Employment Law

  • Retiring Boomers Pose Big Challenges For Firms

    The boomer generation — 75 million Americans born between 1946 and 1964 — and a tiny cadre of over-70s Silent Generation lawyers currently make up just under half of partners at Am Law 200 firms. As partners with the greatest seniority, they constitute a majority in the equity and management ranks, and control an outsize share of client relationships. The impacts of retirement are amplified because a long surge in hiring and promotion that began when boomers entered law firms has halted since the financial crisis.

    November 01, 2016Julie Triedman

  • Government Agencies Take Aim at Employment-Related Agreements

    The SEC's and DOL's scrutiny of severance agreements follow earlier scrutiny by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and other government agencies. These developments provide an urgency for company counsel to bring their employment agreements and policies into compliance.

    November 01, 2016Eve I. Klein, Jonathan A. Segal, Christopher D. Durham and Eric W. Ruden

  • Overtime Pay Morass: FLSA Overhaul to Take Effect on Dec. 1

    The new DOL regulations that will take effect on Dec. 1, 2016 do not precisely resolve the present overtime eligibility debate; the absence of clarity remains a material issue especially with respect to highly compensated individuals or large groups of employees who are not easily classified.

    November 01, 2016Chaim Levin

  • Lower Pay for Women Partners in Law Firms

    In the face of a glaring pay gap between male and female law firm partners, some firm leaders point to the emphasis on origination credit (bringing in new business) as the key culprit. But moving away from such a model may not be so easy.

    November 01, 2016Lizzy McLellan and Katelyn Polantz

  • Restrictive Covenants and Whistleblowing

    Warning from the SEC

    In two recent orders, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) signaled that it is paying particular attention to attempts by companies to prevent former employees from whistleblowing through restrictive covenants contained in severance agreements.

    November 01, 2016Joshua Sohn and Shauneida Navarrete