Outten & Golden LLP

Wayne N. Outten

WAYNE N. OUTTEN is Chair and Founding Partner of Outten & Golden LLP. He was the Managing Partner from the founding of the firm in 1998 until the end of 2018. He co-chairs the firm's Executives and Professionals and Whistleblower Retaliation Practice Groups.

Mr. Outten's practice focuses on representing high-level employees and professionals in all aspects of their employment, including negotiation of employment, compensation, and severance agreements. He is the author of the "Representing the Executive" chapter in Executive Compensation (BNA Books). His practice includes representing employees in multinational employment contexts, including expatriate and seconded employees.

Mr. Outten's notable cases include: a recovery of more than $12 million in a gender discrimination/retaliation case against Morgan Stanley in federal court; an $18.9 million arbitration award in a breach of contract case against Deutsche Bank (with partner Larry Moy); and a $71.5 million arbitration award under a profit participation plan against another international bank- perhaps the largest arbitration award in an employment case (with partners Larry Moy and Tammy Marzigliano).

Mr. Outten was selected by his peers as one of the "Best Lawyers in America" every year since 1987 and as one of New York's Super Lawyers, where he is listed as one of the Top 100 New York Metro Super Lawyers every year since 2006. Best Lawyers designated him "Lawyer of the Year 2010" for Labor and Employment Law - New York City and "Lawyer of the Year 2012" for Litigation - Labor and Employment in New York City. He was selected for the Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America every year from 2005 through 2013, and for the Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America in 2006. Mr. Outten has been an AV Preeminent Rated Lawyer in the LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell Top Rated Lawyers since 1992.

Mr. Outten was a Co-Founder in 1993 of Workplace Fairness, a charitable/educational organization, and is its current President. He is Co-Founder and Co-Chair of the Lawyers International Network for Employees and Executives (LINEE).

He was a law clerk for U.S. District Court Judge Gus J. Solomon, District of Oregon (1974-76) and was an instructor at the NYU School of Law (1976-1978). He was an associate and then a partner at Lankenau Kovner & Outten, LLP (1979-1998).

Mr. Outten received his B.S. from Drexel University in 1970 and his J.D. from New York University School of Law in 1974, where he was an Arthur Garfield Hays Civil Liberties Fellow.

Mr. Outten was admitted to the New York bar in 1979. He is also admitted to practice law in Maryland. Mr. Outten is admitted to the following federal courts (among others): The Supreme Court of the United States; the United States District Courts for the Southern District of New York; and Eastern District of New York; and the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

(*Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.) More About This Attorney »

Adam T. Klein

ADAM T. KLEIN is the Managing Partner of Outten & Golden LLP, and founded the firm's class action practice area. His practice focuses on the prosecution of class actions and impact litigation relating to race, gender, and immigration-based statutory discrimination. In addition, Mr. Klein has extensive experience litigating race and restorative justice cases concerning the criminal justice system and resulting collateral consequences in the workplace and in other contexts. Mr. Klein currently serves as lead or co-lead plaintiffs' counsel in numerous major class action lawsuits involving discrimination claims in the financial services industry, the high tech industry, and challenges to the use of credit and criminal history records for employment decisions. Mr. Klein is co-lead plaintiffs’ class counsel in a gender discrimination lawsuit challenging employment practices at Goldman Sachs. Mr. Klein is also lead counsel in a recently filed major class action filed against Washington State and all 39 counties within that state on behalf of tens of thousands of people with unconstitutional felony drug convictions and related offenses seeking the restitution of LFOs (fines and fees) and other forms of relief relating to the collateral consequences of those convictions.

Mr. Klein is lead class counsel in a now concluded lawsuit against the Census Bureau, which was filed in affiliation with a consortium of civil-rights organizations challenging the use of arrest and criminal history records as a screen for employment for 850,000 applicants. In 2016, the parties reached a landmark settlement with the federal government that requires the Census Bureau to reform its hiring practices for the 2020 decennial census as well as creating a class-member Records Assistance Project housed at the Cornell University ILR School and in coordination with the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. The Census Bureau legal team led by Mr. Klein won the Public Justice 2017 Trial Lawyer of the Year Award.

In addition, Mr. Klein serves as co-lead plaintiffs' class counsel in now settled nationwide discrimination class action lawsuits against Smith Barney (gender - Amochaev v. Smith Barney), Bank of America/Merrill Lynch (gender – Calibuso v. Bank of America), and Morgan Stanley (race - Jaffe v. Morgan Stanley). Each settlement provides class members with substantial monetary relief and creates systematic changes to company practices. Mr. Klein also served as co-lead plaintiffs' class counsel in a "glass ceiling" gender discrimination class action against MetLife, based on discrimination in promotions and compensation, which resulted in a settlement that created beneficial changes in the company.

Mr. Klein is the immediate past Co-Chair of the Executive Board of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. For numerous years, Mr. Klein has been selected as one of the Lawdragon 500 leading lawyers in America as well as Best Lawyers in America, New York’s Super Lawyers – Manhattan Edition, and as a member of the Hall of Fame in the Legal 500. Mr. Klein is a Fellow of the College of Labor & Employment Lawyers. Mr. Klein received his undergraduate degree from the School of Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University in 1987 and his law degree from Hofstra University in 1990.

Mr. Klein is admitted to practice law only in New York. Mr. Klein is admitted to the following federal courts: The United States District Courts for the Southern District of New York, Eastern District of New York; and Western District of New York; and the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, the Ninth Circuit, and the Eleventh Circuit.

(*Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.) More About This Attorney »

Laurence S. Moy

LAURENCE S. MOY is Deputy Managing Partner, and has been practicing law almost exclusively in the area of representing individuals in employment matters since 1985. Mr. Moy co-chairs the firm’s Financial Services Industry Practice Group. He enjoys representing clients and groups of clients in these highly specialized fields by counseling them, as well as negotiating and litigating on their behalf.

Mr. Moy has extensive experience in arbitration before FINRA (and, previously, the NASD and the NYSE), the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”), and JAMS, as well as trials, appeals, and other litigation experience before federal and state courts concerning employment and general commercial litigation disputes.

Mr. Moy has been lead trial attorney on a number of the most successful litigation cases brought on behalf of individual clients. In perhaps the largest arbitration result obtained in an employment case, Mr. Moy led the trial team, together with Wayne Outten and Tammy Marzigliano, in a complex, international arbitration case, which concluded with a two-week trial/hearing. On behalf of their clients, the team won an arbitration award against a major financial institution exceeding $70 million.

After more than a year of proceedings, Mr. Moy and Wayne Outten led the trial team in a two-week trial in a vigorously contested arbitration case against financial services giant Deutsche Bank, winning $18.9 million in damages, interest, and expenses. This AAA award represents one of the largest arbitration awards in an employment case.

Mr. Moy and Ossai Miazad also completed a FINRA arbitration proceeding (which included a five-day hearing) in which they represented an investment banker against a well-known international bank. The arbitration panel directed expungement of defamatory language from the banker’s Form U-5, and awarded over $900,000 in damages plus interest.

Mr. Moy and former partner Juno Turner completed another FINRA arbitration (including a six-day hearing) against Barclays Capital Inc., in which the bank claimed that its bonus policy allowed the bank complete discretion in its compensation decisions and that Barclays was not responsible for a bonus given that the registered person was employed at Lehman for most of the year in question. The arbitration panel disagreed, awarding Outten & Golden's client $715,000 plus interest and assessing costs against Barclays.

In addition to litigation, Mr. Moy actively handles many transactional and negotiation matters. He has successfully mediated and otherwise negotiated many matters both within and outside of the employment context. These negotiations have included the review and preparation of employment contracts and compensation guarantees, as well as severance agreements and other exit arrangements for executives and other professionals. In addition, Mr. Moy often represents clients with respect to issues involving non-competition or non-solicitation provisions, and other restrictive covenants.

Mr. Moy devotes a substantial portion of his practice to counseling and advising clients concerning a variety of other workplace issues. This work often assists clients through difficult treatment in the workplace, and avoids the need for substantial litigation expense at a later time.

For each year since 2007, Mr. Moy has been selected by his peers as one of the New York Area’s Best Lawyers, as featured in New York Magazine,* and as one of New York’s Super Lawyers – Manhattan Edition.* The Asian American Business Development Center named Mr. Moy one of the 2007 Outstanding 50 Asian Americans in Business. In 2010, Mr. Moy was elected as a Fellow to the College of Labor & Employment Lawyers.

He is a graduate of Cornell University (B.S. 1982) and Cornell Law School (J.D. 1985).

(*Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.)

Mr. Moy is admitted to practice law only in New York. Mr. Moy is admitted to the following federal courts: The United States District Courts for the Southern District of New York, the Eastern District of New York; and the Northern District of New York; and the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

(*Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.) More About This Attorney »

Justin M. Swartz

JUSTIN M. SWARTZ, a partner at Outten & Golden LLP in New York and Co-Chair of its Class Action Practice Group, represents employees in class action wage/hour and discrimination cases, as well as individual discrimination cases and other employment matters. He is also Co-Chair of the firm's Public Interest Committee.

Over the past ten years, Mr. Swartz has been lead counsel or co-lead counsel in dozens of unpaid wage theft class and collective actions on behalf of workers in a wide variety of industries. He has represented thousands of workers in unpaid overtime lawsuits including assistant store managers at drugstores, restaurants (including Chipotle), and retail clothing chains, furniture salespeople, unpaid interns, "volunteers" who work for private companies (including Major League Baseball), dishwasher repair people, exterminators, delivery drivers, security guards, financial services employees, bank assistant branch managers, grocery store assistant managers and hourly workers, pet groomers, entry-level accounting employees, and adult entertainers, among others. He is currently litigating cases challenging the practice of classifying workers as independent contractors and failing to pay overtime compensation. He has also represented thousands of restaurant workers in overtime, minimum wage, and tip theft cases, including cases against TGI Friday's and Applebees, as well as restaurants owned by Mario Batali, Bobby Flay, and other celebrity chefs. Mr. Swartz and Outten & Golden LLP's Public Interest Committee have represented hundreds of low-wage workers in minimum wage and unpaid overtime cases, including construction workers, farm workers, and low-wage cleaning workers in their claims that large contractors failed to pay them overtime compensation for their work cleaning buildings around Ground Zero in 2001.

He has also represented workers in employment discrimination claims against companies that have refused to hire minorities with criminal records, systemic gender discrimination claims against a major utility company; and several individual race, gender identity, sexual orientation, and national origin discrimination cases. He has represented hundreds of female and African American stock brokers in nationwide discrimination class action lawsuits against the country's leading brokerage firms, including Merrill Lynch, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, and Smith Barney.

Mr. Swartz is active in bar associations including the American Bar Association Section of Labor and Employment Law where he is Co-Chair of the Section's CLE/Institutes and Meetings Committee, Co-Chair of the Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity Law, and is a former Co-Chair of the Ethics and Professional Responsibility Committee.

Mr. Swartz frequently works with non-profit organizations on public interest matters including successfully representing a formerly incarcerated security guard in a licensing hearing in conjunction with MFY Legal Services and representing three low-wage immigrant women in sexual harassment, assault and battery, and overtime claims as co-counsel with the ACLU Women's Rights Project. He has co-counseled with, and performed pro bono services for, Make the Road New York, The Legal Aid Society, South Brooklyn Legal Services, Manhattan Legal Services, the New York Civil Liberties Union, Legal Momentum, NYLAG, the Sylvia Rivera Law Project, and MFY Legal Services as a volunteer attorney at its legal clinics. Mr. Swartz is also part of the Lambda Legal Cooperating Attorney Network. While living in Chicago, he volunteered at First Defense Legal Aid, providing emergency representation for recent arrestees and documenting police misconduct.

Mr. Swartz joined Outten & Golden LLP in December 2003 after representing workers as an associate at Goodman & Zuchlewski, LLP, in New York and Stowell & Friedman, Ltd., in Chicago.

He graduated from DePaul University School of Law with honors in 1998. Mr. Swartz is admitted to practice law only in New York and Illinois. Mr. Swartz is admitted to the following federal courts: The United States District Courts for the Southern District of New York, the Eastern District of New York, the Western District of New York; and the Northern District of Illinois. More About This Attorney »

Wendi S. Lazar

WENDI S. LAZAR is a partner at Outten & Golden LLP in New York where she co-heads the firm’s Individual Practice and the Executives and Professionals Practice Group. Ms. Lazar practices in many areas of executive compensation and employment law with a focus on executive agreements, including retention, expatriate, non-competition, talent, severance, and compensation arrangements. She also represents teams of executives, founders and partners transitioning during a sale, merger and acquisitions and other corporate transactions. Ms. Lazar’s practice is international in scope, and she advises clients and attorneys in the U.S. and abroad on employment, contract, and often related immigration issues. Ms. Lazar represents individuals, partners, and management teams at portfolio and public companies, financial institutions (including banks, hedge funds, private equity companies), and entertainment, advertising and media companies. She also represents law partners and associates, accounting professionals, doctors and medical practitioners in all transactional matters.

Ms. Lazar has a particular practice and stellar reputation representing senior women in employment negotiations, partnership agreements, pay equity and discrimination issues.  She has represented women in in all phases of their careers and is a trusted counselor to many female executives and partners.

From 2015-2018 Ms. Lazar served as a commissioner on the American Bar Association’s Commission on Women, and she continues to work on the critical issues she advocated for when she chaired the Sexual Harassment and Gender Based Bullying Committee.  She is currently working with the Commission on a project basis.

As former Diversity Co-Chair for the New York State Bar Association’s Labor & Employment Section Ms. Lazar served in numerous positions for 8 years. She remains on its Executive Committee. She is an active member of ABA Labor & Employment Section and other NYSBA committees. She is former Employee Co-Chair of the American Bar Association Labor and Employment Law Section’s International Labor and Employment Law Committee where she is an active speaker and leader.

Ms. Lazar was the founder of a quarterly column for the New York Law Journal entitled “Employees in the Workplace.” She has continued to write a column for Thomson Reuters on executive compensation and employment law. She regularly lectures on employment issues to bar associations and industry groups and has had numerous legal articles and book chapters published. She is the Editor in Chief of the book, Zero Tolerance: Best Practices for Combating Sex-Based Harassment in the Legal Profession, an ABA guide to combatting sexual harassment in the legal profession, published in 2018. She also co-authored as Co-Editor In-Chief, "Restrictive Covenants and Trade Secrets in Employment Law: An International Survey," published in 2010 by the BNA and its supplements through 2013, which includes the chapter “Confidentiality, Trade Secrets, and Other Duties and Restrictive Covenants in a Global Economy.” In addition, she is also the author of the chapter “Negotiating and Drafting Expatriate Employment Agreements," in the 3rd Edition of Vol. 1B of International Labor & Employment Law, published in 2009 by the BNA.

Ms. Lazar is the recipient of the esteemed 2020 Margaret Brent Women Lawyers of Achievement Award. Martindale-Hubbell recognizes Ms. Lazar as an AV “Preeminent” rated attorney.  Ms. Lazar was recognized by Chambers in 2021. She was named to Best Lawyers in America 2012 - 2022 in the field of Employment Law – Individuals. Ms. Lazar was also recognized by Super Lawyers in 2012 - 2021. She has been selected as a 2013 - 2019 Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyer. In 2014, Ms. Lazar was elected as a Fellow to the College of Labor & Employment Lawyers. Ms. Lazar was named a New York Law Journal: Top Women in the Law 2016. She is also a Board Member of Work Life Law, UC Hastings College of the Law. Before she began practicing law in 1993, Ms. Lazar was a film and television producer. Her ten years of experience in that field include many television and feature film credits as well as an Emmy Award. Ms. Lazar graduated magna cum laude from Hunter College and received her J.D. cum laude from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, where she received a Ford Foundation Fellowship in International Law and was an Alexander Fellow, participating as a federal judicial law clerk.

Ms. Lazar is admitted to practice law only in New York. Ms. Lazar is admitted to the following federal courts: The United States District Courts for the Southern District of New York and Eastern District of New York; and the Supreme Court of the United States. More About This Attorney »

Kathleen Peratis

KATHLEEN PERATIS is a partner at Outten & Golden LLP in New York. She has practiced employment law for over 25 years including employment contracts and separation agreements. At Outten & Golden, she chairs the Public Interest Committee and Sexual Harassment Practice Group and is a member of the Executives and Professionals Practice Group. At the ACLU from 1975 to 1979 as the director of the Women's Rights Project working with, (now) Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, she brought lawsuits successfully challenging as unconstitutional laws that discriminated against women on account of gender, including on account of pregnancy.

In one of those cases, the U.S. Supreme Court declared that pregnant women could not, on account of pregnancy alone, be deprived of unemployment compensation. In another, the court declared that service women could not be discharged on account of pregnancy. In a third case, Ms. Peratis successfully represented a female midshipman who was being expelled for being in bed with a male colleague, while the male midshipman faced no punishment.

In private practice for the last thirty years, Ms. Peratis has continued to represent women and men who are entering or leaving executive or professional employment or are survivors of workplace discrimination and abuse. Her clients include people who are rising on the corporate and professional ladders as well as those who have lost promotions or jobs because of their race, religion, color, or LGBTQ status. She has recovered millions of dollars for these survivors, usually in settlement and sometimes at trial. Under Ms. Peratis' leadership the Public Interest Committee at Outten & Golden has taken on the representation of people with workplace claims too small to be economically viable for most lawyers but too important to ignore.

Ms. Peratis authored a text book called Woman and the Law and is a contributor to Workplace Harassment, ed. Lindemann Kadue, BNA (2012); she has spoken and written on a wide range of issues or employment law. She was a regular columnist for The Jewish Daily Forward, with a column called "Only Human," from 2004 to 2010, writing about women's rights and human rights. She continues to be an occasional op-ed contributor. She has authored op-eds that have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and other periodicals, as well as essays that have appeared in Ms. Magazine, Lilith, The Washington Times and others.

Ms. Peratis is admitted to practice in New York and California. More About This Attorney »

Tammy Marzigliano

TAMMY MARZIGLIANO is a partner at Outten & Golden LLP in New York, where she represents employees in litigation and negotiation in all areas of employment law, including matters involving compensation (and bonus) disputes, contractual violations, and whistleblower and individual discrimination claims. Ms. Marzigliano is the Co-Chair of both Outten & Golden's Financial Services Practice Group and its Whistleblower and Retaliation Practice Group. She is also a member of Outten & Golden's Executive and Professionals Practice Group and former Co-Chair of its Sex Discrimination and Sexual Harassment Practice Group. She has also been recognized by Best Lawyers in 2018, and Super Lawyers New York Metro edition for 2013-2017.

Ms. Marzigliano is an experienced litigator and has represented clients in arbitration matters before FINRA and the American Arbitration Association (AAA), as well as in federal and state courts concerning employment and general commercial litigation disputes. Most recently, Ms. Marzigliano was a member of the trial team, together with Larry Moy and Wayne Outten, in a complex, international arbitration where the Panel issued an award exceeding $70 million.Ms. Marzigliano received her B.A. from Hofstra University and her J.D., magna cum laude, from Quinnipiac University Law School, where she served as the Public Relations Editor of the Quinnipiac Health Law Journal.

Ms. Marzigliano is admitted to the state and federal bars of New York and Connecticut. More About This Attorney »

Cara E. Greene

CARA E. GREENE is a partner at Outten & Golden LLP in New York, where she represents employees and partners in litigation and negotiation in all areas of employment law, including executive and professional contracts and compensation; lawyers as clients; discrimination class actions; whistleblowing; and discrimination based on disability, pregnancy, and family responsibilities. She is Co-Chair of O&G's Family Responsibilities and Disability Discrimination Practice Group and is active in the Financial Services Practice Group and the Executives and Professionals Practice Group.

In addition to reviewing and negotiating employment contracts and compensation guarantees, as well as severance agreements and other exit arrangements, Ms. Greene has litigated both individual and class action cases on behalf of a variety of employees including low-wage hourly workers, highly compensated professionals, and employees in the financial services industry.

She is Chair of the New York State Bar Association’s Labor and Employment Law Section; is an active member of the American Bar Association’s Labor and Employment Law Section (Employment Rights and Ethics and Professional Responsibilities Committees); a member of the National Employment Lawyers Association and its New York affiliate, NELA/NY, and a member of the New York City Bar Association. Ms. Greene is a frequent speaker at employment law programs and was formerly on the Board of Editors for the Law Firm Partnership and Benefits Reporter.

Before law school, Ms. Greene was an Ohio LSC Legislative Fellow, working with Ohio State Senator Rhine McLin and the Ohio Senate Minority Caucus.

Ms. Greene received her B.A. in political studies from Gordon College, where she was an A.J. Gordon Scholar. She received her J.D. from Fordham University School of Law.

Ms. Greene is admitted to practice in the State of New York, the District Courts for the Southern, Northern, Eastern, and Western Districts of New York, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, and Washington, DC. More About This Attorney »

Ossai Miazad

OSSAI MIAZAD is Partner and Co-Chair of the Discrimination and Retaliation Practice Group and is also active in the firm's Class & Collective Action Practice Group at Outten & Golden LLP in New York. She represents employees in class action and impact litigation aimed at eliminating systemic discrimination. She has experience litigating before federal and state courts and arbitration panels. Ms. Miazad currently serves as plaintiffs' counsel in numerous major class action lawsuits involving challenges to the use of credit and criminal history records for employment decisions, challenges to U.S. citizen and legal permanent resident requirements in contracting on behalf of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) beneficiaries and claims on behalf of women facing discrimination in pay and promotion. Her work on the landmark criminal background check case against the U.S. Census Bureau was recognized with the Public Justice 2017 Trial Lawyer of the Year Award. Ms. Miazad has been selected to Super Lawyers 2013-2017. She was also designated as a "Next generation lawyer" by The Legal 500 United States 2017's guide to up-and-coming lawyers nationwide.

Ms. Miazad regularly lectures and publishes on employment issues. She is the Co-Editor-in-Chief of "The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act," published by the American Bar Association's ("ABA") Section of Labor and Employment Law, and serves as co-chair of the ABA's Subcommittee on the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act ("USERRA"). Ms. Miazad served on the New York City Bar Association's Committee on Civil Rights and as a board member of the New York affiliate of the National Employment Lawyers Association ("NELA").

Ms. Miazad is admitted to practice law only in New York and Washington, D.C. Ms. Miazad is admitted to the following federal courts: The United States District Courts for the Southern District of New York, the Eastern District of New York; and the District of Colorado; and the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and the Third Circuit. More About This Attorney »

Molly A. Brooks

MOLLY A. BROOKS is a partner at Outten & Golden LLP in New York. She represents employees in class action wage and hour and discrimination cases. She has extensive experience litigating in federal and state courts as well as before arbitration panels.

Ms. Brooks is the Employee Chair and Editor of the American Bar Association's Labor and Employment Law Newsletter. She is a member of the New York State Bar Association's Labor and Employment Law Committee and is an active member of the National Employment Lawyers Association. Ms. Brooks speaks regularly on wage and hour topics.

Ms. Brooks received her B.A. from Grinnell College and her J.D. from Northeastern University School of Law.

Ms. Brooks is admitted to practice law only in New York and Massachusetts. Ms. Brooks is admitted to the following federal courts: The United States District Courts for the Southern District of New York and the Eastern District of New York; and the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. More About This Attorney »

Melissa Lardo Stewart

MELISSA LARDO STEWART is a partner at Outten & Golden LLP in New York, where she represents employees in class action wage and discrimination cases. She has represented workers across many industries and job functions, including retail, sales, food service, hospitality, financial services, accounting, and telecommunications. She has prosecuted wage theft claims on behalf of workers who were required to work off-the-clock, subjected to time-shaving, wrongly classified as exempt from overtime protections, and improperly treated as independent contractors. Ms. Stewart also currently represents employees and applicants in class and collective action gender and age discrimination cases.

Before Ms. Stewart joined Outten & Golden LLP in November 2013, she clerked for the Honorable James Orenstein in the Eastern District of New York and the Honorable Dickinson R. Debevoise in the District of New Jersey, and represented workers and labor unions as an associate at Woodley & McGillivary in Washington, D.C. She graduated magna cum laude from Fordham University School of Law in 2009.

She is admitted to practice in New York and the District of Columbia. More About This Attorney »

Gregory S. Chiarello

GREGORY S. CHIARELLO is a partner at Outten & Golden LLP in New York, where he is Co-chair of his firm’s Family Responsibilities & Disabilities Discrimination Practice Group. He also is a member of the Sex Discrimination and Sexual Harassment Practice Group, and frequently writes and speaks on a number of related issues, including the intersection of the #metoo movement with employment law.

Mr. Chiarello represents employees in a variety of employment matters, including discrimination, retaliation, and harassment claims; fair pay and equal pay claims; breach of employment and other contracts; and noncompete and other restrictive covenant issues. While Mr. Chiarello's background is as a litigator, he frequently counsels employees on a variety of legal and non-legal issues. His practice also includes providing in-depth preparation for employees facing internal and external investigations.

Mr. Chiarello received his B.A. with highest honors from Rutgers University in 2001, and his J.D. from Brooklyn Law School in 2006, where he was a Carswell Merit Scholar. Although he now represents employees exclusively, Mr. Chiarello began his legal career representing indigent criminal defendants on appeal as a staff attorney at the Office of the Appellate Defender, where he argued more than 20 appeals in the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department.

Mr. Chiarello is admitted to practice law only in New York and New Jersey. Mr. Chiarello is admitted to the following federal courts: The United States District Courts for the Southern District of New York, Eastern District of New York; and Northern District of New York; and the District of New Jersey. More About This Attorney »

Nicholas H. Sikon

NICHOLAS H. SIKON is a partner at Outten & Golden LLP in New York, where he represents employees in litigation and negotiation in all areas of employment law. Mr. Sikon focuses his practice on matters involving compensation and professional contracts, whistleblowers and individual discrimination and sexual harassment claims, and disability and family and medical leave related issues. He is active in both Outten & Golden's Financial Services Practice Group and its Whistleblower and Retaliation Practice Group. He is also a member of Outten & Golden's Executive and Professionals and Discrimination and Retaliation Practice Groups.

Prior to joining the firm in August 2015, Mr. Sikon was an associate with a large defense firm, where he represented employers across a wide-spectrum of industries in all aspects of employment and labor law. In this role, he worked with employers across the country, counseling them with respect to complex employment transactions and defending them in litigation in federal and state court. Mr. Sikon also has significant experience representing clients in arbitration matters before FINRA, AAA, and JAMS concerning employment and general commercial litigation disputes.

Mr. Sikon received his J.D. from the George Washington University Law School in 2009, and his B.A. from Macalester College in 2004.

Mr. Sikon is admitted to practice law only in New York and Maryland. Mr. Sikon is admitted to the following federal courts: The United States District Courts for the Southern District of New York and the Eastern District of New York. More About This Attorney »

Lewis M. Steel

LEWIS M. STEEL works on a wide range of class actions and individual cases, generally involving racial and sexual discrimination matters as well as labor law violations. Presently, as a member of an Outten & Golden team, he has been ligating class action claims challenging the invalidated use by employers of criminal records to deny applicants jobs, including the ground breaking Gonzales v. Pritzker settlement against the United States Census Bureau, for which Mr. Steel and the team received the 2017 Public Justice Award. Mr. Steel has also been listed in Best Lawyers in America for more than twenty years.

Before joining Outten & Golden, Mr. Steel handled a wide range of civil rights cases involving housing and zoning discrimination, as well as police brutality and criminal cases. He served as co-lead counsel in the Rubin Carter/John Artis case for which he was honored by the New York Criminal Bar Association in 2000. Moreover, New York Law School has awarded him an honorary Doctor of Laws degree for his civil rights work and he has been an adjunct professor of law there.

Mr. Steel's precedent-setting employment discrimination decisions include Sumitomo Shoji America, Inc. v. Avagliano, 457 U.S. 176, which established that American subsidiaries of foreign corporations must obey American civil rights laws. In the Sumitomo case and other employment discrimination class actions he has negotiated far-reaching settlements and monitored the companies' performance. He now works on a range of class action cases involving sexual and racial discrimination, overtime claims, and tipping issues. Mr. Steel recently negotiated a ground-breaking settlement of pay, promotion, and retaliation claims for a class of African-American and Hispanic New York City Department of Parks and Recreation employees.

Mr. Steel graduated from Harvard College in 1958 and from New York Law School in 1963, where he was the Editor in Chief of the Law Review.

Mr. Steel is admitted to practice law only in New York. Mr. Steel is admitted to the following federal courts: The United States District Courts for the Southern District of New York and the Eastern District of New York; and the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and the Third Circuit. More About This Attorney »

Darnley D. Stewart

DARNLEY D. STEWART is Counsel at Outten & Golden LLP, in the New York office, after retiring as a partner in July 2018. She represents employees in litigation and negotiation in all areas of employment law, including executive and professional contracts and compensation, whistleblowing, discrimination based on disability, race, gender and pregnancy, and discrimination class actions.

Before joining the firm, Ms. Stewart was a partner at Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP (1999 - 2007) and a named partner at Giskan Solotaroff Anderson & Stewart LLP (2008 - 2015). She was the first female President of the Executive Board of the New York affiliate of the National Employment Lawyers Association (NELA/NY) and served in that capacity between 2008 and 2014. She is also the Vice-President of the Board of Workplace Fairness and serves on the Advisory Board of New York University's Center for Labor and Employment Law.

Ms. Stewart has had substantial success in the courtroom prosecuting class and individual discrimination claims. Most recently, she served as co-lead trial counsel in a case entitled Strauch et al v. Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC), a class action filed on behalf of 1000 technology support workers. On December 21, 2017, after two weeks of trial, the jury returned a verdict in favor of the plaintiffs, finding that CSC had wrongly and willfully denied the employees overtime pay. In 2011, she obtained a plaintiff's verdict at trial in two different cases. In the first, Castro v. City of New York, et al, Ms. Stewart was lead trial counsel in an individual retaliation case brought against the City of New York, which resulted in a plaintiff's verdict of $400,000, including punitive damages of $50,000 against each of the two named defendants. In McMillan v. Millennium Broadway Hotel, an individual race discrimination case, Ms. Stewart obtained a plaintiff's verdict of $1.125 million, including a punitive damages award of $1 million.

Ms. Stewart has also prosecuted class action impact cases against several large companies, including Ford Motor Company, Gerber, Coastal Corporation, First Union Bank, National Car Rental, General Motors, Nissan, Toyota, and Bank of America. In connection with her work on Coleman, et al. v. General Motors Acceptance Corporation , Ms. Stewart was named as a finalist for "Trial Lawyer of the Year" in 2004 by the Trial Lawyers for Public Justice. She has also been named as one of the leading 500 plaintiffs' lawyers in the country and one of America's top 1000 litigators by Lawdragon magazine. In addition, Ms. Stewart was selected for inclusion in several lists including: New York Super Lawyers for 2006 - 2017, one of the New York Area's Best Lawyers for 2011 - 2018, and a Best Lawyer in America for 2009-2019. Ms. Stewart was named Best Lawyers "Lawyer of the year" in 2013 and 2018 for Employment Law - Individuals.

Ms. Stewart received her B.A. from Princeton University in 1984 and her J.D. from Northeastern University School of Law in 1990. After law school, Ms. Stewart clerked for the Hon. R. Ammi Cutter and the Hon. Mel L. Greenberg on the Massachusetts Court of Appeals.

Ms. Stewart is admitted to practice in New York. More About This Attorney »

Amy F. Shulman

AMY F. SHULMAN is a partner at Outten & Golden LLP, and a member of the firm’s Individual Practice Area and the Executive and Professionals Practice Group, where she negotiates employment-related contracts, counsels employees involved in workplace disputes, and litigates employment law claims. Prior to joining the firm in 2018, Ms. Shulman was a Partner at a boutique labor and employment law firm, where she represented individual employees in the full range of employment disputes, disability rights organizations in public accommodation cases, and labor unions in contractual and disciplinary grievances and arbitrations. Before entering private practice, Ms. Shulman served as a Clerk for the Honorable Aida Delgado-Colon (then-United States Magistrate Judge, now United States District Judge) in the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico. In addition, Ms. Shulman served as an Attorney-Advisor at the United States Department of Transportation. Ms. Shulman received her B.A. from Cornell University and her J.D., cum laude, from the Washington College of Law of American University, where she was a Note and Comment Editor on the Journal of International Law and Policy.

Ms. Shulman is a Council Member (Union & Employee) of the American Bar Association’s Section of Labor & Employment Law (“LEL”), a Co-Chair of the Executives and Professionals Practice Subcommittee of LEL’s Employment Rights and Responsibilities Committee (“ERR”), and a member of the Law360 2021 Employment Editorial Advisory Board. Her former leadership positions include Co-Chair and Co-Chair Emeritus of LEL’s Annual Section Conference, Co-Chair of ERR, Co-Chair of LEL’s Webinars Committee, Coordinator for Whistleblower Programs and for Litigation Programs for LEL’s Annual Section Conferences, Secretary of NELA/NY, Advisory Board Member of the NYU Center for Labor and Employment Law, and President of the New York Chapter of the Labor and Employment Relations Association. She is a member of NELA, NELA/NY, and the American Health Law Association.

Ms. Shulman is admitted to practice law only in New York, the District of Columbia, and Massachusetts. Ms. Shulman is admitted to the following federal courts: The United States District Courts for the Southern District of New York, the Eastern District of New York; and the District of Puerto Rico; and the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit and the Second Circuit. More About This Attorney »

Nantiya Ruan

NANTIYA RUAN is Counsel at Outten & Golden LLP, where she primarily represents employees in class discrimination and wage and hour cases. Ruan works from her Denver office, where she is also the Hartje and Reese Chair of Lawyering Process at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law.

Prior to joining O&G in 2000, Ruan was a judicial clerk for Magistrate Judge Ronald L. Ellis in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. She has also clerked in the state appellate courts. From 2003 to 2004, Ruan was an associate at Goldstein, Demchak, Baller, Borgen & Dardarian in Oakland, California, a plaintiffs' firm representing workers in national civil rights litigations.

In 2004, Ruan joined the faculty at Denver Law where she teaches legal writing and advanced workplace law course. Her scholarship explores the intersection of workers rights, complex litigation, and poverty law. She also writes on experiential learning with clients and teaching public interest to law students.

Ms. Ruan is admitted to practice in Colorado, New York, and California. More About This Attorney »

Michael J. Scimone

MICHAEL J. SCIMONE is Partner at Outten & Golden LLP in New York. He represents employees in class and collective actions, focusing primarily on wage and hour litigation.

During law school, Mr. Scimone participated in CUNY's Immigrant and Refugee Rights Clinic, representing employees in wage and hour cases. He also worked for the National Labor Relations Board, Region 2, the legal department of UNITE HERE, Make the Road by Walking, and the Legal Aid Society's Employment Law Project. Before law school, Mr. Scimone worked as an organizer for UNITE, an international union representing garment, laundry, and industrial workers in North America. Mr. Scimone received his B.A. from Vassar College in 2001, and received his J.D. from the City University of New York School of Law in 2009.

Mr. Scimone is admitted to practice law only in New York. Mr. Scimone is admitted to the following federal courts: The United States District Courts for the Southern District of New York, the Eastern District of New York; and the Northern District of New York. More About This Attorney »

Katherine Blostein

KATHERINE BLOSTEIN is Of Counsel at Outten & Golden LLP in New York and Co-chair of its Executives & Professionals Practice Group. She represents employees in public and private companies in negotiation of employment, severance, non-competition, expatriate, and international assignment agreements. She also represents teams of employees, founders and partners in employment related situations during a sale, merger and acquisitions and other corporate transactions. Ms. Blostein represents employees in various industries, including financial services (on the buy and sell side), entertainment, advertising, media, technology, fashion, and consumer goods and services. She also represents attorneys, accounting professionals, doctors and other medical practitioners in employment related matters. Ms. Blostein is also a member of the Firm's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender & Queer (LGBTQ) Workplace Rights Practice Group.

Ms. Blostein is a member of ABA's Section of Labor & Employment Law, where she is an active member of the Employment Rights & Responsibilities and International Labor and Employment Law Committees. She is also a member of NELA/NY and NYSBA. Ms. Blostein and Ms. Wendi S. Lazar co-authored a chapter titled "Executive Employment Agreements" published in the Executive & Director Compensation Reference Guide (BNA) and an article, "Executive Pay: Skydiving with a New Parachute," published by BNA. Ms. Blostein is Associate Editor (2015 Cumulative Supplement), assisted in the research and writing of a major treatise on international restrictive covenants, titled "Restrictive Covenants and Trade Secrets in Employment Law: An International Survey" published by BNA. She was also a contributor to "Negotiating and Drafting Expatriate Employment Agreements" published in International Labor & Employment Law, 3rd Edition, Vol. 1B by BNA.

Ms. Blostein graduated from New York Law School where she was a member of the Executive Board of the Law Review, a John Marshall Harlan Scholar, and an affiliate of the Center for International Law. She earned her B.A. from Brandeis University.

Ms. Blostein is admitted to practice in New York. More About This Attorney »

Michael C. Danna

MICHAEL C. DANNA is an associate at Outten & Golden LLP and a member of the firm's Class Action Practice Group, representing employees in wage and hour and discrimination litigation. Prior to joining the firm in 2017, Mr. Danna clerked for the Honorable Tanya S. Chutkan on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. He received his B.A. from Brown University and his J.D., cum laude, from New York University School of Law, where he was a Root-Tilden-Kern Public Interest Scholar. During law school, Mr. Danna worked on employment and labor law matters at Cohen, Weiss and Simon LLP, the National Domestic Workers Alliance, the Service Employees International Union's Office of General Counsel, and the New York Legal Assistance Group. He also worked on civil rights matters, including access to healthcare, as an intern with the American Civil Liberties Union's National Prison Project and Reproductive Freedom Project. Before attending law school, Mr. Danna worked as a litigation paralegal at Planned Parenthood Federation of America.

Mr. Danna is admitted to practice in New York. More About This Attorney »

Nina R. Frank

NINA R. FRANK is Counsel at Outten & Golden LLP in New York, where she represents individual employees in litigation and negotiation in all areas of employment law. Ms. Frank is a member of the Sex Discrimination and Sexual Harassment Practice Group and the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender & Queer (LGBTQ) Workplace Rights Practice Group. Before joining Outten & Golden, Ms. Frank clerked for the Honorable Michael H. Dolinger of the Southern District of New York and the Honorable Stuart L. Peim of the Superior Court of Union County, New Jersey.

Ms. Frank received her B.A. from Vassar College cum laude in 2005, and her J.D. from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in 2011, where she was a Public Service Scholar and a Berg Foundation Fellow. During law school, Ms. Frank participated in the Innocence Project Clinic, interned at the civil rights practice of Beldock Levine & Hoffman LLP, and served as Senior Notes Editor of the Cardozo Law Review. Her Note, "Such Visible Fiction: The Expansion of Scott v. Harris to Prisoner Eighth Amendment Excessive Force Claims," was published in Volume 32 of the Cardozo Law Review.

Prior to law school, Ms. Frank worked on cases involving disability discrimination, civil rights, and employee benefits at the law office of Koob & Magoolaghan. She also worked on prison condition class actions at the Prison Law Office and advocated for juvenile offenders at the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice.

Ms. Frank is admitted to practice law only in New York and New Jersey. Ms. Frank is admitted to the following federal courts: The United States District Courts for the Southern District of New York and the Eastern District of New York. More About This Attorney »

Shira Z. Gelfand

SHIRA Z. GELFAND is an associate at Outten & Golden LLP in New York, where she represents individual employees in litigation and negotiation in all areas of employment law. Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Gelfand worked as an associate at Kaufman Borgeest & Ryan LLP in the employment practices coverage group, where she advised insurers regarding liabilities and underwriting considerations related to discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wrongful termination, and wage and hour claims.

Ms. Gelfand received her B.A. from Binghamton University cum laude and her J.D. from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law where she was a Public Service Scholar. During law school, Ms. Gelfand worked as a law clerk at Outten & Golden, interned at the New York State Office of the Attorney General in the Civil Rights Bureau and participated in the New York City Law Department Labor and Employment Law Field Clinic.

Before law school, Ms. Gelfand worked at the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany which provided reparations for holocaust survivors as well as Tivnu: Building Justice, a non-profit focused on homelessness and low-income housing in Portland, Oregon.

Ms. Gelfand is admitted to practice law only in New York.
Ms. Gelfand is admitted to the following federal courts: The United States District Courts for the Southern District of New York and the Eastern District of New York. More About This Attorney »

Sabine Jean

SABINE JEAN is an associate at Outten & Golden LLP in New York and is a member of the firm’s Class Action Practice Group. Previously, Ms. Jean served as the Firm’s Public Interest Fellow.

Ms. Jean received her B.A. from Smith College in 2011, her M.S.T. from Fordham Graduate School of Education in 2013, and her J.D. from UCLA School of Law in 2017, where she served as a Managing Editor on the UCLA Law Review and the National Black Law Journal. During law school, Ms. Jean worked on civil rights and employment matters at Schonbrun Seplow Harris & Hoffman, LLP and Hadsell Stormer Renick & Dai, LLP, and on issues related to campus pregnancy and parenting accommodations at the UCLA Title IX/Sexual Harassment Prevention Office. She was awarded a UCLA Masin Family Academic Excellence Gold Award for her academic success in Education and the Law and a UCLA Law Enhancement Award in recognition of her work to improve and enrich the UCLA law community. Prior to law school, Ms. Jean worked as an English as a Second Language teacher in New York through Teach for America. Currently, she serves as an attorney mentor for Legal Outreach, a college-bound program, and as a Director on the Alumnae Association of Smith College Board of Directors.

Ms. Jean is admitted to practice law only in New York and New Jersey. Ms. Jean is admitted to the following federal courts: The United States District Courts for the Southern District of New York, the Eastern District of New York, and the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. More About This Attorney »

Christopher M. McNerney

CHRISTOPHER M. MCNERNEY is a partner with Outten & Golden and an experienced litigator. As a member of the firm’s Class Action, Discrimination and Retaliation, and Sex Discrimination and Sexual Harassment Practice Groups, he is focused on cutting edge civil and workers’ rights class actions pushing the law towards realizing its latent promise of justice.

Christopher represents employees in class action discrimination (race, gender and criminal history, among other topics), wage and hour, and Fair Credit Reporting Act cases, as well as other civil rights cases on behalf of criminal defendants, tenants, and other impacted individuals. He has particularly devoted his career to impact litigation addressing the collateral consequences of criminal convictions, challenging employers’ criminal history screens that disproportionately screen out applicants of color – and has litigated such cases against some of the largest and most prominent employers in the country, including Walmart, Hertz, Target, Madison Square Gardens, the State of Washington and its 39 Counties, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, and the United States Census Department (for which Christopher was named Trial Lawyer of the Year by Public Justice, Gonzalez v. Pritzker, in 2017), among many other employers.

Throughout his career, Christopher has recovered over $100 million for workers and other aggrieved individuals. Christopher has successfully litigated in federal and state courts across the country, including by: Upholding the unconscionability of an adhesive arbitration agreement in the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit; Reversing a district court’s dismissal of Fair Credit Reporting Act claims on standing grounds in the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit; Reversing a district court’s decertification of a Fair Labor Standards Act collective in the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit; Certifying a contested defendant settlement class of employers violating New York City’s Fair Chance Act while overcoming online job boards’ Communications Decency Act arguments for dismissal in New York State Supreme Court; Achieving a nearly two-million dollar settlement of Title VII disparate impact race and national origin claims in the District of Delaware Bankruptcy Court, as part of the company’s restructuring plan after it declared bankruptcy and litigation in the Northern District of California was stayed; and Certifying Rule 23(b)(3) Title VII disparate treatment and impact gender discrimination claims against Goldman Sachs in the Southern District of New York—in one of the closest watched employment cases of the last decade.

Christopher especially focuses on areas of the law that need development, and strategically litigates to push the law to more robustly protect vulnerable individuals.

Christopher writes and speaks frequently about employment issues, including in the criminal history context, and is a contributor to the legal treatise, Collateral Consequences of Criminal Conviction Law, Policy and Practice.

Christopher received his B.A., with honors, from Macalester College, and his J.D., with honors, from NYU School of Law. He clerked for the Hon. Sarah Netburn in the Southern District of New York.

Mr. McNerney is admitted to practice law only in New York. Mr. McNerney is admitted to the following federal courts: The United States District Courts for the Southern District of New York, the Eastern District of New York, the Western District of New York; and the Eastern District of Michigan; and the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, the Third Circuit and the Ninth Circuit. More About This Attorney »

Kendall N. Onyendu

KENDALL N. ONYENDU is an associate at Outten & Golden LLP in New York, where she represents employees in litigation and negotiation in all areas of employment law, including matters involving whistleblower and individual discrimination claims, compensation (and bonus) disputes, and contractual violations.

Prior to joining Outten & Golden, Ms. Onyendu worked at the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs where her practice focused on employment justice, including discrimination and harassment matters.

Ms. Onyendu received her B.A. from the University of Southern California, her M.A. from Columbia University, and her J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law, where she served as a staff editor of the Texas Journal for Civil Liberties and Civil Rights, a board member of Texas Law Fellowships and a William Wayne Justice Public Service Scholar. Prior to law school, Ms. Onyendu worked in higher education administration.

Ms. Onyendu is admitted to practice law only in New York. More About This Attorney »

Aliaksandra Ramanenka

ALIAKSANDRA RAMANENKA is an associate at Outten & Golden LLP in New York and a member of the firm’s Individual Practice Group. Since joining the firm in 2018, Ms. Ramanenka has successfully litigated a number of high-profile employment discrimination cases in federal courts across the country as well as in arbitration forums and has reached hundreds of pre-litigation settlements through negotiation with employers in financial, technology, advertising, entertainment, and non-profit sectors. Prior to O&G, Ms. Ramanenka gained extensive litigation experience as an associate at the law firm Giskan Solotaroff & Anderson LLP (“GSA”), where she represented individuals in employment and civil rights cases and consumer class actions and corporations and individuals in commercial litigation. While at GSA, Ms. Ramanenka served as a first chair in an arbitration hearing before JAMS representing a former senior manager against a renowned New York City hotel in a wrongful termination case and obtained a significant damages award for the client. Ms. Ramanenka received her undergraduate degree (“Specialist in International Law”), magna cum laude, from Belarusian State University in 2009, and her J.D. from the City University of New York School of Law in 2014. During law school, Ms. Ramanenka was a New York State Bar Association Kenneth G. Standard In-House Diversity Fellow at Pitney Bowes, Inc. (a Fortune 500 company), participated in the American Bar Association Section of Labor and Employment Mock Trial Competition, and was enrolled in the Equality Concentration focusing on employment discrimination and civil rights litigation. Before law school, Ms. Ramanenka lived and practiced business law in Belarus and interned at the International Arbitration Court at the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Ms. Ramanenka is admitted to practice law only in New York and New Jersey. Ms. Ramanenka is admitted to the following federal courts: The United States District Courts for the Southern District of New York, the Eastern District of New York; and the District of New Jersey. More About This Attorney »

Eliana J. Theodorou

ELIANA THEODOROU is the Public Interest Fellow and an associate at Outten & Golden LLP in New York. She is a member of the firm’s Individual and Class Action Practice Areas. She co-chairs the Firm’s Public Interest Committee. Ms. Theodorou received her B.A. with high honors from Wesleyan University in 2012, and her J.D., magna cum laude and Order of the Coif, from New York University School of Law in 2018, where she served as an Executive Editor of New York University Law Review. During law school, Ms. Theodorou served as a clinic student with the New York Civil Liberties Union, and represented parents in abuse and neglect proceedings as a member of NYU Law’s Family Defense Clinic. She also worked on civil rights and employment matters as a law clerk at Beldock, Levine & Hoffman, LLP. Prior to joining Outten & Golden, Ms. Theodorou clerked for the Honorable Gabriel W. Gorenstein of the Southern District of New York. Prior to law school, Ms. Theodorou was the Program Associate for the National Judicial Education Program at Legal Momentum (formerly NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund), where she worked to design training and curricula to educate judges and other justice system professionals about the realities of sexual and domestic violence.

Ms. Theodorou is admitted to practice law only in New York.rn
Ms. Theodorou is admitted to the following federal courts: The United States District Courts for the Southern District of New York and the Eastern District of New York. More About This Attorney »

Allison Van Kampen

ALLISON VAN KAMPEN is an associate at Outten & Golden LLP, and a member of the firm’s Individual Practice Group, representing employees in discrimination and retaliation litigation. Prior to joining the firm in 2019, Ms. Van Kampen represented employees in litigation and negotiation in all areas of employment law, including discrimination, retaliation, sexual harassment, bonus claims, and professional contracts. She has experience working with individuals employed in a wide array of industries, including financial services, not-for-profit, healthcare, and luxury retail. Ms. Van Kampen earned her B.A. from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 2008 where she was a Phi Beta Kappa, and her J.D., magna cum laude, from the University of Illinois College of Law in 2013, where she served as the Admissions Editor on the University of Illinois College of Law Elder Law Journal. While in law school, Ms. Van Kampen was a summer associate at Vladeck, and a judicial extern for the Honorable Thomas Scully in the Superior Court of New Jersey. After law school, she clerked for the Honorable Linda Grasso Jones in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Monmouth Vicinage. Before attending law school, Ms. Van Kampen worked as an employment litigation paralegal at Weil, Gotshal & Manges in New York.

Ms. Van Kampen is admitted to practice law only in New York, New Jersey, and North Carolina.
Ms. Van Kampen is admitted to the following federal courts: The United States District Courts for the Southern District of New York, the Eastern District of New York; and the District of New Jersey. More About This Attorney »

Cody Yorke

CODY YORKE is an associate at Outten & Golden in New York, and a member of the firm’s Executives and Professionals Practice Group and its Financial Services Practice Group. She represents employees, partners, co-founders and consultants in the negotiation and drafting of employment, severance, independent contractor, international assignment and restrictive covenants agreements. She also counsels individuals and groups of individuals with respect to employment-related issues such as deferred compensation issues, lift-outs, restructurings and corporate transactions. Ms. Yorke has experience working with individuals in a wide variety of industries – including financial services, healthcare, law, technology, media & entertainment, consumer goods & services, and fashion & luxury retail. She is a regular contributor to the Firm’s blog.

Prior to joining the firm in 2018, Ms. Yorke practiced employment law in Toronto, Canada, including serving as counsel in Galea v. Wal-Mart Canada Inc., a groundbreaking employment law case that set the high-water mark for moral and punitive damages in Canadian employment law. Ms. Yorke received her B.A. from the University of British Columbia, her M.A. from York University, and J. D. from Queen’s University, all in Canada.

Ms. Yorke is admitted to practice in New York and in Ontario, Canada. More About This Attorney »

Chauniqua D. Young

CHAUNIQUA D. YOUNG is a partner in Outten & Golden LLP’s New York office and a member of the firm’s Class Action Practice Group. Ms. Young was associated with Outten & Golden from September 2014 to July 2017 and rejoined the firm in November 2018 following a fourteen-month clerkship with the Honorable Barbara Moses of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. She represents employees in discrimination, wage and hour, and Fair Credit Reporting Act class actions.

Ms. Young received her B.A. from Sarah Lawrence College and her J.D. and Certificate in Dispute Resolution from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. Upon graduating law school, Ms. Young received the E. Nathaniel Gates Commencement Award for her work as a student in the Cardozo Human Rights Clinic and as president of the Cardozo Black Law Students Association. Following graduation, Ms. Young was a Bertha Justice Fellow at the Center for Constitutional Rights where she litigated federal class action lawsuits on behalf of victims of discrimination, represented employees on workplace retaliation issues, and represented prisoners challenging procedural due process and First Amendment violations. In 2014, Ms. Young was an honoree at the National Lawyers Guild New York City Chapter‘s 2014 spring event for her work on Floyd v. City of New York, No. 08 Civ. 1034 (S.D.N.Y.), one of the Center for Constitutional Rights’ cases. Before law school, Ms. Young worked in development at the East Bay Community Law Center in Berkeley, California.

Ms. Young is admitted to practice law only in New York. Ms. Young is admitted to the following federal courts: The United States District Courts for the Southern District of New York and the Eastern District of New York; and the United States Court of Appeals for the First, Second, and Ninth Circuit. More About This Attorney »