Counsel for the people running the people function
Most HR leaders do not need a labor and employment firm on retainer. They need a lawyer who already understands how an HR function runs, who will pick up the phone the same day, and who will give an answer instead of a list of risks.
For most of my career in-house, that was my job. I served on the HR Leadership Committee, supported CHROs, HR business partners, and people managers, and owned the employment matters that came through legal. This is what that work looked like, and what I do now for companies without in-house counsel.
What it covers
Manager and HRBP support. Performance issues, accommodation requests, leave questions, terminations, and the judgment calls that come up before a decision is final. Short calls, quick answers, and a record when one is needed.
Reductions in force. I have counseled on multiple large-scale RIFs from selection through notice: selection criteria and adverse impact review, WARN and state notice requirements, release and severance design, manager scripts, and communications. The goal is a reduction that holds up afterward, not one that generates its own litigation.
Employment and severance agreements. Executive and key-employee agreements, offer letters, restrictive covenants, and separation and release agreements, including the age-discrimination waiver requirements that make a release enforceable.
Workplace investigations. I have managed and conducted hotline and complaint investigations, and reported findings and recommendations to the CEO and the board. Having outside counsel run an investigation also protects privilege in a way an internal HR review may not.
Compensation and leveling. Legal support for re-leveling projects, compensation reviews, pay equity analysis, exemption classification, and the documentation that goes with each.
Policies and everything else. Handbooks, policy updates, contractor classification, non-competes and non-solicits, agency charges and demand letters, and whatever else arrives in the normal course of running a workforce.
Working with HR consultants and fractional HR leaders
If you are a fractional or consulting HR leader, some of your clients’ matters need a lawyer attached: releases, RIFs, investigations, agreements with restrictive covenants, and anything that could become a charge or a claim. I work alongside you rather than around you. You keep the client relationship; I cover the pieces that carry legal exposure and the privilege that comes with them.
How it works
Ongoing support on a monthly basis, or matter-by-matter for a RIF, an investigation, or an agreement. Either way, you get a direct line, same-day responses, and plain answers.