Employment Counseling & Advice

Human resource issues are almost never routine.

Complying with ever-evolving employment laws can be a challenge. Our attorneys are highly regarded as leading employment law counselors, thought leaders, authors, and teachers of employment law. A number of our attorneys have previous experience as managers and human resource professionals. Because we know employment law and have experienced the real pressures of day-to-day business operations, we offer clients practical advice and proactive strategies to navigate the often turbulent seas of employee relations issues.

We get right to the point with practical advice…

On a daily basis, we provide advice to clients to ensure employment law compliance and manage litigation risk.  We integrate legal compliance with good human resources practices to help our clients find effective, customized solutions. We routinely help employers address work performance problems or attendance issues, respond to requests for accommodations and leaves of absence, deal with employee discipline and discharge issues, and develop effective employment policies and procedures.  We regularly present supervisor training programs tailored to individual client needs.  We also review employee handbooks, audit wage and hour practices, prepare affirmative action plans, develop strategies to deal with reductions-in-force or other corporate restructurings, and address the many other issues that arise in the work place.

And real-time solutions.

Our lawyers work together to provide a safety net for employers facing challenges across the spectrum of labor and employment issues. If an employer needs an immediate answer to an employment problem, we make sure there is someone available to take the call and provide timely advice.

Recent Employment Counseling Accomplishments

Downs Rachlin Martin attorneys counsel clients in a diverse range of labor and employment matters across a wide variety of industries. Recent notable achievements include:

• Counseled a large manufacturer through a difficult and highly sensitive sexual harassment claim that threatened to hamper the company’s business operations, but was ultimately resolved without litigation.
• Advised a large employer through a significant reduction in force that included responding to government agencies and the news media, successfully avoiding any resulting claims. This is a great example of how having a variety of service areas, including crisis communications, all under one firm’s umbrella can lead to an integrated solution to a sensitive situation.
• Provided a series of internal training sessions to a group of supervisors including such topics as anti-discrimination laws, wage and hour regulations, and an overview of best discipline practices. We find this type of preventive measure to be among the most effective things we do.