Laura Petroff

Discrimination/Retaliation

• Obtained highly favorable settlement in six-plaintiff age discrimination case for one of the largest banks in the country. After the case had been pending for three years and trial was approaching, Laura was retained as trial counsel. Shortly thereafter, the Plaintiffs sought mediation, vastly reduced their settlement demand, and the matter settled on highly favorable terms for the client.
• Obtained summary judgment in the American Arbitration Association for medical device manufacturer in whistleblower retaliation action brought by former area sales manager. Following months of extensive discovery and contentious motion practice, the AAA panel granted summary judgment in her client’s favor and dismissed the case before trial—an extremely uncommon occurrence in arbitrations.
• Obtained highly-favorable settlement for a medical device manufacturer on a former senior executive’s claims for disability discrimination, retaliation, and sexual orientation discrimination. The settlement was the result of numerous admissions against interest that Laura obtained during the plaintiff’s deposition.

Competition/Trade Secrets

• Obtained a preliminary injunction from the New York Supreme Court enjoining competitive employment and misappropriation of confidential information against former executive of luxury goods company attempting to defect to a competitor with the client’s stolen information. Following issuance of injunction, the client also obtained substantial monetary payment from the ex-employee.
• Enforced a non-compete and other post-employment covenants for one of the leaders in the pool equipment industry. To succeed in enforcing the non-compete and non-solicit, Laura’s strategy was to file a complaint, which she used to conduct discovery to credibly determine what information a former employee may have leaked to a competitor. After an in-person meeting with the former employee and counsel to examine the former employee, she was able to obtain a declaration confirming that none of the client’s highly confidential information had been misappropriated. We also secured an agreement regarding compliance with all post-employment obligations, and then dismissed the case, without prejudice.

Wage & Hour

• Over the last two decades, Laura has generated incredible success in wage and hour class and collective actions. Most often she implements innovative and aggressive strategies to defeat class certification. In one recent matter, Laura’s strategy resulted in defeating class certification and settlement on a single-plaintiff basis in the four-figure range. The strategies vary depending on the claims and the underlying facts, but consistently result in successful client outcomes.
• Frequently, Laura has been hired to substitute in as new counsel in wage and hour matters, to enhance the client’s chances of success or simply to improve the client’s position in defense of the case. This pattern continues to occur with increasing frequency, and also with an increasing number of victories and otherwise improved outcomes for her clients.  

Investigations

• Laura has significant experience in leading high-profile and highly confidential internal investigations for clients ranging from a leading player in the solar industry, a prominent luxury goods company, one of the country’s largest food product manufacturers, a number of companies in the entertainment and marketing industries, a national general contractor, and one of the country’s largest metropolitan transit agencies. Each investigation presents its own set of challenges, but Laura has maneuvered each client through the process to a satisfactory result.