Laurie A. Holmes advises clients in the areas of employment litigation and counseling, or as she likes to call it, “soap opera law.” She prides herself on giving down-to-earth and legally sound advice, delivered with compassion and a dose of humor where appropriate. She believes her practice area requires this.

Laurie’s clients seek her advice on issues involving harassment, discrimination, leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act, accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act, classifications under the Fair Labor Standards Act and every employment-related topic in between. She drafts severance agreements, employment agreements and non-compete agreements and ensures that they are written so that the average employee can actually understand them. Each day she fields questions like, “Can I fire an employee who is too sick to return to work, but ran a marathon yesterday?” “Do I have to accommodate an employee who says he can work full-time, but not one minute of overtime?” and “Our CFO has porn delivered to the office and his secretary opens his mail. Is that harassment?” She is rarely bored.

Her clients come in all kinds. She has represented nonprofit organizations, major public corporations, mid-size corporations, family-owned businesses, health care systems, start-up companies and (occasionally) individuals. She has developed particular experience in representing foreign companies who seek to do business in the United States and are often puzzled and/or amazed by U.S. employment laws.