The Kelley Drye Brief - Summer 2022

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​Message From Kelley Drye’s Chair   “,”   Kelley Drye Announces New Partners and Special Counsel   “,”  Blythe E. Lovinger Joins Kelley Drye  “,”   Prominent Legislative and Policy Strategist Laurie Rubiner Joins Kelley Drye   “,”  Upcoming Events   “,”   In Case you Missed It

Message from Kelley Drye’s Chair

Dear Clients and Friends,

As summer comes to a close, I reflect\"Jim on a number of exciting activities that have taken place over the past few months, including lateral additions to Kelley Drye and a new class of partners. I also look forward to the events we have planned for the fall and hope you’ll join us for some of them, which are highlighted in this issue of the Kelley Drye Brief.

In July, we welcomed Labor and Employment partner Blythe Lovinger. Blythe advises clients on day-to-day employment issues, including disciplinary actions and terminations; employment, consulting and separation agreements; employment policies and practices; wage and hour auditing; investigations of alleged harassment and other employee misconduct; and litigation avoidance, among other issues. She is a great fit with our national Labor and Employment practice and will be an asset to our clients, as her wide range of experience enhances our ability to address the full spectrum of labor and employment needs.

We also welcomed prominent legislative and policy strategist Laurie Rubiner as Senior Government Relations Counsel. Drawing from her extensive experience in the U.S. Senate and the national public policy arena, Laurie will provide Kelley Drye clients with strategic guidance and counseling, and will devise and implement comprehensive advocacy campaigns as well as build coalitions with allied stakeholders. As politics grows increasingly partisan, it’s more important than ever for our clients to have strategic partners that can advocate for them on both sides of the aisle. Laurie’s strong bi-partisan background, political acumen and understanding of the inner workings of Congress will benefit our clients across a range of industries.
Finally, I invite you to read more about the programs we have planned for the fall including our popular biennial Election Preview event with analysts Greg Speed and Jim Ellis. The event will take place on October 12 in Washington, D.C., and provide a detailed and data-packed assessment of the current state of play in the House and Senate and speculate on each party’s chances at controlling Congress. Our Labor and Employment group’s WORKing Lunch webinar series also continues in October. Read more about our events here.

All my best,
Jim Carr, Chair of Kelley Drye

Kelley Drye Announces New Partners and Special Counsel
Firm elects eight new partners, promotes eleven to special counsel

In July the firm announced the election of eight new partners. Victoria Anderson, Amaad Bhatti, Wendy Clarke, Kristin Elliott, Glenn Graham, Joe Green, Steven Humphreys, and James Saylor began their tenure as partners effective July 1, 2022. In addition, eleven lawyers were promoted to special counsel, including Jennifer Barks, Maria Biaggi, Rebecca Blake, Courtney Kleshinski, Joshua Morey, Randall Morrison, David Reap, Katie Rogers, Allison Schenkman, Genna Steinberg, and Jennifer Wong.

“The size and diversity of this year’s class of new partners and special counsel is reflective of Kelley Drye’s commitment to elevating talent from within our ranks,” said Dana Rosenfeld, firm managing partner. ​“These attorneys embrace innovative approaches to client service, bring unique skills to the table, and have the legal acumen to serve our clients with distinction.”

Click here to learn more about the newly elected Kelley Drye partners.

Blythe E. Lovinger Joins Kelley Drye, Bolstering Labor and Employment Practice

Blythe E. Lovinger recently joined Kelley Drye as a partner in the firm’s Labor and Employment group. Blythe partners with employers across sectors to develop and implement legally compliant business solutions for all workplace challenges.

Blythe advises clients on day-to-day employment issues, including disciplinary actions and terminations; employment, consulting and separation agreements; employment policies and practices; reductions-in-force; wage and hour auditing; investigations of alleged harassment and other employee misconduct; Families First Coronavirus Response Act and other COVID-19 legislation; and litigation avoidance.

With over 25 years of experience handling employment matters before federal and state courts, administrative agencies, and arbitration panels, Blythe defends employers and senior executives against claims of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation. She also represents clients in actions brought under the Fair Labor Standards Act, the New York Labor Law, and the Family and Medical Leave Act. Blythe also has extensive experience prosecuting and defending cases involving trade secrets, restrictive covenants, unfair competition, and related business tort claims.

“Blythe is a great fit with our national Labor and Employment practice group,” said Rob Steiner, Kelley Drye New York office managing partner. ​“She will be an asset to our clients as her wide range of experience enhances our ability to address the full spectrum of clients’ labor and employment needs.”

The Kelley Drye Labor and Employment practice group provides strategic counseling and comprehensive representation on the full spectrum of workplace issues, from employment law compliance to organized labor. The practice has been firmly anchored for more than 60 years in a comprehensive and up-to-the-minute understanding of employment and labor relations law.

“I am excited to join Kelley Drye’s robust and well-regarded Labor and Employment practice group,” said Blythe. ​“I look forward to introducing my clients to the firm’s platform and having an opportunity to play a role in expanding the practice group’s work with other clients as well.”

Blythe is a prominent supporter of women’s initiatives in the legal profession. She is President of the New York Chapter of the Coalition of Women’s Initiatives in Law and serves on the Steering Committee of the Association of Corporate Counsel - NYC Women’s Group.

Blythe received her J.D. from The George Washington University Law School and her B.S. from Cornell University, School of Industrial and Labor Relations. She is a member of the New York and New Jersey Bars.

Prominent Legislative and Policy Strategist Laurie Rubiner Joins Kelley Drye, Bolstering Government Relations and Public Policy Practice

Kelley Drye & Warren LLP announced that Senior Government Relations Counsel Laurie Rubiner has joined the firm. Drawing from her extensive experience in the U.S. Senate and the national public policy arena, Laurie will provide Kelley Drye clients with strategic guidance and counseling, devise and implement comprehensive advocacy campaigns, and help build coalitions with allied stakeholders.
​“As politics grows increasingly partisan, it’s more important than ever for our clients to have strategic partners that can advocate for them on both sides of the aisle,” said Paul Rosenthal, co-chair of the Government Relations and Public Policy practice group. ​“Laurie’s strong bi-partisan background, political acumen, and understanding of the inner workings of Congress will benefit our clients across a range of industries.”
In the U.S. Senate, Laurie served as Chief of Staff to Senator Richard Blumenthal (D); Legislative Director to Senator Hillary Clinton (D); and Legislative Assistant to the late Senator John Chafee (R). Recently, Laurie served as Special Counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee for the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.
Prior to joining Kelley Drye, she was Executive Vice President for Domestic Programs at the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids – where she formulated, supervised, and managed the Campaign’s U.S. programs. She has held senior positions with several national policy organizations, including as vice president for Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA), where she led the organization’s implementation of national and state strategies for improved public policies through government relations, grassroots organizing, litigation, and political affairs. She also served as a director at the New America Foundation, a nonpartisan think tank in Washington, D.C., and as vice president for public policy at the National Partnership for Women & Families.
​“During my career, I have been able to work with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle on key legislative and policy issues, and I’m eager to translate my experience into solving real world business problems for our clients,” said Laurie. ​“It’s also great to be able to reconnect with the people that I started my career in Washington with, as I worked in the government relations group at Collier Shannon prior to their merger with Kelley Drye.”

Laurie received her J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center, and is admitted to practice in the state of New York.

Upcoming Events

Join Kelley Drye for the following upcoming programs. And in case you missed it, check out recordings of our recent webinars on a variety of hot topics.

Operationalizing Adtech Privacy Compliance: Understanding the IAB Multi-State Privacy Agreement
Thursday, September 29, 2022, 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM EST
The new state privacy laws require companies to have specific contract terms in place, perform appropriate due diligence and oversight, and ensure that consumer opt outs (or opt ins) to how their data is used for digital advertising and analytics are honored. But there are practical challenges in how to incorporate these new obligations into a compliance program at scale.

Responding to the industry’s need for a solution, the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), working with various stakeholders, has prepared the Multi-State Privacy Agreement (MSPA). The MSPA is designed to help publishers, advertisers, agencies, and adtech intermediaries address some of these privacy contract and choice obligations throughout the supply chain, while also providing publishers and advertisers with flexibility in operationalizing on a national basis or apply state-specific approaches.

Please join Kelley Drye privacy attorneys Aaron Burstein, Alysa Hutnik, and Laura Riposo VanDruff for a discussion with IAB’s Michael Hahn and Tony Ficarrotta to discuss the structure of the MSPA and how the MSPA solves significant digital advertising industry compliance challenges. The discussion will also cover the changing regulatory landscape, such as the California Privacy Protection Agency’s rulemaking process, and how the MSPA is positioned to respond to those changes.

Register here.

2022 Election Outlook: An In-Depth Analysis of This Year’s House and Senate Races
Wednesday, October 12, 2022, 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM EST
Washington, DC
Kelley Drye’s Government Relations and Public Policy Group presents a bipartisan assessment of the 2022 mid-term elections. Election analysts Greg Speed and Jim Ellis will provide a detailed and data-packed assessment of the current state of play in the House and Senate and speculate on each party’s chances at controlling Congress.

Register here.

Wake-up Call: The Resurgence of Unions
Tuesday, October 18, 2022, 12:30 – 1:30 PM EST
The death of union representation was probably not exaggerated—that is, before the pandemic. Now, with employers desperate to recruit and retain employees in a robust labor market, wages seeing the highest percentage increases in years, and a sense of worker-side empowerment not seen for years, unions are more powerful and relevant than at any time in decades.

This webinar will cover:

  • The resurgence in union activity across all industries, including strikes and organizing activity
  • Changes at the NLRB
  • Taking the temperature of your workforce
  • Strategies to mitigate union-related risks and disruptions to your business

Check our website for registration information.

In Case you Missed It

Check out recordings of and materials from recent webinars hosted by Kelley Drye.

Pay Transparency: A Rising Workplace Trend
New York, which has over 9.3 million workers and growing, will soon join other jurisdictions in a growing trend of state and local pay transparency requirements for employers across the country. Currently there are 17 states in the U.S. that have laws around pay transparency, but not all of these laws allow employees to freely discuss their pay.

Pay transparency is the latest legislation aimed towards eliminating gender pay disparity along with salary history ban laws and pay equity laws. While all these laws are generally a virtue, they do create a quagmire of issues in attracting and retaining talent—not to mention HR and legal landmines.

This webinar covers:

  • New pay transparency laws
  • Review of pay equity and salary history ban laws
  • Insights on compliance
  • Practical implications for talent acquisition and retention

View a recording here.

Avoiding Price Gouging Claims
Recently State Attorneys General, the House Judiciary Committee, and many others have weighed in on rising prices in an attempt to weed out price gouging and other forms of what they deem ​“corporate profiteering.” States and federal regulators are carefully looking at pricing as consumers and constituents become more sensitive to the latest changes and price gouging enforcement is an avenue states may be able to use to appease the public. Unlike other emergencies in the past, the current state of supply chain and labor shortages, along with skyrocketing costs for businesses, make it unrealistic for companies to simply put a freeze on any price increases.

With increased scrutiny by states, it is extremely important to have a complete understanding of what is permissible in each state a business operates in. Please join Kelley Drye State Attorneys General practice Co-Chair Paul Singer and Senior Associate Beth Chun for Avoiding Price Gouging Claims.

This webinar covers:

  • The basics of price gouging laws and related state emergency declarations and how to comply
  • The differences and varied complexities in state laws
  • General best practice tips
  • How AGs prioritize enforcement

To view presentation click here.

How To Protect Employee/HR Data and Comply with Data Privacy Laws
As workforces become increasingly mobile and remote work is more the norm, employers face the challenge of balancing the protection of their employees’ personal data and privacy against the need to collect and process personal data to recruit, support and monitor their workforces. Mounting regulations attempt to curb employers’ ability to gather and utilize employee data—from its historical use in processing employee benefits and leave requests to employers’ collection, use or retention of employees’ biometric data to ensure the security of the organization’s financial or other sensitive information systems. Learn what employers can do to protect employee data and prepare for the growing wave of data privacy laws impacting the collection and use of employee personal data.

This webinar covers:

  • Existing and prospective laws and regulations employers should be aware of when managing their workforce
  • Key principles to adhere to when collecting and handling employee personal data
  • Best practices for protecting employee personal data during the employment life cycle

Watch the recording of this webinar here.

State Attorneys General 102
As discussed in State Attorneys General 101, State Attorneys General are the primary enforcers of consumer protection laws within their state and hold sweeping powers to protect the public they serve by launching investigations and litigation alone or in multi-state actions involving numerous states and territories across the country.

In this webinar, Kelley Drye State Attorneys General practice Kelley Drye State Attorneys General practice Co-Chair Paul Singer and Senior Associate Beth Chun for State Attorneys General 102. This short 30-minute webinar picks up where we left off and answers a number of questions regarding:

  • Pre-suit/investigation notice requirements for Attorneys General
  • Additional information on the scope of Attorneys General investigative authority and how to challenge an investigation
  • Consumer Complaints: differences among the AGs on handling and use

To view the presentation materials click here.”]