Areas of Practice

Arbitration & Mediation

Breakups: business and professional
      Fiduciary obligations
      Lateral lawyer acquisitions
      and departures

Commercial litigation
      Breach of contract
      Business torts
      Fraud

Employment law
      Employment discrimination
      Hiring and termination

Legal ethics: professional
responsibility

Women's rights
      Equal pay
      Sexual harassment

Areas of Practice> Employment Law

Geri selects the appropriate dispute resolution process for the client’s situation.
Geri has arbitrated, negotiated and litigated numerous cases arising under, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Equal Pay Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and similar City and State statutes. She obtained substantial settlements when representing executives in employment cases asserting claims of breach of contract, discrimination and equal pay violations, as well as minimized settlement recoveries in employment discrimination and harassment cases when representing individual and corporate defendants. 

Employment issues are personal, emotional, and expensive.
Geri has 30 years of practice representing both employers and employees, which provides an understanding of the perspective of both parties. An experienced employment lawyer, she has negotiated and litigated a wide range of issues on behalf of both employers and employees, including contracts, restrictive covenants, discrimination and harassment claims, and terminations. She also counsels clients in preventive employment practices and provides guidance on issues of hiring and termination.

Understanding the perspective of both sides in a dispute hones her arguments.
Geri’s practice includes:
        (i) negotiating, litigating and arbitrating employment claims before agencies, courts and
             arbitration panels, including employment discrimination, breach of contract, sexual
             harassment and wrongful termination,
        (ii) counseling employer clients in preventive employment practices, including developing
              and reviewing employment policies and providing guidance on issues of hiring and
              termination, and
        (iii) counseling employee clients with respect to hiring and termination issues and
              negotiating employment and severance agreements.

Representative cases
Bluemountain Capital v. Misra  (2008). Defeated injunction sought by investment bank for violation of non-competition agreement against former employee in court and arbitration proceedings.

Henderson v. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Index No. 04-cv-04553 (SDNY 2005). Obtained summary judgment dismissing claims of sex discrimination and sexual harassment brought by employee.

Charles Bell v. Leona Helmsley, New York Law Journal, February 18, 2003. Verdict, Vol. 229; Pg. p. 5, col. 1. Obtained $11.2 million jury verdict for plaintiff on claims of sexual orientation discrimination.

Cecala v. NationsBank Corp., 40 Fed. Appx. 795 (4th Cir. 2002). Confirmed dismissal of claims of breach of contract, sex discrimination and sexual harassment by panel of NASD arbitrators after six weeks of hearings.

Ballen-Stier v. Hahn & Hessen, 284 A.D.2d 263, 727 N.Y.S.2d 421 (1st Dep't 2001). Obtained, by motion, dismissal of claims of sexual harassment and retaliation brought by a former partner against a law firm.

Harris v. LeBoeuf, Lamb, Green and MacRae, LLP, 2000 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18190 (S.D.N.Y. 2000), Aff'd, 29 Fed. Appx. 733 (2d Cir. 2002). Obtained summary judgment dismissing claims of race discrimination brought by employee.

“I always begin investigating a situation by asking 'What does the client really want and what is the best way to achieve their goal?”
                              Geri S. Krauss