Best Lawyers in America for Labor and Employment Law - Management
State
Christopher Heller works primarily in the areas of Commercial Litigation, Labor and Employment Law and Education Law. The majority of his practice consists of trial and appellate work. He primarily represents businesses and public entities in class actions and other cases involving natural resources, insurance, trade secrets, employment, civil rights, education, contracts and other issues. Chris is listed in The Best Lawyers in America in Appellate Practice, Commercial Litigation, Bet-the-Com...
Acquisition, financing (construction and permanent) and leasing of regional shopping malls, office buildings, retail centers, golf courses and apartment buildings; conduit, corporate and project finance transactions; employment advice for termination and wrongful discharge claims, wage and hour disputes, and employee policy manuals; mediation services for real estate and employment-related disputes.
Rob Friedman is board certified in labor and employment law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. He advises and represents employers in virtually every aspect of the employee-employer relationship. His practice includes representing employers in litigation and administrative matters brought by employees and government agencies, as well as advising employers on employment-related issues, policies and procedures. Rob regularly advises employers on employment arbitration issues and has su...
Dawn M. Irizarry is a lawyer recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice areas of Employment Law - Management and Litigation - Labor and Employment. Dawn M. practices law in Los Angeles, California Best Lawyers has recognized Dawn M. Irizarry since 2023. The Best Lawyers recognition is based on a peer-review survey of lawyers in the same geographic region and legal practice area. The recognition reflects the professional regard in which Dawn M. Irizarry is held by other lawyers.
Evan D. Beecher is a principal in the Sacramento, California, office of Jackson Lewis P.C. He represents management in all types of employment disputes including harassment, discrimination, retaliation and wrongful termination cases in both state and federal court as well as in arbitration and administrative hearings. Evan also defends employers in wage and hour matters, including class and representative action lawsuits. In addition, Evan provides advice and counsel to clients on a variety o...
Kimberly Doud is a lawyer recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area of Employment Law - Management. Kimberly practices law in Orlando, Florida Best Lawyers has recognized Kimberly Doud since 2025. The Best Lawyers recognition is based on a peer-review survey of lawyers in the same geographic region and legal practice area. The recognition reflects the professional regard in which Kimberly Doud is held by other lawyers.
Thomas is co-chair of the firm's Labor & Employment Department and concentrates his practice on representing management in many aspects of labor, employment, and employment-related litigation. Tom’s traditional labor practice includes representing employers during union organizing campaigns, collective bargaining, and grievance arbitrations. He has represented employers in litigation involving race, sex, sexual harassment, age and disability discrimination, and against claims allegi...
A former law clerk for Ninth Circuit Judges Thomas G. Nelson and N. Randy Smith, Michael Manning’s practice focuses on appellate advocacy and complex litigation. He has argued multiple appeals in the Ninth Circuit, and regularly represents clients in both federal and state courts. His appellate and trial-level litigation experience covers a broad range of substantive topics, including environmental litigation, constitutional issues, intellectual property, bank bad faith and lender liabi...
Hal Ungar is a lawyer recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area of Employment Law - Management. Hal practices law in New Orleans, Louisiana Best Lawyers has recognized Hal Ungar since 2027. The Best Lawyers recognition is based on a peer-review survey of lawyers in the same geographic region and legal practice area. The recognition reflects the professional regard in which Hal Ungar is held by other lawyers.
Lori K. Mans is a principal in the Jacksonville, Florida, office of Jackson Lewis P.C. She has devoted her entire career to working with employers on labor and employment law issues. Lori represents management in state and federal court employment litigation, and also represents employers in traditional labor law matters, including collective bargaining negotiations and grievance arbitrations. Lori works closely with employers of all shapes and sizes, and in various industries, providing gene...
Elizabeth A. Lalik specializes in litigation of: Discrimination and harassment claims Executive compensation Non-compete/non-solicitation and trade secret claims Wage and hour issues Sales commission issues She has tried multiple significant cases before federal and state court juries, obtaining wins by both judge and jury verdict and handling resulting appeals. She has litigated in many jurisdictions throughout the country. Elizabeth has represented clients in a wide variety of employment-re...
Heather Rider Hammond joined Gravel & Shea PC in Burlington, Vermont as an associate in 2001 after graduating from Vermont Law School. She has served as co-managing partner since 2020 and works closely with employers across a wide range of industries. Her practice focuses on Employment Law – Management and Litigation – Labor and Employment, advising organizations throughout the employment relationship. Heather represents corporate clients in employment-related matters before s...
Teresa Valderrama is a partner in the firm's Houston office. She has more than 25 years of experience representing employers in all aspects of workplace law, including corporate investigations and compliance, wage & hour collective action defense, and defense of all manner of discrimination, workplace harassment and other work-related claims. This includes advice and counsel regarding trade secrets/business-asset protection, defense of the Sarbanes–Oxley Act (SOX) and other whistleb...
Our Methodology
Recognition by Best Lawyers is based entirely on peer review. Our methodology is designed to capture, as accurately as possible, the consensus opinion of leading lawyers about the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same geographical area and legal practice area.
The Process
Best Lawyers employs a sophisticated, conscientious, rational, and transparent survey process designed to elicit meaningful and substantive evaluations of the quality of legal services. Our belief has always been that the quality of a peer review survey is directly related to the quality of the voters.
