Employment Litigation Defense

Experienced Defense Counsel for Employers and Their Insurers

Employment disputes can disrupt operations, affect workplace morale, expose confidential information, and create substantial financial and reputational risk. They also frequently require employers to make important decisions before all the relevant facts are known.

I defend employers, executives, and insured businesses in employment litigation and related workplace disputes. Drawing on more than 30 years of trial and appellate experience, I help clients evaluate claims early, preserve evidence, develop a defensible factual record, and pursue a strategy consistent with their legal and business objectives.

Employment Claims I Defend

My employment-litigation experience includes matters involving:

• Discrimination based on race, sex, age, disability, religion, national origin, and other protected characteristics

• Retaliation and whistleblower allegations

• Harassment and hostile-work-environment claims

• Failure-to-accommodate and disability-related claims

• Family and medical leave

• Hiring, discipline, performance management, and termination

• Wage, commission, bonus, and final-pay disputes

• Employee and independent-contractor classification

• Employment agreements and severance arrangements

• Restrictive covenants and nonsolicitation obligations

• Trade secrets and confidential information

• Executive and ownership disputes

• Claims arising from reductions in force

• Appeals and post-trial proceedings

I represent clients before federal and state courts and administrative agencies in Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia, as well as in appropriate matters elsewhere around the country.

Early Assessment and Strategic Response

Employment cases are often shaped by decisions made before a complaint is filed. Internal communications, performance evaluations, investigation notes, comparison evidence, policy exceptions, and explanations for an employment decision can become central exhibits.

When a claim arises, I work with the employer to determine:

• What happened and who made the relevant decisions

• Whether the company’s documents support its stated reasons

• Whether similarly situated employees were treated consistently

• What additional evidence should be preserved

• Whether an internal investigation is needed

• Whether insurance, indemnification, or reporting obligations apply

• Whether early resolution would serve the client’s interests

• How the decision will appear to an agency, judge, or jury

The objective is to develop the facts promptly, identify vulnerabilities realistically, and avoid creating additional problems through an improvised response.

Trade Secrets and Employee Departures

The departure of an employee or executive can create immediate concerns involving customer relationships, proprietary information, pricing data, business plans, passwords, devices, and confidential files.

I represent employers in disputes involving:

• Suspected removal or misuse of company information

• Trade-secret misappropriation

• Breach of confidentiality obligations

• Customer and employee solicitation

• Restrictive covenants

• Preservation and forensic examination of electronic evidence

• Temporary restraining orders and preliminary injunctions

• Claims against former employees and competing businesses

These matters often require prompt action. At the same time, an employer must distinguish between genuine evidence of misconduct and assumptions that may not withstand scrutiny.

Artificial Intelligence in Employment Decisions

Employers increasingly use artificial intelligence and automated tools to recruit, screen, evaluate, monitor, promote, discipline, and communicate with employees.

Those tools can improve efficiency, but they may also create legal risks involving:

• Discriminatory or biased outcomes

• Disability accommodation

• Privacy and employee monitoring

• Inaccurate or incomplete data

• Lack of meaningful human review

• Vendor representations and contractual allocation of risk

• Documentation and explainability

• Retention of employment records

• Discovery of algorithmic inputs and outputs

• Inconsistent application of company policies

As both an employment litigator and a certified Artificial Intelligence Governance Professional, I help employers consider not only whether an AI-assisted process appears efficient, but also whether the resulting decision can be explained and defended.

My work includes reviewing AI-use policies, assessing employment-related use cases, evaluating vendors, establishing human-oversight requirements, developing documentation practices, and preparing for the possibility that an automated decision may later be challenged in litigation.

Counseling Informed by Litigation Experience

The strongest employment defense often begins well before a claim is asserted.

I counsel employers concerning investigations, discipline, termination, accommodations, reductions in force, employment agreements, severance, confidential information, and other sensitive workplace decisions.

My litigation experience informs that counseling. I help clients consider how a decision will be documented, whether the explanation is supported by the available evidence, how similarly situated employees have been treated, and what questions opposing counsel or a jury may eventually ask.

The goal is not to eliminate every employment risk. It is to help the employer make deliberate, consistent, and defensible decisions.

Why Work With Me

I bring extensive courtroom experience together with an understanding of the technological and data-related issues affecting modern workplaces.

• More than 30 years of commercial and employment litigation experience

• More than 100 bench and jury trials litigated to verdict

• Former Trial and Appellate Attorney in the Civil Division of the U.S. Department of Justice

• Experience representing employers, executives, and insurers

• Certified Information Privacy Professional for the United States (CIPP/US)

• Certified Artificial Intelligence Governance Professional (AIGP)

• Harvard College, with honors

• Columbia Law School

• President-Elect of the Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel

I provide employers and their insurers with candid assessment, responsive communication, and a litigation strategy grounded in the facts and proportional to the dispute.

Discuss an Employment Matter

If your organization is facing an employment claim, evaluating a significant workplace decision, or considering the use of artificial intelligence in employment, I would be glad to learn more.

Email: sean@lvglawfirm.com
Telephone: (202) 836-7828

The information on this page is provided for general informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. Visiting this website or contacting Sean C. Griffin does not create an attorney-client relationship.