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Carolyn A. Knox

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Employment Law, Cross-Border, Litigation, Mergers and Acquisitions, Governmental Affairs, Cybersecurity and Privacy, Ethics Compliance and Whistleblower Response, Workplace Investigations and Organizational Assessments, Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG), Global Reorganizations

Carolyn Knox is a member of the Cross-Border Practice group, supporting our clients with labor and employment law matters in more than 100 countries. Carolyn assists clients with creating global solutions and country-specific solutions, with expertise across a variety of jurisdictions including South America, Europe and Asia-Pacific.

Carolyn has broad experience in both US employment and benefits law, as well has cross-border employment issues. Over the course of her 20+-year career as an employment lawyer, she has practiced in the United States, Europe, and Brazil. In her practice, she regularly provides advice and counsel on cross-border human resources law issues to human resources professionals and in-house employment counsel managing workforces outside of their home country jurisdictions.

Her expertise includes development and roll-outs of global and regional handbooks, the localization and implementation of employment policies and procedures, codes of conduct, workplace audits, employment agreements, commercial representative agreements, workplace investigations, employee and non-employee benefit plans, hiring and termination issues, and M&A due diligence. In addition, her strong litigation background enables Carolyn to identify issues and assist clients in managing litigation outside the United States.

Employment Law, Cross-Border, Litigation, Mergers and Acquisitions, Governmental Affairs, Cybersecurity and Privacy, Ethics Compliance and Whistleblower Response, Workplace Investigations and Organizational Assessments, Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG), Global Reorganizations
Learn more about Carolyn A. Knox

With more than 20 years of experience as a management-side labor, employment and benefits lawyer, Carolyn has had the opportunity to guide US and international employers through the ever-changing global employment law landscape. Her focus has always been on helping international companies find strategic and business-oriented solutions to their cross-border employment issues.

During her US-based legal career, Carolyn has worked with large employers on general day-to-day advice and counsel, workplace investigations, development of workplace training programs, workplace audits, and provided litigation strategy development and representation in litigation of workplace harassment and discrimination, FMLA and state leave issues, as well as representation of large pension and benefit plans governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).

In Brazil, her practice included advice and counsel on the full range of employment issues faced by multi-national companies, as well as assisting with due diligence on labor issues associated with mergers and acquisitions.  In addition, working with her former firm’s corporate and M&A practice, Carolyn assisted foreign companies looking to establish operations in Brazil. She recently developed a keen interest in the development and implementation of Brazil’s new anti-corruption law and how to facilitate effective workplace investigations.

Carolyn has been a frequent speaker to human resources associations, in-house counsel associations and bar associations on local and cross-border employment and benefits issues. She is active in key international legal organizations. While practicing in San Francisco, Brussels and Brazil, she has worked and traveled throughout Europe, Asia/Pacific (with substantial time in China and India), and Latin America.

Languages: English, Portuguese and French

Education

Admission to Practice

Professional Activities

  • American Bar Association, Section of Labor & Employment
  • American Bar Association, Section of International Law, U.S. Lawyers Abroad Committee – co–chair
  • International Bar Association (IBA), Employment and Industrial Relations Committee, Law Firm Management Committee, Latin America Regional Forum
  • Inter-Pacific Bar Association (IPBA), Employment & Immigration Law Committee – vice-chair
  • XBHR (Global Forum for Cross-border Human Resources)
  • Bar Association of San Francisco, Section of International Law & Practice – chair

Speeches

International Employment Lawyers Woman Leader

Insights by Carolyn A. Knox

Doctors shaking hands.

Global Solutions Episode 2: What’s up, Doc? Designated Occupational Medical Providers’ Roles in Reopening During COVID-19

In preparing global strategies for monitoring employee health, employers with international workforces may want to be aware that occupational medicine plays a key role for employers in many countries outside the United States—whether in the hiring and termination process, in developing and implementing health and safety plans, or in evaluating work-related illnesses and injuries.

Sepia-tinted world globe.

Brazil’s eSocial—Is Your Company Ready for Compliance by September?

The Brazilian government has developed a groundbreaking unified electronic platform for mandatory reporting of employee data, payroll data, health and safety records, and tax information. The program, “eSocial,” will fundamentally change communications between employers (particularly human resources departments) and the government.

Close up of world globe.

An Easing of Brazil’s Restrictive Labor Laws? Only Time Will Tell

Brazil’s troubled economy has been making global headlines for the past few months. After five years of growth, understood now to have largely been fueled by China’s seemingly insatiable hunger for commodities, the economy has ground to a halt and is declining to negative growth for 2015 and likely 2016. For the first time in 13 years, the currency exchange rate hovers at around four Brazilian reais to one U.S. dollar, and the Brazilian stock market is at its lowest level in more than six years. And, with Standard & Poor’s recent downgrade of Brazil’s credit rating, Brazil has lost its investment-grade status.

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