Practice Areas

No employer is immune from claims of discrimination, harassment or retaliation.  The risks continue to grow, as enforcement agencies become more aggressive and as legislation and courts expand the scope of the law.

HRW’s attorneys have decades of experience helping clients avoid, resolve, and defend against all types of employment-related claims. It begins with proactive counseling and training.  Having the right policies in place, implemented and enforced by educated leaders, goes a long way towards ensuring a productive and harmonious workplace. When a complaint does arise, HRW’s lawyers help guide human resources staff through the investigation and resolution process.

In the unfortunate event that an employee brings a claim, HRW is prepared to vigorously defend the client. HRW’s lawyers are tireless advocates who work collaboratively with clients to achieve the best possible results, effectively and efficiently. HRW enjoys a stellar record of success in both state and federal court, and before governmental agencies like the MCAD and EEOC.

Clients want sound advice from their attorneys, but when it comes to finding workplace solutions not all law firms are created equal. Clients need advisors who not only know the law but who also understand their industry and their corporate culture. A business needs a real answer, not “it depends.”

Every day, HRW helps clients find practical solutions to their most difficult workplace problems. Whether it’s complying with wage and hour law, disciplining and discharging employees, managing leaves of absence, or ensuring workplace safety, HRW can help.

HRW’s attorneys combine legal knowledge with decades of practical experience. HRW will help you remain in legal compliance, find practical solutions, and get back to business.

HRW has extensive experience defending and counseling colleges and universities, with a team of lawyers who have been recognized locally and nationally for their skills and expertise.

HRW’s attorneys understand that each college and university is distinct, ensuring that the representation is tailored to an institution’s unique values and mission. Whether a matter involves a jury trial or the preparation of a faculty handbook, HRW’s lawyers work collaboratively with their institutional clients – refusing to take a “one size fits all” approach.

In lawsuits and administrative actions, HRW represents only institutional clients, never students or faculty. HRW’s Higher Education team has successfully defended colleges and universities in cases involving high-profile allegations of sexual misconduct under Title IX, claims of discrimination (including claims based on age, gender, race, national origin, and disability), disputes about tenure and promotion, and claims by students challenging the results of internal disciplinary proceedings. HRW also defends colleges and universities in investigations and audits by the Office of Civil Rights and the Department of Education. HRW lawyers are frequently retained by United Educators to serve the interests of its institutional members.

HRW helps colleges and universities keep their campuses safe.  HRW Higher Education team members are frequent speakers at educational conferences on compliance with the Clery Campus Safety Act, the Violence against Women Act, and Title IX, including conferences sponsored by the National Association of College and University Attorneys (NACUA) and the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Massachusetts (AICUM). HRW also provides on-campus training regarding effective methods of preventing and investigating claims of sexual misconduct, and acts as independent fact-finders, preparing comprehensive reports on which institutions can rely. HRW assists its institutional clients in conducting safety reviews and preparing their Annual Security Reports.

HRW develops policies, handbooks, and codes of conduct that fit institutional needs, always with the understanding that colleges and universities have multiple constituencies – from students to administrators – and always considering their varying perspectives in crafting policies that are not only legally compliant, but that work in practice.

Each week brings a new report of a data security breach.  Identity theft has become an international epidemic. Businesses struggle to maintain the security of their data in the face of sophisticated attacks from hackers around the globe. State and federal legislatures have enacted laws to compel businesses and institutions to do their part to fight identity theft, requiring that they take action to protect personal information and make prompt notifications in the event of a breach. Failure to follow these strict laws can have drastic consequences from the perspectives of both legal liability and public relations.

HRW’s Data Security Team assists businesses and non-profits in addressing the complex requirements of the data security laws through a compliance program that is thorough and meticulous, yet efficient and cost-effective. The Data Security Team also regularly assists clients with high-stakes data security breaches. The Data Security Team has taken a leadership role in the legal community on the issue of data security, speaking on pertinent issues, and training other lawyers on the new laws.

Allegations of wrongdoing in the workplace or educational institutions can generate an internal crisis or a high-profile scandal. HRW’s skilled and experienced investigators get to the bottom of what happened promptly and effectively, and they help develop strategies to calm troubled waters, restore morale, and stave off lawsuits.

The facts and dynamics of each investigation are unique, and HRW’s team can quickly assess the best way to find out what happened in any case. Working with the client, HRW develops a tailored investigative plan, determines what laws or policies are at stake, identifies key witnesses and documents, and conducts thorough and efficient interviews. After thorough evaluation of the relevant evidence and separating fact from fiction, HRW prepares an investigative report on which the client can rely with confidence and use as the foundation for corrective action.

HRW’s attorneys also provide trainings on investigative techniques for clients seeking to better equip their managers in getting to the bottom of day-to-day workplace disputes.

Whether negotiating a collective bargaining agreement, responding to union organizing activity, defending NLRB proceedings, or arbitrating grievances, HRW’s experienced labor attorneys have done it all.  HRW has one of the deepest and most experienced teams of management-side labor attorneys in Massachusetts.

HRW represents and advises clients in every aspect of traditional labor law.

• Union Organizing – HRW helps non-union clients remain union-free by developing innovative management, communication, and training strategies. HRW has helped many employers understand their rights and obligations under the National Labor Relations Act.
• Collective Bargaining – HRW’s attorneys have been helping clients develop and implement successful bargaining strategies for decades.  HRW has negotiated innumerable contracts across many industries, bringing a collaborative and respectful, but firm, approach that maximizes the chances for success while preserving productive labor relations.
• NLRB Proceedings – HRW has successfully defended or resolved nearly every manner of ULP charge and petition before the National Labor Relations Board. These include allegations of bad faith bargaining, discriminatory discipline or discharge, and failure to provide information, as well as petitions seeking representation, decertification, or unit clarification.
• Grievance and Arbitration – HRW helps unionized clients process, resolve, and defend against grievances and demands for arbitration. HRW is proud of its record of success and efficiency in this critical “bread and butter” area of labor law.

Clients are best served by a lawyer who is fully prepared and unafraid to go to trial. HRW’s litigators are both.

A lawsuit is the last thing a client wants.  But when a key employee walks out the door after downloading a virtual truckload of confidential documents and joins a competitor, or when a process server arrives with a federal court complaint charging a company executive with discrimination, clients want to know they have a legal team that is ready to provide tenacious and committed representation.

HRW’s litigators understand the scope and stakes of litigation, from single-plaintiff discrimination cases to wage and hour class actions.  In each case, the goal is simple – win.

HRW understands what clients want – results and value. The client’s concern becomes HRW’s concern, and HRW helps clients stay focused on running their business while HRW takes care of their litigation. HRW does not waste time on inconsequential skirmishes that run up a client’s bill but don’t advance its cause. HRW fights hard, but with the realization that the client benefits from an effective and efficient approach to litigation that provides them the greatest flexibility in achieving their goals. HRW won’t write a treatise when a concise email with clear advice will suffice. HRW won’t send three lawyers to court when one can do the job.

For the Litigation team at HRW, the greatest reward comes from calling a client to deliver the news of a win, or to let them know that the case that has been keeping them awake at night is over.  HRW’s lawyers get to do that a lot.

Competition is good. It drives ambition and innovation.  But the pressures of competition sometimes cause companies to try to gain an unfair advantage by hiring a competitor’s employee to get access to confidential information and trade secrets.

When an employee downloads a customer list minutes before tendering his resignation to join a competing company, or when an employee who signed a noncompetition agreement resigns to become head of engineering for a primary competitor, alarm bells sound.  In the face of these threats, a company must take swift and decisive action to protect its competitive advantages and investments.

HRW’s Noncompetition and Trade Secret Team fights these battles every day.  HRW represents companies that are trying to protect their trade secrets and enforce their noncompetition agreements, as well as individuals who are accused of breaching noncompetition agreements and misappropriating trade secrets.  HRW also advises companies on designing and implementing trade secret protection programs and drafting noncompetition agreements.

HRW’s Noncompetition and Trade Secret Team has a high profile in its field.  Many of its victories have received media coverage, and HRW’s lawyers are a regular source of insight for journalists writing about significant cases and legal developments.  HRW’s lawyers regularly serve on the faculty of seminars about noncompetition and trade secret law and have appeared before legislative committees considering change to the law of noncompetition agreements.

HRW believes strongly in the value of managerial training and education.  That’s why we developed the Leadership Education Institute  (LEI).

Through the LEI, HRW offers a full range of interactive training and education programs. From basic sexual harassment and diversity training, to executive-level coaching, to multi-day supervisory skills sessions, HRW’s attorneys help supervisors, managers, and executives understand not only their legal obligations but also the practical dos and don’ts of leadership in the workplace.

Our skilled trainers lead engaging and interactive sessions, tailoring each program to the client’s individual needs. Programs adhere to the “rule of thirds,” with equal attention paid to content, interactivity, and timing. Many of HRW’s trainers are MCAD Certified and have decades of training experience.  We have presented hundreds of programs to thousands of managers and supervisors across the country.

Wage and hour claims are on the rise and can be an employer’s worst nightmare. Claims are easy to prove and the stakes are high, given the hammer of mandatory treble damages under relevant statutes.

HRW helps its clients avoid the headaches of a wage and hour case by reviewing clients’ compliance with the myriad and sometimes conflicting state and federal requirements. Whether it’s a matter of employee classification, overtime, hours of work, or record keeping, HRW has dealt with it before. HRW’s attorneys work with clients on a daily basis across a broad spectrum of industries and routinely interact with officials from the Attorney General’s Office and federal Department of Labor.

When litigation is unavoidable, HRW is ready. HRW’s team of litigators are experienced in the defense of wage and hour claims, including attempted class action lawsuits in both state and federal court.  HRW has enjoyed an enviable record of success, through courtroom victories and favorable settlements.