Professional Experience
Nancy is the chair of the firm's Labor and Employment Law group, and is the partner in charge of the firm's employee relations policies and programs. An accomplished trial lawyer, Nancy concentrates her practice in the areas of labor and employment law and has successfully defended clients in such industries as computer software, contract research and development, communications and manufacturing. She has represented clients in the defense of sexual harassment and other employment-related claims. Nancy has litigated cases ranging from employment discrimination to wrongful discharge in the states of Arkansas, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, New Jersey, Ohio, and Texas.
Having worked her way through college and law school as a manager of a restaurant franchise in Northeastern Ohio, Nancy is particularly sensitive to the operational needs of her clients and regularly provides counseling in personnel and operating policies designed to fit each client's unique business needs. She provides counsel through each phase of the employment relationship, including pre-employment testing, hiring, performance evaluations, discipline and discharge, all designed to minimize the potential for employment-related litigation. She is a member of the labor and employment sections of the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association the Ohio State Bar Association, and is AV rated by Martindale-Hubbell.
Areas Of Emphasis
Labor and Employment
Nancy has successfully defended clients in a variety of different cases:
- Defending state common law wrongful discharge and defamation lawsuits;
- Defending both state and federal lawsuits alleging violations of fair employment practices statutes, including sexual discrimination, racial discrimination, disability discrimination, sexual harassment, sexual orientation discrimination, and national origin discrimination;
- Representing employers before the EEOC and state fair employment practices agencies when charges of discrimination have been filed;
Nancy regularly provides advice and counsel to employers on a variety of employment issues including:
- Drafting or revising employee manuals or specific employment policies including FMLA
policies, drug testing policies, no-solicitation and no-distribution policies, and ADR
policies
- Advising employers concerning the hiring and firing of employees, including reductions in
the workforce
- Providing employers with advice concerning mass layoffs and plant closings under both
state and federal law, including The WARN Act
- Counseling employers through all phases of the employment relationship including
hiring, discipline, evaluations, last-chance agreements, discharges, and separation
agreements
- Advising employers on compliance with new or changing employment laws including
providing supervisory training
- Counseling employers on investigating claims of discrimination or harassment including
sexual harassment
- Assisting employers in complying with wage and hour laws and COBRA
- Counseling employers and executives in analyzing, drafting, and negotiating individual employment contracts, including retention bonus agreements, non-compete and confidentiality agreements, incentives plans, and severance agreements
Presentations
- "Employment Law Update: What You Need to Know for 2010," Holiday Inn Cleveland West, April 16, 2010.
- "Employment Laws Made Simple; Ensure compliance with employment law procedures and practices!," National Business Institute Seminar, December 11, 2007.
Professional & Community Associations
- Ohio State Bar Association - Employment and Labor Law Section
- Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association - Employment and Labor Law Section
- Cleveland Employment Law Inns of Court - Master of the Bench
Education
Case Western Reserve University, J.D., 1981
(Order of the Coif)
John Carroll University, B.A., 1977 (magna cum laude)
Licensed to Practice
- Ohio
- U.S. Supreme Court
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth and Sixth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia
- U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio
