Kathleen A. Berney is a counseling attorney who advises employers on labor and employment matters and helps clients navigate and resolve complex workplace issues. Drawing on her experience as in-house counsel at a large corporation, she partners with clients on strategic compliance decisions that support business objectives. She is a co-author, with Jeffrey Hirsch, of Labor & Employment in Massachusetts, a leading treatise on Massachusetts employment law.
Her practice includes advising employers on a myriad of issues in the employment life cycle from application through separation, and includes significant experience in traditional labor matters. Kathleen represents employers in collective bargaining negotiations, arbitrations, NLRB representation proceedings, and unfair labor practice (ULP) matters, and advises on union-related strategy and day-to-day labor relations.
Kathleen is recognized for her work advising employers on leave of absence issues. She regularly counsels employers on compliance with federal and state employment laws, including discrimination and retaliation, wage and hour issues, restrictive covenants, and termination decisions.
She represents employers before state and federal agencies in labor and employment matters and advises clients on internal investigations. Kathleen likes to roll up her sleeves and help clients solve problems in a way that aligns with their culture and business goals.
Years leading up to becoming an attorney, Kathleen was a small business owner and a devoted litigation professional at law firms and Fortune 100 corporations where she gained broad exposure to business litigation, IP litigation, internal investigations, compliance, e-discovery, labor and employment issues, and government contracts.
After earning her JD, Kathleen worked as Litigation Counsel within the Office of General Counsel at Raytheon Company, where she represented the company in a broad array of matters, including: business litigation, internal investigations, issues related to government contracts, and compliance with government agencies.
Kathleen served as a judicial law clerk to the Honorable Justice Peter Sacks of the Massachusetts Appeals Court for the 2017-2018 court term.
When not advocating for clients, Kathleen loves spending time with her husband (a professional trumpet player), their two boys, and their yellow lab, Lizzie. She is also an avid runner and triathlete.
