Employment Law and Litigation
Melissa concentrates her practice on Employment Law and Litigation and is recognized by Best Lawyers for being one of the top Employment Law (Management) attorneys in the country. She has more than twenty years of litigation experience in federal and state courts including both jury and bench trials and appeals. She has substantial experience on a wide range of employment law issues during all stages of litigation including exhaustion of administrative remedies, mediation/settlement, pleading and pre-trial motion practice, trials, post-trial motions, and appeals. Melissa’s experience includes:
- Serving as trial counsel through verdict in more than a dozen trials in Missouri, Illinois, and federal courts that involved claims of discrimination, harassment, retaliation (including workers’ compensation retaliation), trade secrets, and breach of contract.
- Serving as lead trial counsel in eight trials with more than 30 days of experience in a first-chair role.
- Serving as second chair trial counsel in six jury trials, one of which lasted five weeks and resulted in a full defense verdict on all claims for discrimination and retaliation.
- Preparing and arguing complex pre-trial and post-trial motions, dispositive motions, and jury instructions on a variety of matters including preparing more than 600 pages of jury instructions for a federal trade secrets action.
- Serving as lead counsel in arbitrations, mediations, and matters pending before administrative agencies such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Missouri Commission on Human Rights, and Illinois Department of Human Rights.
- Conducting internal investigations of discrimination and harassment in the workplace and creating and presenting employer-sponsored programs to prevent discrimination and harassment in the workplace.
Arbitration and Alternate Dispute Resolution
Melissa has more than two decades of experience handling arbitrations and mediations which include:
- Serving as lead counsel in arbitrations pending before the AAA, JAMS, and the American Health Lawyers Association (AHLA).
- Handling a significant number of mediations with an excellent record of negotiating favorable settlements for her clients as a part of the mediation process.
Drug Testing
Melissa works with clients on issues related to drug-free workplace policies and drug testing compliance with both federal and state mandates which include:
- Preparing and revising drug-free workplace policies including DOT-compliant policies for employers with federal contracts.
- Providing advice and counsel related to administering drug and alcohol policies and drug testing under federal and state laws.
Leaves of Absence and Reasonable Accommodations
Melissa handles a variety of issues related to accommodations and leaves of absence (LOA) under federal, state, and local laws which include:
- Providing advice and counsel to clients about accommodation requests, including substantial experience related to work-from-home requests as an accommodation for a disability.
- Preparing and revising policies and procedures for handling requests for accommodations and LOA including creating relevant decision trees to assist in the proper flow of such requests.
- Serving as lead counsel on numerous litigation matters that include claims of failure to accommodate and/or leave of absence requests.
Multistate Advice and Counseling
Melissa counsels clients with a presence in numerous states and municipalities which include:
- Providing advice and counsel on how various employment laws will affect an employer’s workforce and facilities.
- Preparing and revising employment policies and procedures that are compliant in each state in which the employer has facilities.
- Providing advice and counsel for best practices for implementing employer policies.
Trial
During her 20+ year career, Melissa has amassed significant trial experience which includes:
- Serving as first-chair / lead trial counsel in 5 jury trials in federal and state courts.
- Serving as second-chair / co-counsel in 5 jury trials in federal and state courts.
- Favorable verdicts in 6 of the 10 jury trials.
- Favorable resolution during trial prior to verdict in 4 of the 10 jury trials.
- Serving as first-chair/lead trial counsel in 5 bench trials all of which ended with favorable results for our client.
- Serving as lead counsel in hundreds of litigations matters that were resolved prior to trial.
Unfair Competition and Trade Secrets
Melissa handles issues related to trade secrets and unfair competition in the workplace which include:
- Providing advice and counsel on issues related to restrictive covenants such as non-compete and non-solicitation agreements, confidentiality clauses, and invention assignments.
- Preparing and revising agreements and policies related to confidentiality, trade secrets, competition in business and employment, solicitation of employees and customers, and inventions.
- Serving as first-chair / co-lead trial counsel in federal trade secrets action that resulted in judgment in favor of her clients on all but one claim presented to the jury.
Wage and Hour
Melissa works with clients on a broad range of issues related to wage and hour laws governing workplace conditions, compensation, and benefits provided to employees which include:
- Creating and revising compliant policies that address a host of wage and hour issues including minimum wage, overtime, breaks, paid time off, time keeping, scheduling, background checks, wage transparency, reductions in force, and other issues facing employers.
- Providing advice and counsel on issues related to wage and hour issues and compliance with state-specific wage and hour laws.
Workplace Investigations
Melissa conducts and leads investigations on employment-related issues in the workplace which include:
- Serving as lead investigator on claims of discrimination, harassment (including sexual harassment), retaliation and other misconduct in the workplace.
- Directing internal investigations conducted by clients to assure the investigation is robust and compliant with applicable laws.
- Preparing and presenting investigation reports and findings in both written and verbal form to employers including formal presentations to executive officers and board members.
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