Employment Litigation and Counseling

Practice Areas:
Business Litigation
Complex Tort Defense/Catastrophic Loss
Corporate/Transactional Law
Criminal Defense
Education
Employment Litigation and Counseling
Estate Planning/Probate
Insurance
Independent Investigations Practice
Litigation/Trial Practice
Medical and Health Care Practice
Real Estate/Land Use

The most important resource for many businesses and institutions is their workforce. The majority of Americans increasingly spend more time at their workplace than engaged in other activities. DeMoura | Smith has an active practice guiding employers and employees through the legal and regulatory landscape of "work".

DeMoura | Smith employment attorneys appear before regulatory agencies and in court on employment matters. The Firm's attorneys have appeared and defended employment-related claims in state and federal courts, in multiple jurisdictions, including all New England states, and before the following agencies and commissions:

  • U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission,
  • New Hampshire Commission for Human Rights,
  • Maine Human Rights Commission,
  • Vermont Human Rights Commission,
  • New Hampshire Department of Labor,
  • New Hampshire Department of Employment Security
  • Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination,
  • Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance,
  • U.S. Department of Labor, and
  • U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

These employment matters currently include:

  • Defending commercial landscaping company against payment of wages and misclassification claims brought by former employee.
  • Defending university in wrongful termination and breach of employment contract action brought by former administrator.
  • Prosecuting non-compete and trade secret claims against former manager of utility service company.
  • Drafting employment policies and procedures for educational institutions.

DeMoura | Smith's attorneys have also successfully resolved thousands of matters through verdict, dispositive motion or settlement, including:

  • Numerous dismissal and summary judgment decisions in favor of employers in wrongful termination actions, ERISA disability benefits cases, retaliation claims, worker's compensation actions and discrimination claims.
  • Defense verdict in multi-million dollar Massachusetts federal court action for financial services company accused of fraud and misrepresentation in connection with its employee stock option plan.
  • Jury verdicts for employers in wrongful termination claims, breach of employment contract actions, and suits alleging race, gender and disability discrimination, retaliation, sexual harassment and reverse discrimination in state and federal courts.
  • Successful representation in public hearings before state anti-discrimination commissions and the EEOC and numerous "no probable cause" findings before these agencies.
  • Favorable resolution for national ambulance company against class-action FLSA wage claims brought by EMTs.

DeMoura | Smith attorneys have tried hundreds of cases, many involving the employment relationship. These matters require experienced and aggressive counsel to provide case management, coordination of early and thorough investigation retention experts, significant document review and production, sophisticated analysis, and sometimes administrative and judicial advocacy.

DeMoura | Smith has a track record of success representing clients in employment cases. The Firm's experienced advocates work with their clients to rapidly respond to the these claims, defend the client's interests and reputation, preserve all material evidence and resolve these important matters favorably and as efficiently as possible.

The Firm's trial lawyers recognize that the adversary process is a time-consuming and expensive drain on a business's resources and diversion of management's attention from operations, growth and achievement of other important corporate objectives. Bearing this in mind, they engage in early and continuous assessment, designed to advise the client whether to reach resolution through settlement or discovery and trial of the case. Either way, the Firm's trial attorneys use their considerable advocacy skills and experience to achieve the most successful result in a cost-effective and time-conscious manner.

Experienced Advocates | Effective Solutions