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Carson G. Burnham

Shareholder || Boston

Employment Law, Cross-Border, Ethics Compliance and Whistleblower Response, Mergers and Acquisitions, Higher Education, Workplace Investigations and Organizational Assessments, Global Reorganizations

Carson Burnham, Shareholder and Founding Chair of the Cross-Border Practice Group (CBP) at Ogletree Deakins, along with her global team, manages worldwide labor and employment matters for clients and offers practical solutions to employment law issues in over 140 countries. Carson has extensive experience advising employers with how to resolve their cross-border employment issues and structure global transactions in an efficient and cost effective manner. Carson specializes in worldwide Ethics Investigations for US- and European-headquartered multinationals, strategic approaches to Employment law issues in cross-border M&A, and international executive compensation and management.

As co-chair of the M&A practice group, Carson manages cross-border employment law issues in all manner of mergers, acquisitions, divestitures and corporate restructuring.  With over 20 years’ experience, Carson’s expertise focuses on the complex legal issues involved in managing M&A from a global perspective while remaining compliant, consistent and efficient at the local level.

Top issues Carson and her team work on include employment negotiation advice and counsel, compensation planning, executive compensation and benefits, international corporate structure requirements for engaging a local or expat workforce, union and works council negotiations, training, and litigation.  Carson specializes in assisting her US clients break through obstacles arising from foreign employment laws that impede fast-paced growth and progress.  The unique service-model of Ogletree’s CBP developed by Carson sets it apart from most international firms, as she and her team deliver results beyond US borders in the efficient, goal-oriented manner that US clients expect from good lawyers.  Carson regularly writes and speaks on all manner of topics important to multinational employers.

Employment Law, Cross-Border, Ethics Compliance and Whistleblower Response, Mergers and Acquisitions, Higher Education, Workplace Investigations and Organizational Assessments, Global Reorganizations
Learn more about Carson G. Burnham

Carson has extensive experience in global employment matters as an employment law litigator and advisor. She also has experience managing employment litigation and threatened litigation on a global scale which includes working with in-house and outside counsel and advising executive leadership, international managers and human resources personnel. During her career, Carson has also tried federal and state cases on matters regarding discrimination, the Family and Medical Leave Act, retaliation, wage & hour, breach of contract, defamation and fraud. She has advised all levels of management, both directly and through an international team, on issues related to employment contracts, performance management, disciplinary action, termination and redundancy matters on a global scale.

Education

Admittance to Practice

Professional Activities

  • American Bar Association, International Labor & Employment Law Committee
  • American Bar Foundation, Fellow
  • International Bar Association
  • Association Internationale des Jeunes Avocats
  • American Counsel Association, International Committee
  • Leaders-In-Law
  • Certified Title IX Investigator
  • Association of Workplace Investigators, Training Institute Certificate Holder since November 2019

Speeches

Best Lawyers Award Badge

Insights by Carson G. Burnham

Sepia-tinted world globe.

So You’re Going Global! Five Employment Basics for U.S. Companies Expanding Overseas

Your company is doing well in the United States, and you are looking to expand internationally. That can be a very exciting time! But besides the practical logistics (e.g., Do I need to set up a subsidiary to hire someone overseas?), what fundamentals do you need to know before you take on an employee in another country? Once you grasp the basic differences between dealing with U.S.- and non-U.S. employees, you will foster smoother employee-employer relationships and prevent unexpected hits to your bottom line. Following are five points to consider as you hire and manage employees in other countries.

Diverse group of hands working on puzzle together.

U.S. and International Employers: Now Is the Time to Reaffirm Your Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion

No doubt walking a difficult line in the wake of the election results, human resources professionals are tasked with cementing their companies’ position as equal opportunity employers. At the same time, some female employees, employees with diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds, employees from different countries, and non-U.S. citizens working for U.S.-headquartered companies are feeling intimidated by news reports of hostility in the workplace. Some employees feel silenced and are afraid to take advantage of internal complaint procedures, decreasing the prospect for internal resolution.

Close up of world globe.

Independent Contractor or Employee: How Some Countries Differ

In this series of blog posts, we have examined the use of independent-contractor relationships by multinational organizations. In our last three posts, we identified issues for global entities that are considering using independent contractors when expanding….

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