Labor & Employment

We help clients entering the US market navigate the unique and often surprising maze of employment, immigration, tax, corporate, real estate, data privacy and other legal requirements. Our multidisciplinary team of lawyers has the relevant experience, relationships and local cultural knowledge in jurisdictions throughout the country necessary to help position companies for success in the US, while insulating foreign entities from taxation and litigation.

We have experience providing comprehensive, practical and creative solutions to Fortune 500 companies, multinationals and startups, as well as entrepreneurs and high-net-worth individuals across a wide range of industries, including marketing and advertising services, life sciences, financial services, healthcare, technology, manufacturing and retail.

Our US-based lawyers and professionals, working with our global network of offices spanning five continents and positioned within many of our region-focused practice groups (such as China, Italy, Japan, Germany and Latin America), converse in more than a dozen languages, including American Sign Language, Chinese (Mandarin and Shanghainese), English, Farsi, French, German, Hebrew, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Punjabi, Romanian, Spanish, Tagalog and Vietnamese. Many of our US lawyers are also licensed and admitted to practice in more than one jurisdiction, including Australia, Brazil, Dominican Republic, Germany, Japan, the UK and Venezuela.

To allow for a smooth transition into the US market, our team provides solutions shaped by a clear, commercially focused understanding of our clients' unique business goals. Our collaborative culture enables us to find the right answers quickly and effectively from a team of lawyers who understand geographic, sector or issue-specific challenges.

A business’ people strategy needs to align with overall business goals, both short- and long-term, while also shaping the right behaviors, culture and values across the organization.

Leadership sets the tone and today, that tone is more critical than ever. It’s not just about protecting the business; it’s about inspiring employee engagement, performance and long-term loyalty. Our team works in partnership with clients to shape the right strategic people agenda at board level and supports to ensure that it is implemented effectively and communicated with impact. Legal considerations are key, but so are the process, messaging and overall execution. We take a holistic approach, grounded in deep experience and insight and we draw on proven benchmarks to help you deliver strategy that sticks. From major organizational change and workforce planning to culture reviews, executive onboarding, incentive plans and sensitive departures, including post-employment restrictions, we provide practical, forward-looking guidance across all aspects of your people strategy.

Our areas of expertise include:

• Designing workforce strategies – Provision of advice and support on strategic business reviews requiring organizational changes. We help to shape workforce strategies that align with a company’s vision, mission and strategy. We provide advice and guidance on how a structural change could potentially impact reporting lines, team structures and roles. We support the board, senior management and legal/HR teams with all communications, providing technical and strategic employment law advice on related issues, such as collective redundancy consultation.

• Board-level/senior executive exits – Deliver strategic and legal counsel on board level and senior executive exits, including negotiating and drafting exit packages. We are often involved with dealing with the resolution of claims under shareholder agreements, investor agreements, share purchase agreement and employment contracts, as well as the related tax implications.

• New market entry – Supporting clients entering new global markets as they navigate the unique and often surprising maze of employment, immigration, tax, data privacy and other local law legal requirements. Our multidisciplinary team of lawyers not only brings extensive legal experience, but they have the local relationships and cultural understanding that helps position our clients for success in whatever country they move into.

• Corporate/transactional work – We provide support to a diverse range of clients, spanning from listed companies to fast growth startups, financial institutions, private equity firms and management teams, to deliver the strategic HR business objectives arising from mergers and acquisitions (M&A),initial public offerings (IPOs) or equity capital raise. Our team advises on the entire range of employment law issues arising out of transactions, including the transfer of employees, restructuring management teams, employment and retention agreements, workforce reductions and works council, as well as individual consultation processes.

We have extensive experience defending many types of employment litigation claims on behalf of our clients, including claims that have been described as a threat to the economy given the potential multibillion liability at stake. We have represented clients in groundbreaking cases at the cutting edge of employment law, including worker status, wage and hour class actions, workplace injuries, holiday pay and equal pay.

We advise on all types of employment disputes – from unfair dismissal and unlawful deduction of wages to complex and high-risk claims involving discrimination, whistleblowing and breach of contract. We regularly act in urgent injunction proceedings to enforce restrictive covenants, protect confidential information and prevent team moves.

From a strategic employment law perspective, we work closely with clients to assess litigation risk, protect reputational interests and ensure legal strategy aligns with broader business objectives. Our advice often involves sensitive internal investigations, senior-level exits, regulatory engagement and managing cross-border employment risks.

We represent clients before employment tribunals, civil courts and the UK High Court and Court of Appeal. Internationally, we have experience coordinating complex, multijurisdictional litigation and regularly act in the US before federal and state agencies, as well as before both federal and state courts, including in high-stakes employment and class action claims. Our integrated approach ensures consistency, control and commercial focus in even the most sensitive disputes.

Our expertise in industrial relations covers all types of organized labor and unionized employees in the US, across the EU and the UK, Asia-Pacific, Central Asia and the Middle East. We regularly represent employers in areas such as collective bargaining, unfair labor practice and representation proceedings, contract administration and grievance arbitration, strike and contract disputes, preparation and litigation, as well as union avoidance. We also support matters dealing with national, state and federal courts, arbitrators, works councils, labor relations boards and unions.

We have extensive experience advising on the full range of industrial relations issues, including negotiations, relationship management, collective consultations, industrial action, handling applications for injunctive relief (including injunctions on behalf of the employer to restrain industrial action), recognition and derecognition (including applications to the CAC) and handling all contentious issues.

We have extensive experience advising employers on works council engagement at both the national and European levels. We support the setup, structure and operation of works councils, and guide clients through consultation obligations tied to matters such as reorganizations, workforce changes and cross-border deals. We also regularly handle multijurisdictional matters, which can often involve balancing legal compliance with business goals. From complex negotiations to structural change and dispute response, we partner with in-house legal and HR teams to deliver practical, risk-aware solutions that promote strong employee relations and operational agility.