Overview
Our New Orleans office, home to one of the finest ERISA litigation practices in the country, combines the “powerhouse” that is our Labor & Employment Department with the ease and familiarity of working with a local office that understands our clients’ needs. Led by Howard Shapiro, known nationwide as "the ultimate bet-the-company lawyer," this team has been lauded by such esteemed third-party publications as Chambers USA, US Legal 500, Best Lawyers, The National Law Journal, Martindale-Hubbell, New Orleans City Business, New Orleans Magazine, Lawdragon, and Human Resource Executive.
Our ERISA litigation practice is consistently noted as a leader in the field, having represented clients such as Chevron, Entergy, Foot Locker, Sprint Nextel, Viacom, sanofi-aventis, Citigroup, Honeywell, Fidelity, and Bausch & Lomb. In addition, we represent numerous pension funds in connection with losses related to Madoff investments. Our New Orleans ERISA litigation team works closely with their colleagues in our offices around the U.S. to form the go-to team that was noted as one of the top three firms nationwide for Labor & Employment Litigation by The American Lawyer.
Clients turn to us not just for our ERISA litigation, arbitration and mediation capabilities – from defending class actions to individual lawsuits in matters that include claims for benefits, breaches of fiduciary duty, actions challenging investment decisions and losses to executive compensation – but also our day-to-day counseling abilities in all things ERISA. As a result, Chambers USA ranks our practice in its number one band, calling us an “ERISA litigation juggernaut” and our lawyers’ breadth of knowledge “truly astounding.”
Our New Orleans lawyers also excel in labor and employment law, both in litigation and counseling. We are recognized for the successful defense of complex litigation matters in jurisdictions across the country, both single-plaintiff cases and class and collective actions. Our experience includes defending claims brought under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Age Discrimination and Employment Act (ADEA), the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), in addition, to wage and hour claims filed pursuant to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and state laws. We handle regulatory investigations initiated by the Department of Labor and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission as well as matters involving non-compete & nonsolicitation clauses, breach of contract allegations, and whistleblower investigations.
In the area of traditional labor law, we have vast experience in collective bargaining negotiations, unfair labor practice allegations, 10(j) injunctions, decertifications, elections, and other matters before the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Additionally, our New Orleans lawyers help clients in navigating federal and state labor laws by advising on regulatory compliance issues as well as internal practices and procedures. Our goal in every situation is to devise practical solutions to our clients’ human resource problems by employing creative strategies to achieve their desired results, while simultaneously working to avoid litigation.