Valerie C. Samuels

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.