Jenn Betts is the Office Managing Shareholder of Ogletree’s Pittsburgh office.  She is also the co-chair of the firm’s national Technology Practice Group. Jenn has been representing employers in all areas of labor and employment law for nearly 15 years, including discrimination, harassment, whistleblower, retaliation, class and collective actions, non-competition and non-disclosure covenants, union campaigns, collective bargaining, and unfair labor practices.  Jenn works with clients in an array of industries including technology companies, healthcare organizations, retailers, manufacturers, banks, and in the energy sector. Jenn regularly litigates cases in federal and state court, arbitration, and in front of relevant administrative bodies, and represents employers in obtaining and defending against injunctions. Jenn has successfully represented employers in discrimination, traditional labor, wrongful termination, and wage and hour claims, including class and collective actions. In addition to actively managing litigation, a significant portion of Jenn’s practice involves training, proactive counseling, and conducting audits on subjects like the impact of technology on the workplace, compliance with wage/hour laws, avoiding issues of workplace discrimination and harassment, and managing disability accommodation and leaves of absence requests.

Ms. Ryan is the
Global Head of Legal Personnel and a member of the firm’s Senior Management
Team. A member of the firm’s Labor & Employment Group, she is listed
in The Best Lawyers in America, Chambers USA and Pennsylvania Super Lawyers.
Ms. Ryan represents employers in a wide variety of employment-related
disputes, including harassment, retaliation, discrimination, wrongful
discharge, equal pay and breach of contract litigation. She has successfully
litigated in federal and state courts throughout the United States, and
routinely appears before both federal and state agencies, including the Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission and various state human relations
commissions. She also has successfully defended employers in employment class
actions and in litigation brought by the EEOC. Ms. Ryan has an extensive
arbitration practice, routinely represents employers in FINRA, AAA and JAMS
proceedings, and has prevailed in numerous arbitrations involving matters
such as breach of employment contracts, wage claims, and bonus and incentive
pay disputes.  As part of counseling employers on day-to-day issues,
she regularly advises on issues of hiring, disciplining and firing in both
unionized and non-unionized workplaces. She also authors employment policies,
including drug and alcohol testing procedures, executive contracts,
separation agreements and employee handbooks. Ms. Ryan frequently conducts
on-site training sessions on topics such as workforce management, workplace
violence, harassment and discrimination, and computer and Internet usage. A
substantial portion of her practice involves traditional labor law and
counseling employers on contract interpretation and discipline issues. She
has represented employers in grievance arbitrations and in National Labor
Relations Board proceedings, and has advised employers during union
organizing campaigns. Ms. Ryan routinely represents colleges and universities
on employment issues, as well as those involving tenure, Clery Act compliance
and student affairs. She is a member of the National Association of College
and University Attorneys and has presented at NACUA’s regional and national
conferences. Additionally, Ms. Ryan has conducted numerous internal
investigations into matters including fraud, embezzlement, theft,
discrimination and harassment. She also trains human resource professionals
on conducting and documenting internal investigations.

Mr. Saul is a partner with the law firm of Margolis Edelstein, where he represents employers and municipalities in all aspects of employment law and Section 1983 civil rights cases. He is a graduate of Washington and Jefferson College and the National Law Center of GWU. Upon graduating from law school, Mr. Saul worked for the National Labor Relations Board, where he tried more than 100 cases. After entering private practice, he has litigated on behalf of private and governmental clients in courts throughout the United States, including the United States Supreme Court, where he was a prevailing attorney in the landmark case of Allegheny County v. ACLU. Mr. Saul counsels employers on prophylactic, pro-active actions to prevent claims for sexual harassment, disability discrimination, racial discrimination, FLSA overtime claims, and other employment law violations. He is a trained Mediator who has resolved difficult employment disputes through effective listening and communication skills, preparation, commitment, and creativity.

Ms. Elzer is the Managing Attorney of Elzer Law Firm, LLC in Pittsburgh. She primarily represents employees in employment and civil rights actions throughout Pennsylvania. She is also a trained mediator, and an approved neutral in the Western District of Pennsylvania. Ms. Elzer has appeared  in numerous federal and state court trials, and is especially experienced in defeating motions for summary judgment. She has been selected as a Rising Star by Pennsylvania Super Lawyers each year since 2011. She has been a member of the faculty for PBI’s Employment Law Institute West since 2010. She is an active member of the Western Pennsylvania Employment Lawyers Association (WPELA), where she currently serves as Chair, and the National Employment Lawyers Association (NELA), where she serves on the Executive Board and the Judicial Nominations Committee. She also is a member of the Academy of Trial Lawyers of Allegheny County, and is on the Board of Directors of the Mediation Council of Western Pennsylvania. Ms. Elzer graduated magna cum laude from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law and was selected to the Order of the Coif. While in law school, Ms. Elzer served as the Senior Topics Editor for the University of Pittsburgh Law Review. She also graduated summa cum laude from the University of Pittsburgh School of Arts and Sciences, where she earned a B.A. in Sociology and Spanish, and a Certificate in Latin American Studies.

Colleen represents plaintiffs in litigation involving employment matters including age, gender, race, disability and retaliation discrimination as well as claims under the Family Medical Leave Act, the Equal Pay Act and related Constitutional claims. She is a regular speaker for the Pennsylvania Bar Institute and has appeared as a guest lecturer on the topic of employment law at the Duquesne University’s School of Law and the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. Colleen earned her B.A. from Dickinson College and her J.D. at the Duquesne University School of Law, where she was an editor for the magazine, Juris. She is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, a Fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers, a Fellow of the Academy of Trial Lawyers of Allegheny County (where she is President Elect) and a Fellow of Litigation Counsel of America. Colleen is a Past Chair of the Labor and Employment Section of the Allegheny County Bar Association. She is a former Council Member of the ACBA Federal Court Section and served on the ACBA Federal Court Local Rules Committee for 2015. Colleen is also a member of the Third Federal Circuit, the National Employment Lawyers Association (NELA) and the Western Pennsylvania Employment Lawyers Association (WPELA). She is also a past president of the Duquesne University Law Alumni Association. Colleen has been selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® and has been named the 2023 Best Lawyer of the Year – Pittsburgh by Best Lawyers in the practice areas of employment law and employment litigation.  She was recognized by The Legal Intelligencer and the Pennsylvania Law Weekly as 1 of 15 recipients of “The Women of Year” award in 2008.  Ms. Ramage is a certified member of the Million Dollar and Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum®, is rated AV® Preeminent™ by Martindale Hubbell and is a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer.  Colleen is a certified as a member of the Million Dollar and Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum®, The Top Trial Lawyers in America®. She has also been recognized by Law Dragon as Colleen is also rated AV® Preeminent™ by Martindale Hubbell. Colleen is also named a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer. Colleen is admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania and all Pennsylvania state courts.  She has received a multitude of substantial verdicts, including several multi-dollar verdicts, in a variety of employment discrimination and retaliation cases, including verdicts against the area’s largest healthcare system, a major airline and several public school districts.

Judge Kelly currently serves as a United States Magistrate Judge for the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. Prior to her appointment to the bench in June 2011, she was a shareholder of Babst, Calland, Clements and Zomnir, P.C. She had chaired the firm’s Employment and Labor Services Group and served on the Firm Operating Committee. Judge Kelly earned her B.A. from the University of Notre Dame in 1983 and her J.D. from Duquesne University School of Law in 1987. Prior to joining Babst Calland, she was a partner at Thorp Reed & Armstrong. Judge Kelly focused her practice in the area of employment litigation. Her practice consisted primarily of representing employers in the defense of discrimination claims involving Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act. She also handled cases seeking to enforce and defend against the enforcement of covenants not to compete. In addition to her broad employment litigation background, Judge Kelly also handled the defense of product liability and toxic tort claims, as well as commercial litigation. She is experienced in all stages of litigation, including appellate argument. She served as co-counsel in a trial resulting in one of the largest jury verdicts in Pennsylvania history. As a result of her litigation skills, Judge Kelly was previously inducted into the American College of Trial Lawyers, The Litigation Counsel of America and the Academy of Trial Lawyers of Allegheny County. She is also a fellow in the Academy of Trial Advocacy. She was consistently listed in The Best Lawyers in America and has been recognized as a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer. Judge Kelly has frequently lectured on the procedural aspects of Pennsylvania federal court practice. She has been extensively involved with the American, Pennsylvania and Allegheny County Bar Associations. She served as Chair of the Interest on Lawyers Trust Account (IOLTA) Board from 2004 to 2009. Judge Kelly completed a three-year term on the ABA Commission on IOLTA. She served on the Lawyers Advisory Committee to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and as the Chair of the Merit Section Panel for the Selection and Appointment of Magistrate Judges for the Western District of Pennsylvania. Judge Kelly also served as Chair of the ACBA Civil Litigation Section Council and as a member of the ACBA Judiciary Committee. She served as co-chair of the ACBA Gender Equality Committee from 2012 to 2017. She currently serves as Chair of the Dean’s Advisory Board at Duquesne University School of Law. Judge Kelly is the recipient of numerous awards in recognition of her legal work and efforts on behalf of the profession including: the Sylvia H. Rambo Award from Dickinson School of Law; the Susan B. Anthony Award from the Western Pennsylvania Women’s Bar Association; the Outstanding Leadership Award from Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network and the Outstanding Alumni Achievement Award from Duquesne University School of Law. Earlier this year, Judge Kelly received the Judge Carol Los Mansmann Helping Hand Award in recognition of her efforts to assist women in the profession. 

Rebecca Nugent is the Stephen E. and Joyce Fienberg Professor of Statistics & Data Science and Head of the Carnegie Mellon Department of Statistics & Data Science. She received her PhD in Statistics from the University of Washington, her M.S. in Statistics from Stanford University, and her B.A. in Mathematics, Statistics, and Spanish from Rice University. Dr. Nugent has expertise in designing and implementing data science/AI professional development programs for business leaders in industries including health care, finance, automotive/manufacturing, and life sciences. She is the faculty co-Director of the Moderna AI Academy and the Founding Director of the Statistics & Data Science Corporate Capstone program, an experiential learning initiative that matches groups of faculty and students with data science problems in industry, non-profits, and government organizations. She has won several national and university teaching awards including the American Statistical Association Waller Award for Innovation in Statistics Education and serves as one of the co-editors of the Springer Texts in Statistics. She recently served as the co-chair for the National Academy of Sciences study on Improving Defense Acquisition Workforce Capability in Data Use and served on the NAS study on Envisioning the Data Science Discipline: The Undergraduate Perspective.  Dr. Nugent has worked extensively in clustering and classification methodology with an emphasis on high-dimensional, big data problems and record linkage applications. Her current research focus is the development and deployment of low-barrier data analysis platforms that allow for adaptive instruction and the study of data science as a science.

Magistrate Judge Dodge is a graduate of The Pennsylvania State University (with high distinction) and Duquesne University School of Law (cum laude), where she was a member of the Law Review. She was a civil trial lawyer throughout her thirty-eight years in private practice. In 1992, she joined the firm of Meyer, Unkovic & Scott as a partner. She was later elected by her partners to serve as the firm’s managing partner while continuing to maintain an active litigation practice focused on complex commercial litigation. Magistrate Judge Dodge was also frequently engaged as a mediator and early neutral evaluator and served as an arbitrator in private disputes and matters before the American Arbitration Association. Magistrate Judge Dodge is a fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers and the American College of Trial Lawyers, as well as the Academy of Trial Lawyers of Allegheny County, where she served on its Board of Governors and as its President. She is a member of the Allegheny County Bar Association, the Pennsylvania Bar Association and the American Bar Association. She received a Distinguished Service Award from Duquesne University School of Law as well as a “Woman of the Year” and Lifetime Achievement Award from The Legal Intelligencer. In 2017, she received the Joseph F. Weis, Jr. Distinguished Service Award from the Academy of Trial Lawyers of Allegheny County. She was also honored with the Professionalism Award by the Civil Litigation Section of the Allegheny County Bar Association. Magistrate Judge Dodge is proud to have served for a number of years on the Board of Trustees of the Allegheny County Bar Foundation and as its President between 2017 and 2019. She is currently a board member of the National Aviary and has served on other non-profit boards throughout her career.

Nancy Wilson (ELI – Oct. 2015) Ms. Wilson currently serves as the Regional Director of Region Six (Pittsburgh) of the National Labor Relations Board. Prior to her appointment, she was the Assistant to the Regional Director of Region 10 (Atlanta, GA). Ms. Wilson has worked at the National Labor Relations Board for the past 28 years, upon her hire at Region 22 (Newark, NJ). She has experience processing and managing unfair labor practice cases, representation cases and compliance cases. Ms. Wilson obtained her M.S. from Rutgers University in Industrial Relations and Human Resource Management and her B.A. from William Paterson College.

Ms. Davidson-Welling is a partner at the Pittsburgh law firm of Stember Cohn & Davidson-Welling, LLC. She focuses her practice on employment law and class action litigation; her practice includes cases involving wage and hour issues, employee benefits, and discrimination claims. She has represented employees in employment-related matters in federal and state courts, in arbitration, and at the administrative level. Ms. Davidson-Welling was honored to be selected to be on the Pennsylvania Super Lawyers Rising Stars list in 2013-2017. Ms. Davidson-Welling received a Juris Doctor from the University of Pennsylvania, as well as a Master’s degree from the University of Toronto, and a Bachelor’s degree from the Johns Hopkins University. She is a member of the American Association for Justice, the National Employment Lawyers Association, and the Labor and Employment Section of the Allegheny County Bar Association.

Louis Kushner is a senior partner in the law firm of Rothman Gordon, P.C., Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  He has been certified as a mediator and has an extensive mediation practice, having mediated approximately 900 cases.  He is a mediator in a wide range of cases including class actions and multiple party cases, all types of employment related cases, and all types of commercial cases such as franchise, contract, construction, shareholder and partnership disputes and commercial tort cases.  He served as a Senior Editor for a book on alternative dispute resolution in employment law for BNA.  Considered one of the leading Alternative Dispute Resolution and Employment and Labor attorneys in the United States, he was selected as one of The Best Lawyers In America, a publication which lists lawyers considered by their peers to be the most outstanding attorneys in their area of specialty, in every edition since its inception in 1987 including the current 2023 edition.  He is listed under both the categories of Alternative Dispute Resolution and Labor and Employment. He was elected as a Fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers. He has also been named as a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer every year, since 2005. In addition, he has been recognized as one of The Top 100 Pennsylvania Super Lawyers and one of the Top 50 Pittsburgh Super Lawyers. Louis is rated AV® Preeminent™ by Martindale Hubbell. Louis was listed in the 2020, 2021 and 2022 Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Employment Lawyers guide. In 2022, he was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award from The Legal Intelligencer.  He was honored by the City of Pittsburgh by having October 28, 2008, declared by proclamation “Louis B. Kushner Day” in recognition of 40 years of service as a nationally distinguished Mediator and Labor and Employment Law attorney with the law firm of Rothman Gordon and the Pittsburgh community.  He has been involved in numerous landmark cases, both on the state and national levels. He is frequently called upon by Bar Associations and other professional and educational groups, including the Pennsylvania State Trial Judges Association as a course planner and to lecture or participate as a panelist; a prolific Author of scholarly articles and frequently quoted in news articles.  Mr. Kushner is often asked to be a course planner, panelist, speaker and/or lecturer to various groups on the subject of Arbitration and Mediation.  He has addressed the members of the American and Pennsylvania and various county Bar Associations on ADR and Other Alternatives to Litigation.  Mr. Kushner has also lectured on mediation at  the KOFI ANNAN Institute for Conflict Transformation at the University of Liberia, The Centre for Conflict Resolution (CENCOR), in Ghana, for Ghanaian lawyers, civic servants, other professionals, for a project funded by USAID in Ramallah to Palestinian Judges and lawyers, the Mediation Council of Western Pennsylvania, members of the American Society of Women Accountants on the Model of a Mediator’s Role, to members of The Family Firm Institute (Pittsburgh Chapter) on Mediation to Resolve Conflict in Family Businesses, and to participants of The National Conference on Peacemaking and Conflict Resolution on Alternative Dispute Resolution in the Private Sector.  He has lectured at the Buchanan Ingersoll, P.C. Client Seminar on the Different Ways to Resolve Employment Disputes: Mediation, Arbitration or Litigation, and at Duquesne University School of Law on Alternative Dispute Resolution in the Union Setting. Mr. Kushner was the Co-Chairperson of the ABA Employee Rights and Responsibilities Committee and co-chair of its Sub-Committee on Alternatives to Litigation; a member of the Allegheny County & Pennsylvania Bar Associations’ Arbitration & Mediation Committees.  He was a member of the Board of Directors of Pennsylvania Bar Institute, the continuing legal education arm of the Pennsylvania Bar Association, a member of the Family Firm Institute, a professional association of individuals who advise, study and operate family owned businesses; a member of the Pennsylvania Council of Mediators, and served as a Director of the Conflict Resolution Center International, Inc.  Louis served as an Examiner for the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industries Bureau of Mediation for Prospective Mediators; he served as chairperson of the Pennsylvania and Allegheny County Bar Associations Labor and Employment Law Section.  Mr. Kushner is a mediator on the Employment and Commercial Panels of:  United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, American Arbitration Association National Panel, National Association of Securities Dealers Regulation, Inc. (NASD), National Employment Mediation Services and Rothman Gordon ADR Services.  He previously served on the panels of:  Justus ADR Services, JUSTUS Medical Malpractice Group, JAMS/Endispute, and USA&M  Mr. Kushner is frequently called upon by the press and media for his expert opinion and has been quoted by the media and in professional journals, newspapers and magazine articles, including Bring your toothbrush: Group of lawyers specializes in settling employment disputes through mediation; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; January 17, 1999. Mr. Kushner received his B.S. in Accounting and Business Administration from Pennsylvania State University in 1964 and attended the University of Pittsburgh School of Law where he was awarded his J.D. degree in 1967.

Keren Wheeler (she/her) is Associate General Counsel in the Legal Department of the United Steelworkers union. Wheeler has practiced union-side labor law since 2008.

Ms. Park is a Director in both the Labor & Employment and Litigation Departments of Cohen & Grigsby. She defends corporate clients in the defense of all manner of employment discrimination claims under federal and Pennsylvania law including, but not limited to, claims under the Family Medical Leave Act of 1973, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Since 2016, Ms. Park has served as the Firm’s Director of Diversity & Inclusion. In that role, she oversees the Firm’s Diversity Planning Committee, which develops and implements strategies for the recruitment, retention and advancement of diverse attorneys at the Firm. Through the Firm’s C&G Academy Ms. Park has also recently presented seminars that touch upon hot button employment-related issues. Presentations include “Employers Beware: Intersection of Politics and Social Media in the Workplace” and “Developments in Transgender Bathroom Laws: Ramifications for the Workplace.”

Mr. Lynch is a partner in the law firm of Lynch Carpenter LLP, a national law firm with offices in Pittsburgh, Chicago and San Diego, which focuses upon plaintiff class actions and complex litigation. Mr. Lynch has been engaged in the practice of law for the last thirty-two years and has developed a nationally recognized plaintiffs’ class action practice in the areas of employee rights, consumer protection, and data breach and privacy litigation. Mr. Lynch and his firm have handled hundreds of class actions in federal and state courts throughout the country. He has been appointed as class counsel in cases brought against many of the country’s largest business organizations and has achieved many substantial recoveries on behalf of plaintiff classes. In 2012, Mr. Lynch served as Counsel of Record before the United States Supreme Court in the case of Genesis HealthCare Corp. v. Symczyk, addressing the issue of whether Rule 68 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure can be used to moot a Fair Labor Standards Act collective action. In 2018, Mr. Lynch successfully argued before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in the groundbreaking case of Dittman v. UPMC, in which the Court recognized a common law duty of care for holders of electronically stored personally-identifiable information. In 2018, in the case of Verma v. 3001 Castor, Inc. (E.D. Pa.), Mr. Lynch obtained a $4.59 Million jury verdict on behalf of a class of workers who had been misclassified as independent contractors. Mr. Lynch has been appointed to leadership positions in some of the largest and most complex data breach and privacy cases of the past several years. He served as Co-lead Counsel for the financial institution plaintiffs in the data breach cases of In Re Home Depot, Inc., Customer Data Security Breach Litigation, MDL No. 2583 (N.D. Ga.), In Re: Equifax Inc., Customer Data Security Breach Litigation, MDL No. 2800 (N.D. Ga.) and First Choice Federal Credit Union v. The Wendy’s Company (W.D. Pa.). Mr. Lynch was appointed to the five-member overall Executive Committee responsible for both the consumer and financial institution plaintiff tracks of the In re Target Corporation Customer Data Security Breach Litigation, MDL No. 2522 (D. Minn.) and currently serves as Co-Lead Counsel representing student loan borrowers in In re: FedLoan Student Loan Servicing Litigation, No. 2:18-md-02833-CDJ (E.D. Pa.), and was appointed by the court to serve as a member of the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee in the consumer data breach case In re: Marriott International, Inc., Customer Data Security Breach Litigation, No. 8:19-md-2879-PWG (D. Md.). Mr. Lynch earned his Juris Doctor degree in 1989 from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, where he served as an Editor of the University of Pittsburgh Law Review, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from the Pennsylvania State University in 1986. Mr. Lynch was Attorney of the Year Finalist for the Legal Intelligencer’s 2019 Professional Excellence Awards. He has an “AV” rating from Martindale Hubbell, has been rated as a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer, and is a frequent local and national Continuing Legal Education lecturer.

Ms. Cimini is a partner with and serves as the Chair of both the Employment and ADR Groups of the Pittsburgh law firm, Leech Tishman Fuscaldo and Lampl LLC. She counsels, represents and litigates on behalf of employers in all aspects of the employment relationship, including hiring, performance management, wage payment, absenteeism and disability, employment discrimination, discipline and discharge. Ms. Cimini regularly works with employers on workplace harassment, diversity and culture change initiatives. She frequently represents employers in employment and labor matters pending before the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, National Labor Relations Board and Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board. Ms. Cimini has been certified as a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) by the Human Resources Certification Institute (HRCI) and is a member of the Society for Human Resource Management. She is a board member and past president of Tri-State Society for Human Resource Management and former board member of Pittsburgh Human Resources Association. She is also a member of the Allegheny County Personnel Board. Ms. Cimini is a member of the American, Pennsylvania and Allegheny County Bar Associations Labor and Employment Sections. A significant portion of Ms. Cimini’s practice focuses on conflict resolution. She frequently serves as a mediator, early neutral evaluator and arbitrator for the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, American Arbitration Association, UPMC Intermediation Panel, American Health Lawyers Association and private parties. Ms. Cimini is the immediate past Chair of the Pennsylvania Bar Association ADR Committee, and is the current President of the Mediation Council of Western Pennsylvania. She is also a member of the American Bar Association Dispute Resolution Section and the Allegheny County Bar Association ADR Committee. Ms. Cimini currently is one of a select few mediators in Pennsylvania and across the nation who have met the strict training and experience requirements to attain Advanced Workplace Practitioner designation from the Association for Conflict Resolution. She received her training as a mediator at Harvard Law School, the Center for Dispute Settlement and the former Pittsburgh Mediation Center. Ms. Cimini is admitted to practice law in Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia. She is a frequent speaker on employment, labor and conflict resolution issues. For several years, she has been recognized as one of Pennsylvania’s and Pittsburgh’s best lawyers in a survey published by Philadelphia Magazine. Ms. Cimini has also been recognized for several years as an outstanding employment attorney and mediator in The Best Lawyers in America®.

Mr. Cordes is a partner in the Pittsburgh law firm, Rothman Gordon P.C. He primarily represents plaintiffs in employment discrimination, ERISA and civil rights actions. He often lectures on employment law topics for the Pennsylvania Bar Institute, as well as other local and national organizations. He graduated magna cum laude from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, where he was an editor of the Journal of Law and Commerce. He also holds an M.A. in Journalism. He is a Fellow of the National College of Labor and Employment Lawyers and a member of the Allegheny County Academy of Trial Lawyers. He is rated AV by Martindale-Hubble, and is listed in the 2004-2019 editions of The Best Lawyers in America; the 2004-2019 edition of Pennsylvania Super Lawyers; the 2019 Top 100 Super Lawyers in Pennsylvania and Top 50 Super Lawyers in Pittsburgh. The Pittsburgh Tribune Review calls Mr. Cordes “the Archangel of employment rights” in Western Pennsylvania; an “excellent and extremely creative lawyer, which makes him dangerous for the opposition.” The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette notes Mr. Cordes is “extremely smart in the scholarly sense and has that practical street smart sense. You don’t see that combination in too many lawyers.” Mr. Cordes has tried numerous high-profile employment discrimination cases in the Western District of Pennsylvania. He was lead counsel in the largest individual ADEA verdict and largest pregnancy discrimination verdicts ever awarded in the Western District of Pennsylvania, and won the first employment case under the Americans with Disabilities Act to be tried to verdict in the Western District of Pennsylvania. In 2017, Mr. Cordes won the first case in Pennsylvania in which the Court found a public employers failure to provide retiree spousal health care benefits to a gay couple violates the federal civil rights laws and the U.S. Constitution. Some of his noteworthy appellate cases include: Karlo v. Pittsburgh Glass Works, 849 F.3d 61 (3d Cir. 2017); Ryder v. Westinghouse Elec. Corp., 128 F.3d 128 (3rd Cir.1997), cert denied, 522 U.S. 1116 (1998); Brewer v. Quaker State Oil Refining Corp., 72 F.3d 326 (3d Cir. 1995); Fiscus v. Wal-Mart, 385 F.3d 378 (3d Cir. 2004); Boyle v. Allegheny County, 139 F.3d 386 (3d Cir. 1998); Robinson v. Pittsburgh, 120 F.3d 1286 (3d Cir. 1997); Fowler-Nash v. Democratic Caucus of Pennsylvania House of Representatives, 469 F.3d 328 (3d Cir. 2006); Armour v. County of Beaver, 271 F.3d 417 (3d Cir. 2001), cert denied, 535 U.S. 1079 (2002); Mr. Cordes teaches and writes extensively in employment law and legal ethics. He has authored or co-authored more than 20 articles on employment law topics for local and national publications.

Shelly R. Pagac is a Director and the new Chair of the Employment and Labor Practice Group, bringing decades of experience in counseling, training, litigating all employment matters, and defending employers nationwide. Shelly partners with businesses to develop proactive strategies that foster healthy workplaces while ensuring compliance with labor and employment regulations. With a distinguished career spanning over three decades, Shelly is a trusted advisor having successfully represented clients in state and federal courts across the United States. Shelly has extensive experience handling a broad spectrum of employment law matters, including non-compete agreements, class actions under the Fair Labor Standards Act, Title VII discrimination claims, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and Sarbanes-Oxley whistleblower cases. She has also defended employers against state tort claims such as defamation, wrongful discharge, and breach of contract. As a member of the Academy of Trial Lawyers of Western Pennsylvania, Shelly is recognized for her courtroom advocacy and trial success, having tried numerous cases to verdict, including a five-day sexual harassment trial in the Western District of Pennsylvania. Shelly has become a go-to investigator for employers dealing with workplace misconduct, particularly in the wake of the #MeToo movement. She is also an approved mediator for the Federal District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, leveraging her deep understanding of employment law to help businesses resolve disputes efficiently. Shelly is a dedicated leader in the legal community, serving as a Hearing Officer for the Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania and playing an integral role in shaping employment law discussions as a Planning Committee member for the Allegheny County Bar Association Employment Law Seminar. Her commitment to professional excellence has earned her numerous accolades, including recognition in The Best Lawyers in America® for Employment Law and Litigation – Labor and Employment, as well as repeat selections as a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer. Beyond her legal practice, Shelly is passionate about giving back. She has held leadership roles in various community organizations, including serving as the Secretary on the Board of Quantum Theatre and last year’s Co-Chair of the QBall, Pittsburgh Action Against Rape, and the Allegheny County Bar Association, where she has championed diversity and inclusion in the legal profession. As the leader of Houston Harbaugh’s Employment and Labor Practice Group, Shelly is dedicated to providing strategic counsel to employers, ensuring compliance, mitigating risk, and aggressively defending their interests when litigation arises.

Mr. Murphy is a Shareholder in the Pittsburgh office of Littler Mendelson, P.C. He represents employers in class and individual employment discrimination actions, wrongful discharge claims and wage-hour collective and class actions, and also in National Labor Relations Board proceedings, collective bargaining and labor arbitration. He has extensive jury trial experience and substantial experience in litigation with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Mr. Murphy is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania and New York, and before multiple federal district and appellate courts. He is a member of the American Bar Association’s Labor and Employment Law Section, and its Equal Employment Opportunity Committee, and the Litigation Section. He also is a member of the New York State Bar Association’s Section on Labor and Employment Law.  Since 2004, Chambers USA has identified Mr. Murphy as one of the Pennsylvania’s leading employment lawyers for business.  Since 2006, his peers have selected him to be included in The Best Lawyers in America.  He is a Fellow in the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers and is listed in The International Who’s Who of Management Labour and Employment Lawyers.  He is a recognized author, commentator and lecturer on workplace issues.  He has published articles in the University of Pittsburgh Law Review, the Syracuse Law Review and the Labor Law Journal. He is co-author of the Employment Law Deskbook for Human Resources Professionals (West Group, 2001 and 2005).  He has been a chapter editor and senior editor of Employment Discrimination Law (BNA). He received his B.A. from the University of Rochester, his M.S. from Cornell University and his J.D. from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law.

Tiffany of Cozen O’Connor helps employers manage the workforce. She is experienced with employers of all sizes, in all industries, with and without union representation. Tiffany helps employers avoid costly disputes and maintain positive employee relations by working with clients to develop risk-mitigation strategies. In this regard, Tiffany assists employers with compliance measures, such as internal investigations and staff and supervisory training, and provides employment resources tailored to each client’s specific business needs – including employee handbooks, performance management plans, and restrictive covenant agreements. For employers with a unionized workforce, Tiffany represents the employer at the bargaining table. Tiffany helps employers manage their operations by answering day-to-day questions about everything from hiring to firing, including medical leave, drug testing, and reductions in force. She routinely provides advice on basic and complex discrimination and harassment issues, as well as a host of other issues arising under Title VII, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, the National Labor Relations Act, and similar state and local laws. For employers with a unionized workforce, Tiffany also assists with administering collective bargaining agreements. Tiffany helps employers resolve personnel disputes when they arise, both inside and outside the courtroom. She takes time to understand the client’s specific goals, and manages the situation accordingly. When called for, she vigorously defends employers in administrative proceedings, grievance arbitration, and state and federal litigation. Tiffany also has extensive experience litigating restrictive covenant actions and representing institutions of higher education in Title IX disputes.

Mr. Hardy is a Shareholder and the Managing Partner of the Pittsburgh Office of Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C. He counsels employers on all aspects of their employment relationships to achieve their organizational goals while avoiding litigation whenever possible. In doing so, Mr. Hardy takes a practical and proactive real world approach to solving workplace problems. Because lawsuits cannot always be avoided, much of Mr. Hardy’s practice involves representing employers as lead counsel in federal and state court litigation (including class and collective actions and appeals), commercial and labor arbitrations, and administrative proceedings. Mr. Hardy routinely defends employers in investigations conducted by governmental agencies such as the EEOC, PHRC, DOL, and NLRB, and he conducts and oversees internal corporate investigations of alleged fraud, embezzlement, theft, discrimination, harassment, and other forms of employee misconduct. Mr. Hardy also represents clients in employment-related intellectual property matters and in traditional labor settings, such as arbitration, NLRB proceedings and collective bargaining. He works with employers to draft and negotiate executive employment agreements and severance agreements; he assists employers in navigating the legal and practical complexities of involuntary reduction-in-force and early exit incentive programs; he collaborates with employers to craft legally compliant and strategically effective workplace policies; and he provides training to managers and employees on various legal and ethical compliance issues. Mr. Hardy also counsels colleges and universities on student accommodation and other issues. He is experienced in representing employers in a myriad of industries ranging from healthcare, higher education, and banking, to transportation and manufacturing, so he strives to thoughtfully consider the unique market forces and regulatory environments in which each of his clients operate. Employers seek out Mr. Hardy as a trusted advisor knowing that his judgment, skills and talents can be deployed effectively to address issues impacting people from the mail room to the C-Suite in courtrooms, in board rooms and at bargaining tables. Mr. Hardy received his B.A., magna cum laude, from Allegheny College and his J.D. from the University of Notre Dame.

Andrea Clark Smith is the Associate Chief Legal Officer and SVP Employment, Labor and Physician Contracting for UPMC. At UPMC, Andrea leads a team of lawyers, paraprofessional and HR professionals who provide support to various UPMC entities on legal issues related to all employees and the work environment. Andrea has been named by Savoy magazine as one of the most influential leaders in business in the country, by the New Pittsburgh Courier as a Woman of Influence and in 2021, she was inducted into the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers – an exclusive legal society whose members are nationally recognized as labor and employment law experts. In addition to her work with UPMC, Andrea serves a Board Member/Trustee for a number of non-profit organizations in the city, including – Literacy Pittsburgh, where she serves as the Board Chair, Urban Leage of Greater Pittsburgh, The Trade Institute of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Public Theater, Sarah Heinz House and the Pittsburgh Legal Diversity and Inclusions Coalition. Andrea also serves as a Board member for the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry.

Kevin P. Allen is managing partner of the Pittsburgh office of Duane Morris LLP. Mr. Allen concentrates his trial practice on commercial litigation with an emphasis on contract disputes, business torts and the defense of class actions and consumer protection actions. A member of the Academy of Trial Lawyers of Allegheny County, Mr. Allen’s first-chair experience includes state and federal jury and nonjury trials, injunction proceedings and binding arbitrations. He also has argued appellate cases before the Third Circuit, the Federal Circuit, and Pennsylvania’s Supreme, Superior and Commonwealth Courts. Mr. Allen, the author of The Attorney-Client Privilege and Work-Product Doctrine in Pennsylvania, now in its seventh edition, has served as a court appointed special discovery master to address privilege and work-product issues. Mr. Allen is a 1995 graduate of the University of Pittsburgh School of Law and a graduate of Yale University.