We counsel an array of public, private and nonprofit clients as they navigate the complex, ever-changing legal landscape that shapes employee benefits and retirement plans. Our attorneys help human resources professionals understand and manage the tax, securities and employment law implications of their benefits programs. We also regularly advise employers, boards of directors, and compensation and administrative committees as they design and draft qualified and non-qualified retirement programs, health and welfare plans, and fringe benefit plans, and we represent these employers and their plans before government agencies and in litigation. WilmerHale’s highly experienced transactional and tax lawyers collaborate to tackle employer concerns that range from negotiating the employee-related issues involved in buying or selling a business to advising on worker classification and employment tax matters.

We have litigated many significant cases before the federal and state courts, adjudicatory agencies and private arbitrators. Our lawyers have appeared before the Supreme Court and the federal appellate courts in dozens of appeals of Federal Communications Commission  and other agency decisions.

The strength of our practice extends to both sides of the Atlantic. In Europe, we litigate matters for clients before the European Court of First Instance and Court of Justice, and also handle litigation and appeals to national courts from regulatory authorities.

Labor and employment claims often are prolonged and may include discrimination, wrongful discharge, whistleblower claims and retaliation, along with claims of fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, breach of contract, and tortious interference arising out of business relationships and transactions, and we have the skills to handle cases with any level of complexity. Our record of achievement extends to all facets of employment litigation and dispute resolution in the US and European courts and administrative agencies, such as the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the US Department of Labor. We also have experience representing companies in class actions brought by employees, and in post-trial and appellate litigation.

Even in the best-managed businesses, employment disputes inevitably arise, and can result in litigation. We encourage active client participation in determining goals, strategies and tactics and in evaluating risks and costs associated with the litigation process.

Within the US, we represent clients at trial and on appeal at both the state and federal court level in multiple jurisdictions, in claims that span all areas of employment law, including discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wrongful termination, privacy, wage and hour, ERISA allegations and matters arising from executive employment agreements, non-competition and confidentiality agreements, and severance agreements—as well as in Sarbanes-Oxley and Dodd-Frank and other whistleblower cases, nationwide class actions, post-trial litigation, complex settlements, and negotiations in multiple plaintiff cases. In recent years, we have litigated cases of first impression and under the wage and hour laws resulting in beneficial outcomes for our clients. We also regularly represent clients before administrative agencies, including the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission; the US Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division; the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration; the US Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs; the National Labor Relations Board; state fair employment practice agencies; and state departments of labor.

Our knowledgeable attorneys advise US companies on issues surrounding equity or cash incentive plans anywhere in the world, drawing on our broad international network to provide reliable, tailored guidance to each client. We also guide these companies as they implement global harmonization or incentive arrangements after an acquisition, sale, merger, or other cross-border transaction. We regularly prepare the rules and individual agreements for international incentive arrangements and assist with related US disclosure and listing issues. We also assist local counsel in preparing documentation in their jurisdictions.

Sarbanes-Oxley and Dodd-Frank broadened whistleblower protections to include other federal offenses and enhance remedies, and protect corporate whistleblowers bringing claims of fraud and SEC violations against their employers. Countering such claims effectively requires not only an excellent employment law team, but also skilled securities and corporate lawyers. The depth and collaboration of WilmerHale’s Labor and Employment, Corporate, and Securities Practices mean we can successfully counsel and defend clients on all aspects of the matter.

We counsel owners, investors, lenders, developers and tenants in an array of distressed real estate transactions, including mortgage loan workouts and foreclosures, acquisitions and dispositions of distressed assets and loans, lease renegotiations, and joint venture restructurings. We work with colleagues in our bankruptcy, litigation and environmental risk management practices to provide the full range of advice needed for each transaction. Our deep experience in foreclosures serves the needs of institutional lenders and investors using the acquisition of loans and the exercise of loan remedies as a means to acquire title to properties.

Financial companies face the complex task of designing investment products suitable for ERISA-covered plans. At WilmerHale, seasoned ERISA attorneys collaborate with lawyers from our Investment Management, Business and Financial Integrity and Broker-Dealer Compliance and Regulation Practices to advise clients on the rules that govern the management of pension and other benefit funds. Our experience covers not only ERISA but also the provisions of the tax laws that can affect the design of benefit plan products and services. Our representation of institutional clients also extends to transactional and litigation matters. Read more about our Insurance, Annuities and Retirement Practice.

WilmerHale’s Real Estate Practice represents borrowers and lenders in complex mortgage and mezzanine financing transactions across a wide variety of asset classes. We have extensive experience with government-sponsored enterprises and HUD, as well as conventional lenders, life insurance companies and mezzanine lenders. We also have one of the leading workout and bankruptcy practices in the nation, and we regularly collaborate with our bankruptcy lawyers to restructure debt on distressed real estate projects.

We counsel clients in all facets of traditional labor law, both in the United States and internationally. We have represented many clients in administrative proceedings before the National Labor Relations Board and in union elections.

Our HR Services Group combines a deep understanding of the HR marketplace and best practices with seamless access to quality legal resources. We serve companies navigating all facets of human resources management, systems, policy development and legal compliance. Whether clients require consulting, contract services, training and development programs, or strategic staffing assistance, our HR professionals have the experience to help meet their goals.

The HR Services Group is a team of senior-level certified HR professionals (non-lawyers), also with decades of combined experience, who perform discrete HR projects and/or ongoing HR counseling and support for firm clients, including HR systems assessment and development, compensation and pay equity analyses, salary surveys, benefit plan assessment and design, talent acquisition, management training, affirmative action program development, compliance/audit support, and support for EEO efforts and development of diversity and inclusion programs.

Our HR consultants work to understand a client’s business plan and existing processes to design a customized menu of services that fits the company’s objectives and budget. From the challenges facing startups to the concerns of maturing companies, our HR professionals can provide comprehensive, timely and cost-effective solutions.   

The HR Services Group guides affirmative action program development and reporting (including EEO-1 and VETS-4212 reports), statistical analysis, self-audit monitoring support, and OFCCP audit support, teaming with our employment lawyers who bring affirmative action legal experience to ensure a unique complement of legal and HR proficiency for our clients at a highly competitive price point. Should an audit occur, our legal and HR affirmative action teams will jointly manage the audit process from the day the compliance review notice is received, through the many requests for information, possible on-site representation, and through closure, continually working to manage and minimize client risk at each step in the process. We are proud of our track record for successful closure of client audits.

We advise on all aspects of executive compensation plans and arrangements, offering experienced counsel on the complex web of applicable tax, corporate, securities and employment laws and regulations. Our executive compensation lawyers provide guidance to companies, boards of directors, compensation committees and select senior executives at all stages of executive compensation planning, from design to disclosure to implementation. Our capabilities also include advising on the interpretation of existing plans and arrangements in a wide variety of transactions. We stay at the cutting edge of changes to the legal framework and public and shareholder sentiment, balancing the technical and the practical to best achieve our clients’ business goals and navigate the impact of regulatory and market developments. Our lawyers have significant experience in equity and cash incentive compensation arrangements; nonqualified deferred compensation arrangements; employment, severance, retention and change-in-control agreements; and, for our non-corporate and ex-US clients in particular, profits interests and phantom equity arrangements.

By patenting their innovations, our clients increase the value of their intellectual property and enhance their ability to compete in the marketplace. We work with laboratory and research teams and R&D and product development groups to determine whether, when and where it is in our clients’ business and technical interests to seek patent protection. And we don’t just file patent applications. Drawing on our experience with patent litigation, corporate financings and technology transactions, we implement IP strategies that conserve resources, add measurable value and give our clients a cost-effective and commercially practical competitive edge.

We help clients obtain more than 750 US and foreign patents each year, covering innovations that span the technological spectrum, including aerospace, biochemistry, biotechnology, business methods, chemistry, computer science, fuel cells, genetics, high-speed data communication, integrated circuits, materials science, medical devices, nanotechnology, pharmaceuticals, semiconductor devices and processes, and software.

We also prepare and prosecute patent applications internationally under the Patent Cooperative Treaty and by working with a network of seasoned patent lawyers around the world. Our experience extends to appeals, interferences and opposition proceedings within the US Patent and Trademark Office, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and the European Patent Office.

Since the development of the Prudential Center from what had been a blighted railroad yard in Boston’s Back Bay in the early 1960s, WilmerHale has been at the forefront of many of the most significant and complex development projects in the United States. We advise owners, developers, lenders and investors on every step of the development process—from site identification and evaluation through design, permitting, financing, construction, leasing and sale. Our projects range from big-box retail stores and industrial warehouse and distribution centers to manufacturing plants, office towers, hotels, multi-family and condominium projects, seniors housing communities, university and private research facilities, and more.

We advise clients based in Europe on consultations with unions and works councils, and—where clients are not unionized—on the processes required to elect representatives for the purposes of information and consultation in collective redundancies and business transfers in the European Union.