Meira Schulman Ferziger

CLICK HERE FOR AN INTERVIEW WITH MEIRA

Meira is the head of the labor and employment practice at Outside Counsel Solutions.

She practiced in the labor and employment group at Seyfarth Seyfarth, Shaw, Fairweather & Geraldson, and has served as Assistant General Counsel in the Employment Division of the City University of New York. Meira has significant experience in drafting policies, agreements, employee handbooks and guidelines in compliance with federal and state law. Meira functions as an integral part of the day to day operation of corporate clients by counseling them through their employment-related practices and decisions, and also advises clients as to employment issues that arise from corporate transactions, such as restructurings or acquisitions.

Representative Matters

• Advising clients as to proper development and implementation of employment policies under federal and state law, including issuance of regular updates as to changes in employment and labor laws and their potential impact on clients.
• Guiding corporate clients through layoff and downsizing process, including drafting termination letters, severance agreements and releases, and advising re: avoidance of discrimination, unjust dismissal and breach of contract claims.
• Advising start-up companies as to structuring key executive employment agreements, sales agent contracts, bonus incentives, non-competition and non-solicitation agreements, and employee benefit packages.
• Conducting due diligence and advising client as to employment issues related to corporate acquisitions.
• Counseling large corporation as to employment issues related to public offering, and worked with in-house attorneys to draft and negotiate employment agreements for key executives.
• Representing clients in employment agreement negotiations with high-level employees.
• Serving as liaison between U.S. client and European counsel as to employment issues raised by purchase of foreign company.
• Developing non-competition, non-disclosure and non-solicitation agreements to protect corporate clients.
• Drafting employee handbooks and employment policies.

In the News

• The American Lawyer profiles Outside Counsel Solutions
• The Jerusalem Post article on US lawyers moving to Israel

Publications

• Monitoring Employee Electronic Communications: A Violation of an Employee’s Right to Privacy?

• ADA Amendments Expand the Definition of Disability
• Terminating an Employee in the Current Economic Environment

• Contractual Waiver of Exclusivity of Workers’ Compensation Remedy, 117 A.L.R.5^th 441 (2004).
• Procedural Issues Concerning Public School Funding Cases, 115 A.L.R.5^th 563 (2004).
• Validity of Public School Funding Systems, 110 A.L.R.5^th 293 (2003).
• Pursuit of Nonjudicial Remedy for Employment Discrimination as Amounting to Election Against Judicial Remedy, 103 A.L.R.5^th 557 (2002).

Speaking Engagements

• “Key legal employment issues for foreign companies with employees in the USA.”

Interview with Meira Schulman Ferziger

• What do you enjoy about practicing labor and employment law?

I enjoy assisting clients with whatever daily employment issues arise.  We work together to develop creative solutions by applying the requirements of the law to the individual client’s needs.

• What is the most challenging aspect of your job?

It is challenging to counsel employers to practice preventative maintenance instead of waiting until a potential problem blows up.  I try to encourage my clients to think ahead in order to avoid pitfalls down the road.

• If you were not a lawyer what would you do?

If I were not a lawyer, I would be a psychologist.  The psychology of the way employers and employees think is a fundamental part of running a successful enterprise.

• What is the worst mistake a client can make?

In my area of law, the worst mistake that a client can make is firing an employee without calling an experienced employment lawyer first.