Peter O. Hughes

A seasoned litigator and trial attorney, Peter Hughes has represented companies in virtually every kind of lawsuit and administrative proceeding an employer might face, including every variety of discrimination, wrongful termination, and workplace harassment claim. He has teamed with management to defeat union organizing campaigns at his clients’ facilities. When necessary, he also has protected clients by prosecuting lawsuits against former employees who threatened to steal customers, trade secrets, and business. Clients have trusted him to represent them in courts throughout the United States. More importantly, Mr. Hughes helps employers avoid trouble in the first place and minimize the threat of litigation. This involves not only addressing issues as they arise, but also taking a proactive approach to help management develop policies and procedures that allow the company to both comply with the law and perform effectively. Combining his extensive litigation experience with a businessman’s perspective, he brings a “real world” approach to resolving complex issues that arise under laws like the Americans With Disabilities Act, ERISA, the Family and Medical Leave Act, and the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination. When the issues are not clear, when there is no “right” answer, he works with management to provide nuanced solutions that minimize risk and allow the company to get on with business. It was precisely this kind of sophisticated, integrated service that he sought to provide when he co-founded the firm, Stanton Hughes, in 1995, after having helped build a labor and employment practice at another prominent New Jersey firm. He joined Ogletree Deakins in January 2004. Mr. Hughes also works to educate both attorneys and non-attorneys on legal issues. As an adjunct professor for Business Law in Fairleigh Dickinson University’s M.B.A. (For Executives) Program, he lectured on a variety of subjects, including forming and financing businesses, anti-trust, and contracts as well as labor and employment law. In addition, he serves as a lecturer on employment law issues for the New Jersey Institute of Continuing Legal Education, the Association of Corporate Counsel of America (“ACCA”) and is a contributing author of New Jersey Labor and Employment Law. He is a past member of the Sidney Reitman Employment Law American Inn of Court (1997-99) and John J. Gibbons American Inn of Court for Intellectual Property Law (1993-1995). Mr. Hughes also is listed in Best Lawyers in America for labor and employment law. (No aspect of this communication has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey. For methodology for selection of the honor above, please click on the link.) He has a Yellow Belt certification from Legal Lean Sigma.