Valerie C. Samuels

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Valerie's practice focus includes discrimination, sexual harassment, wrongful termination, reductions in force, wage and hour, whistleblowing, and restrictive covenants. She specializes in guiding international companies, including those in the United Kingdom, Israel, Canada, Italy and Germany. Valerie provides harassment, discrimination and diversity awareness training, drafts employee handbooks, social media, and other policies. She also represents management in connection with union elections, unfair labor practices, collective bargaining, grievances and arbitration and union avoidance counseling. She has guided numerous companies and executives through the most difficult employment situations, with sensitivity, intellectualism, and compassion.
Valerie mediates and arbitrates cases for private parties, and has mediated cases for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the United States District Court for Massachusetts. She is a member of the American Arbitration Association Arbitration Panel for Employment Disputes. Valerie was trained in civil mediation by the Community Dispute Settlement Center in 2001, and also received advanced mediation training. She is certified as a harassment prevention and disability discrimination trainer by the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination. Valerie conducts workplace investigations and fact-finding.
Valerie also has substantial expertise in executive advocacy and transition, representing employers, executives, and professionals in complex employment issues, including contract negotiation, non-competition and non-solicitation covenants, severance, change of control, deferred compensation, and equity interests.
Valerie routinely appears before federal and state courts and agencies, including the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Department of Labor and the National Labor Relations Board. Valerie was previously a Partner at Posternak Blankstein & Lund LLP.
Client Work
- Represented multi-national company in connection with comparable pay issues and the dismissal of sexual harassment and national origin claims.
- Represented a senior executive in a retaliation case against a major high- tech company in Massachusetts Superior Court and the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination.
- Mediated discrimination, retaliation, wage and hour, and commercial disputes.
- Represented a multi-national advertising agency in maternity, gender, and age discrimination claims, including proceedings before the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination and the Massachusetts Superior Court.
- Represented a senior sales manager in gender, age, and familial discrimination case against a high tech company.
- Represented a pregnant employee in a gender bias claim.
- Represented a national facilities management company in an age discrimination class action case in federal court.
- Represented multiple employees in wage and hour litigation.
- Represented a group of female employees in sexual harassment claims against their employer and third parties.
- Represented a community health center in a disability discrimination claim in federal court.
- Represented a national truck leasing company in connection with multiple sexual harassment claims.
- Represented multiple clients in the prosecution and defense of lawsuits concerning breach of non-competition, non-solicitation, and confidentiality restrictions.
- Represented a national health care provider in multiple discrimination claims involving gender, race and disability discrimination.
- Represented commercial real estate companies in housing discrimination claims.
- Represented insureds in connection with legal malpractice claims in discrimination cases.
- Represented management in unionization campaigns, collective bargaining, labor arbitrations.
- Represented insureds in bad faith claims.
Awards & Recognition
- Best Lawyers in America, Best Lawyers (2023)
- “AV-Preeminent” designation by Martindale Hubbell
- Massachusetts Super Lawyer in 2004, 2005, and every year from 2007 – 2022
- “2016 Top Woman Lawyer” by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly
- “Top 10 Attorneys” in 2006 in Women’s Business
- “New England’s Top Rated Lawyers” in 2013 by ALM
Memberships
- American Bar Association, Section on Labor and Employment Law (international Employment Law Committee) and Alternative Dispute Resolution
- Boston Bar Association, Section on Labor and Employment Law and Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee
- Massachusetts Bar Association, Labor and Employment Law Section
- Massachusetts LGBT Bar Association
- British American Business Council of New England
- New England Chapter of the Association for Conflict Resolution
- Society for Human Resource Management
- National Employment Lawyers Association
- Defense Research Institute
- Justice Resource Institute, Inc., Member, Board of Trustees
- USA 500 Clubs, Member
Publications, Presentations & Recognitions
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Co-author, "ESG Leads To Increased Employee And Board Diversity," Mass Bar Association, April 2022
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Guest on the Radio Entrepreneurs podcast episode, "Why Companies Should Mandate Vaccines," October 2021
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Guest on the Boston Podcast Network episode, "Valerie Samuels, the Master of Employment Disaster," September 2021
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Valerie was quoted in Law 360's "3 Tips Employers Can Glean from Cuomo's Implosion," August 11, 2021
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Panelist, “A Call to Action: DE&I Training to Erase Unconscious Bias and Microaggressions,” The DEI Summit: Diversity Officers & HR Taking Charge, November 3, 2021
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Conference Co-Chair, "42nd Annual Labor & Employment Law Spring Conference", Massachusetts Bar Association, June 2021
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“Employer COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates,” Massachusetts Bar Association, March/April 2021
- Valerie was quoted in Boston.com’s article “NDA, non-compete and employment agreement – what are they?”, October 14, 2019
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Education
The George Washington University Law School, JD, with honorsVassar College, AB, cum laude