December 9 Luncheon Conversation with EEOC Chair Jacqueline Berrien EEOC Chair Jacqueline Berrien, Chair, United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
November 19 MWELA Annual Dinner
Carmine’s-Washington, DC
October 18 MWELA Brown Bag: Two Common Ethical Issues in Employment Litigation – Contacting Current and Former Employees of Defendant and Fee Agreements
This Brown Bag covered two important ethical issues in employment litigation. Bill Day and Rick Salzman discussed ethical rules for contacting current and former employees of defendants in employment cases. Joel Bennett discussed ethical issues in fee agreements in employment cases.
Bill Day, Gebhardt & Associates, LLP Rick Salzman, Heller, Huron, Chertkof & Salzman, PLLC Joel Bennett, Law Offices of Joel P. Bennett, P.C.
September 28 MWELA Brown Bag: With Carolyn Lerner, Special Counsel, U.S. Office of Special Counsel
Carolyn Lerner, the Special Counsel, U.S. Office of Special Counsel, has requested to meet with attorneys who represent federal employees to discuss OSC initiatives and hear suggestions as to how OSC can be more effective. This informal meeting is sponsored by MWELA, MELA and VELA .
July 21 MWELA Brown Bag: How to Work More Effectively with Difficult or Challenging Client Personalities: Practical Advice from a Psychotherapist
Nancy Barsky, LCSW
Nancy Barsky, LCSW, will present her program given earlier this year to the DC Trial Lawyers Association on the range of psychological profiles she encounters in her practice and identify certain characteristics and traits that may be exhibited. Ms. Barsky will provide practical advice and tips on how to best manage representation depending on the clients’ personality traits and characteristics. Learn also how to expect to be treated based on the client’s personality type and traits.
Nancy Barsky, LCSW, Board Certified is a Graduate of McGill University and Catholic University School of Social Service. Ms. Barsky has been in private practice for almost 30 years treating individuals (older adolescents and adults) couples and groups. Ms. Barsky has a special interest in working with patients suffering from depression, anxiety, mood disorders; and co-morbid diagnoses, e.g. alcohol/depression, bipolar/eating disorders.
Her office is located in NW DC between Tenleytown and Friendship Heights.
June 23 MWELA Brown Bag: Nuts & Bolts of Forming a Plaintiff’s-side Employment Law Practice
Three solo practitioners—Joel Bennett, A.J. Dhali, and Hnin Khaing—shared their thoughts on what it takes to create and sustain a successful plaintiff’s-side employment law practice.
Joel P. Bennett is the principal of the Law Offices of Joel P. Bennett, P.C., founded in 1984. He has served as a member of the steering committee of the Labor and Employment Law section of the DC Bar and the chair of that bar's Litigation section. He has also served as a board member of MWELA and is a past chair of the Law Practice Management section of the American Bar Association and a past president of the Bar Association of the District of Columbia.
A.J. Dhali is the principal of Dhali PLLC, founded in 2010, a multidisciplinary boutique law firm with a special emphasis on civil rights, employment, and labor law. He acquired his employment law experience while working at a private law firm and as an in-house counsel for a labor federation.
Hnin N. Khaing is the principal founder of the Law Office of Hnin N. Khaing, founded in 2011. The firm represents clients in employment, immigration, real estate, and small business consultation and litigation. Prior to establishing the firm, she spent some time with the National Employment Lawyers Association (NELA), where she was a staunch advocate of employee rights and contributed to legislations affecting worker rights.
June 30
MWELA Happy Hour — New Orleans, LA
The Sazerac Bar/Restaurant - New Orleans, LA
May 20 MWELA Brown Bag: Considerations When an Insurance Adjuster Is Involved in an Employment Case Lawrence S. "Larry" Lapidus
Due to his extensive experience in dealing with insurance adjusters, MWELA has asked Larry Lapidus to speak on dealing with insurance adjusters and their counsel in employment cases. He will also discuss what every employment lawyer should know when a client is suddenly injured in a traumatic event and calls the employment lawyer first.
Larry has an LLM in labor law from Georgetown University Law School. He was an employment/union-side labor lawyer for the first 12 years of his career and tried the second employment discrimination case in the District of Columbia federal court on behalf of a federal employee de novo (such trials were prohibited until 1976). In 1986, he joined a law firm which principally litigated personal injury cases on behalf of accident and medical malpractice victims. Over time, Larry has become an expert in the insurance law of the three jurisdictions compromising the metro DC Area. He is known for the large verdicts he has obtained for his clients in negligence cases and has been recognized by "Best Lawyers in America," the Washingtonian and Baltimore Magazines as one of the "top lawyers" in DC and Maryland. He is also listed in Who's Who in American Law and in the Super Lawyers.
Following the presentation, Larry has offered to provide anyone who brings their automobile insurance policies with them to the meeting with an analysis to determine whether the coverage is adequate relative to the cost.
April 1 MWELA Annual Conference: Rule the Road: Representing Employees from Intake to Trial
R. Scott Oswald, MWELA President
Sharpen Your First Impression – Issue Spotting at the Client Intake
Panelists: Patricia A. Barasch, Principal, Schall & Barasch, and NELA President, Moorestown, NJ
Laura Brown, Director of Legal Services, DC Employment Justice Center
Moderator: Daniel A. Katz, Principal, Andalman & Flynn, P.C.
Fighting Intrusive Discovery Requests
Panelists: Gary E. Phelan, Special Counsel, Cohen & Wolf, Bridgeport, CT
Heather White, Attorney, Kalijarvi, Chuzi & Newman, P.C.
Moderator: Jerry R. Goldstein, Attorney, Bulman, Dunie, Burke & Feld, Chtd.
E-Discovery on a Budget
Speaker: Craig Ball, Special Master-ESI , Craig D. Ball, P.C., Austin Texas
Moderator: Robert B. Fitzpatrick, Robert B. Fitzpatrick, PLLC
Luncheon
Guest Speaker: M. Patricia Smith, United States Solicitor of Labor Presentation of 2011 MWELA Lawyer of the Year Award
Emcee: R. Scott Oswald, MWELA President
Rules of the Road: A Time-Tested Method of Proving Liability
Panelists: Patrick Malone, Patrick Malone & Associates P.C.
Dennis Egan, The Popham Law Firm, Kansas City, MO
Moderator: Jonathan C. Puth, Webster Fredrickson Correia & Puth, PLLC
Bringing Sex Harassment Cases to Trial
Panelists: Debra Katz, Katz, Marshall & Banks, LLP
Bruce A. Fredrickson, Webster Fredrickson Correia & Puth, PLLC
Moderator: Tammany Kramer
Maximizing Non-Economic Damages
Panelists: Robert L. Bell, Attorney, The Bell Law Firm
Josh Bowers, Attorney, Law Office of Josh F. Bowers, P.C.
Moderator: Jonathan Gould, Attorney, Law Office of Jonathan L. Gould
March 17 MWELA Brown Bag: Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act
Speaker: Kerry Leibig, Acting Assistant Legal Counsel, Office of Legal Counsel, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
February 17 MWELA Brown Bag Intersection between Criminal & Employment Law
December 16 MWELA Brown Bag: Thorny Employment Tax Issues: Part II, with Edward J. Leyden
November 18 MWELA Brown Bag: Effective Presentation of Employment Discrimination Cases on Appeal Speakers:
Judge John Ferren, DC Court of Appeals
Jennifer Goldstein, Appellate Attorney, EEOC
Stephen Z. Chertkof, Heller, Huron, Chertkof, Lerner, Simon & Salzman, PLL
November 13 MWELA Annual Dinner
October 21 MWELA Brown Bag: Practical Advice and Strategic Considerations in Considering Offers of Judgment Speaker: Bob Seldon, Robert C. Seldon & Associates, PC
October 7 MWELA Happy Hour–Silver Spring, MD
September 23 MWELA Brown Bag: Thorny Employment Tax Issues—Advice and Best Practices for the Allocation of Employment Taxes in Severance and Settlement Agreements
Speaker: Edward J. Leyden, Hollrah Leyden LLC
August 19 MWELA Brown Bag: Representing First Generation Immigrants and Non-English Speaking Employees
Speakers: Daniel A. Katz, Principal, Andalman & Flynn, P.C.; Shelley Blumberg-Lorenzana, M.A., Spanish-English Translator, United States District Court, Maryland
May 27 MWELA Brown Bag: Tips for Successful Litigation before the EEOC’s Washington Field Office
Speaker: Supervisory Administrative Law Judge Andrew Culbertson
April 22 Meet and Greet with Board Members of the MSPB
Featuring: MSPB Board Members Susan Tsui Grundmann, Chairman; Anne Wagner, Vice-Chairman; Mary M. Rose
April 22 MWELA Happy Hour-Washington, DC
February 25 MWELA Brown Bag: Practice Management – How to Best Market Your Practice and Optimize Your Website’s Search Engine
Speaker: Daniel M. Mills, Manager, Practice Management Advisory Service, DC Bar
January 28 MWELA Brown Bag: How to More Easily Settle Your Cases and Maximize Settlement Value Using Structured Settlements
Speakers Henry L. Strong, Chairman/President, JMW Settlements, Inc.; Linda Correia, Webster, Fredrickson, Correia & Puth
