing partner of the firm’s New York office, a member of the firm's board of directors, and previously served as the deputy chair of Akerman’s national Labor & Employment Practice Group. Matt focuses his practice on employment law, both by advising clients on day…

Mishell Parreno Taylor focuses her practice on employment litigation in federal and state courts and administrative agencies across the country. Mishell partners with stakeholders in organizations of all sizes, ranging from local to global corporations on a broad spectrum of employment law issues,…

Genaira L. Tyce represents employers in a wide array of traditional labor law and employment law matters, with a substantial portion of her practice devoted to advising and counseling employers that are actively confronting union organizing campaigns and those that have unionized…

Melissa Zinkil is a trusted adviser and litigator. She focuses her practice on counseling employers regarding compliance with applicable federal, state, and local employment laws and advocating for employers before federal, state, and local agencies and in litigating labor and employment and complex…