Royal

The Royal Law Firm Announces Of Counsel Collaboration with Women-Owned Law Firms

Jan 26, 2024

The Royal Law Firm has joined a unique collaboration of women-owned law firms, in a continued expansion of its New England and New York Metropolitan area footprint for providing exceptional litigation defense and advice to business clients.

 

The Royal Law Firm has entered into an Of Counsel agreement with two other women-owned law firms: Perez Morris and Sobel Pevzner, LLC. This Of Counsel collaboration further bolsters The Royal Law Firm’s labor and employment law, business litigation, workers’ compensation and transactional practices and extends the firm’s reach into new jurisdictions including OH, PA, and NJ.

 

Through these strategic relationships, Royal can leverage the deep experience of these women-owned firms for the benefit of the clients. Likewise, by sharing resources, each firm in the collaboration will be able grow its practice area and geographic coverage. This collaboration will also enable new opportunities for clients to increase their diverse legal spend with women-owned law firms.

 

The Royal Law Firm’s client relationships will continue to be managed by the firm, with integrated billings. All of The Royal Law Firm’s rate structures and client agreements will remain the same. The goal is a seamless expansion of the firm’s bench, with the top quality service and case administration our clients have come to expect. The collaborating firm’s attorneys are seasoned counsel in their jurisdictions and will share knowledge and resources such as forms, best practices and office space for witness interviews, depositions, mediations and other needs.

 

About our Collaborators:

 

Perez Morris is a women-owned business law firm with offices in OH, PA, NY, NJ, CT, and MA, and attorneys licensed to practice across the country. The firm guides its business clients to manage their risks and make deals happen. The firm’s attorneys provide general counsel, business litigation, medical malpractice, pharmacy liability, and commercial transactional services nationwide with a focus on cost-effective, practical, industry-savvy advice that allows its clients to continue to grow and thrive.

 

Sobel Pevzner, LLC, is a woman-owned defense firm serving clients in New York, New Jersey and Eastern Pennsylvania, which, for more than 25 years, has been engaged in all aspects of negligence defense litigation. Since its inception, the firm has consistently and successfully represented prominent members of the insurance, hospitality, retail, transportation, habitation and construction industries in the greater New York Metropolitan area. The firm remains committed to providing the highest quality defense in the most cost effective manner. Managing Partner Bella Pevzner has significant experience in the defense of civil lawsuits as well as workers’ compensation matters in NY and NJ and oversees the day-to-day operations of the firm’s NY and NJ offices.

ALERT: EEOC Releases Workplace Guidance to Prevent Harassment

01 May, 2024
On April 29 th , 2024, the U.S. Equal Opportunity Commission (EEOC) finalized their guidance in harassment in the workplace after receiving and responding to nearly 38,000 public comments on the proposed guidance released on October 2, 2023. The renewed guidance provides numerous clarifying hypotheticals, and addresses more recent issues including protections for LGBTIQA+ employees and remote work. Of note, the EEOC clarified the scope of sex discrimination and harassment, stating that federal protections under Title VII extend to LGBTIQA+ employees. Specifically, the EEOC made clear that the scope of harassment extends to repeatedly and intentionally misgendering employees or denying access to bathroom facilities that align with their gender identity. Further, this guidance reminds employers that discrimination and harassment based on “sex” includes harassment based on pregnancy, childbirth and related medical conditions, which include employees’ decisions related to contraception and abortion. Several public comments suggested that these guidelines infringed on free speech and religious rights. The EEOC did not directly address these concerns, instead stating that free speech and religious rights issues are fact-specific and would be addressed on a case-by-case basis. Further, the EEOC updated guidance related to the remote work environment. The EEOC clarified that conduct in a virtual work environment, including electronic communications using private phones, computers, or social media accounts can contribute to a hostile work environment if they impact the workplace. The EEOC also clarified that conduct occurring outside of the workplace, including on social media, which does not target the employer or its employees and is not brought into the workplace generally will not contribute to a hostile work environment. Finally, the EEOC updated its Anti-Harassment Policy Requirements, stating that an anti-harassment and discrimination policy should be widely disseminated to employees, in a manner that is understandable by all employees and includes i) a definition of prohibited conduct, ii) a requirement that supervisors report harassment, iii) multiple avenues for reporting harassment, iv) a statement that clearly identifies accessible points of contact for reporting purposes, and v) an explanation of the complaint process, including adequate anti-retaliation and confidentiality protections, and prompt and effective investigation and corrective action. You can read more about the EEOC's ruling on their website by clicking here . If your business has any questions on this topic or any other matters, please do not hesitate to contact the attorneys at The Royal Law Firm at 413-586-2288.

Non-Compete Agreements Are in Jeopardy

26 Apr, 2024
On April 23, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) issued a final rule banning non-competition agreements for all employees except for very narrow exceptions. The FTC’s Final Rule banning all non-competition agreements is effective 120 days after its publication in the Federal Register, which is expected in the next few days.  As of the effective date, all non-competition agreements are banned, except for franchisor/franchisee relationships and for sales of a business between buyer and seller. The FTC’s Rule is retroactive, prohibiting certain non-competition agreements before the effective date of the Rule as well. Existing non-competition agreements can remain in effect as to senior executives, which are defined in the Rule as employees in “policy-making positions” making at least $151,164 annually. The FTC’s Final Rule is already being challenged through the court system and a challenge from the Chamber of Commerce will most likely follow suit. Therefore, if an employer has existing non-competition agreements, the employer may not need to rescind them just yet. Stay tuned for updates as these challenges take their due course.
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