Know To Grow:
Uncomfortable Conversations: How to Advocate for Yourself in Response to an Instance of Workplace Harassment or Discrimination
Presented by Lindsay Goldbrum and Lawrence Pearson
Thursday, October 29, 2020
12 pm CDT
(10 am Pacific, 11 am Mountain, 1 pm Eastern)
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The #MeToo movement has empowered women around the globe to stand up for their rights when they experience misogyny in the workplace. However, especially during a pandemic when unemployment is at an all-time high, discrimination in the workplace can leave employees feeling paralyzed with a stressful dilemma: speak out and potentially risk professional consequences, or stay silent and allow the mistreatment to continue. Knowing when is the right time to speak out and understanding best practices in communications when voicing complaints or reporting misconduct can help you advocate for the safe and supportive work environment you deserve.
• The meaning of “employment at will” and how it applies to workplace retaliation
• The importance of documenting everything, and how best to do so
• When is it appropriate to secretly record someone? (Hint: check your state’s laws first)
• Common types of employer retaliation
• Best practices for voicing complaints, including what medium to use and with whom to file a complaint
• Practical advice on how to articulate complaints in a way that protects you from retaliation
• What to do if your complaint is ignored or met with backlash from management
ABOUT LINDSAY GOLDBRUM AND LAWRENCE PEARSON
Lindsay M. Goldbrum is an Associate at Wigdor LLP. Ms. Goldbrum represents individuals in a wide range of employment matters, including sexual harassment, sexual assault, discrimination, retaliation, defamation, family and medical leave, whistleblower and contract claims. Ms.Goldbrum has significant experience litigating cases in both the civil and criminal arenas. Among her notable clients, Ms.Goldbrum represented Tarale Wulff, a model who testified against Harvey Weinstein as a Molineux witness at his criminal trial in New York. Prior to joining Wigdor LLP, Ms. Goldbrum worked as an Assistant District Attorney in the Kings County District Attorney’s Office, where she prosecuted criminal matters in Kings County Criminal Court and Kings County Supreme Court. A stalwart advocate for LGBTQ+ rights both in and outside of the employment context, Ms. Goldbrum currently serves on the Board of Directors for LeGal, the LGBT Bar Association of Greater New York. She has also been selected to the Super Lawyers Rising Stars list. Ms. Goldbrum received a B.A. in both Government and Politics and Criminology and Criminal Justice from the University of Maryland- College Park, and her J.D. from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, where she was awarded the Cardozo Service and Achievement Award and served as a Notes Editor on the Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution, as well as the President of Cardozo Law’s LGBT student group, OUTlaw.
Lawrence M. Pearson is a Partner at Wigdor LLP. Mr. Pearson is a leading labor and employment attorney with over 18 years of experience in the field. He has represented thousands of employees in legal matters involving sexual harassment, discrimination, retaliation, whistleblowing, wrongful termination, executive compensation, breach of contract, wage and hour violations, entertainment law, civil rights law and class actions. In addition to counseling employees, Mr. Pearson also is a trusted advisor to businesses and has extensive experience advising employers on dispute resolution, workplace policies and compliance, internal investigations, leaves of absence and disability accommodation, restrictive covenants, recruiting and hiring practices, and many other issues. He has handled numerous cases that have received widespread media attention and is regularly quoted as a legal expert in leading national print and digital media. Mr. Pearson represents clients from a wide array of industries including, but not limited to, financial services, law, technology, media and entertainment, publishing and journalism, medicine, hospitality, education, government, architecture, and many others. He has been recognized as a leading labor and employment attorney by Best Lawyers, a widely regarded peer review service, and has also been selected to the Super Lawyers list for seven consecutive years. Mr. Person received a B.A. in Political Science, cum laude, from The George Washington University, and his J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School.
ABOUT WIGDOR LLP
Wigdor LLP is widely considered one of the leading plaintiffs’ employment law firms in the United States. For over 17 years, Wigdor LLP has paved the road to justice on behalf of victims of corporate misconduct at the highest levels. Whether that includes holding abusive executives and the firms that employ them accountable for unlawful conduct, pressuring companies to acknowledge wrongdoing and change their policies, promoting cultural change and advancing legislation that ensures the protection of employees’ rights, or winning millions of dollars at trial and arbitration on behalf of their clients, the employment attorneys at Wigdor LLP have an exemplary track record and unmatched negotiating power for a boutique plaintiffs’ law firm. As a result, the Firm is able to settle the fact majority of its cases, often before a complaint is ever filed. These confidential settlements total over $1 billion.
The attorneys at Wigdor LLP are highly experienced in the successful litigation of class action, multi-plaintiff and individual plaintiff employment and civil rights lawsuits. The Firm is routinely recognized for extraordinary achievement in the categories of employee discrimination, wrongful termination, civil rights, whistleblower retaliation and wage-and-hour law. Notably, Wigdor LLP is one of just four law firms to be ranked by Chambers and Partners in the category of Labor and Employment: Mainly Plaintiffs Representation in New York.
The Firm’s Founding Partner, Douglas H. Wigdor, is widely regarded as one of New York’s most successful employment attorneys. Named a winner of the New York Law Journal’s Distinguished Leader Award in 2020, Mr. Wigdor is well known for representing victims in some of the most closely watched sexual harassment, sexual assault and employment discrimination cases of the last decade. A tireless advocate for victims of employer misconduct, Mr. Wigdor is a Forbes Diversity & Inclusion Contributor and can often be seen standing up for his clients’ rights in television and radio interviews; he has even testified before the UK Parliament in connection with his high-profile cases. He has been profiled by The New York Times, Bloomberg Businessweek and the London Independent, was named a Top 100 Hollywood Power Lawyer by The Hollywood Reporter and has landed on Billboard’s 2020 Top Music Lawyers list.