Legal Updates and Firm News

HAGRS LLP Welcomes New Associate Jennifer Sniadecki in Florida Office

HAGRS LLP is pleased to announce that Jennifer Sniadecki has joined the firm as an associate in its Seagrove Beach, Florida office.  Jennifer is a graduate of American Military University.  She received her law degree at the Mercer University – Walter F. George School of Law, where she was Co-Editor of the Mercer Intraschool Mock Trial Competition, President of the Association of Veteran...Read More

HAGRS LLP Welcomes New Associate Wayne Cartwright

HAGRS LLP is pleased to announce that Wayne Cartwright has joined the firm as an associate in its Atlanta office.  Wayne joins us from the law firm of Insley & Race LLP, where he gained significant litigation experience representing businesses and individuals in a variety of general liability and professional negligence matters.  Wayne is a summa cum laude graduate of the University of...Read More

HAGRS LLP Obtains Complete Defense Verdict After 5-Day Jury Trial.

Hall, Arbery, Gilligan, Robert & Shanlever LLP has secured a complete defense verdict for its client, a nationally acclaimed sports organization, following a five-day jury trial before Chief Judge Robert C. I. McBurney in Fulton County Superior Court (Atlanta, Georgia).   HAGRS’s trial team of partner Matt Gilligan and associates Elizabeth Newton and Brian Abrams defended their client...Read More

HAGRS LLP Obtains Summary Judgment in Race Discrimination Case in U.S. District Court

HAGRS LLP recently obtained a grant of Summary Judgment and a complete dismissal of a lawsuit alleging that its client, a national financial institution, discriminated against the plaintiff (a current employee) on the basis of her race.  The plaintiff alleged that our client failed to promote her to a senior management position.  HAGRS Partner Wit Hall and associate Thomas Cox represented our...Read More

HAGRS LLP Lawyers Included in 2019 Edition of The Best Lawyers in America©

Two attorneys at Hall, Arbery, Gilligan, Roberts & Shanlever LLP have been included in “The Best Lawyers in America© for 2019.”  Attorneys Matt Gilligan, Chris Arbery were selected by their peers for their “high caliber of work” in the practice area of Employment Law – Management.  Inclusion in Best Lawyers is based on a “rigorous peer-review survey.”  Corporate Counsel magazine has called...Read More

Only 30 Days Until OSHA’s New Recordkeeping Rules Go Into Effect

Employers will face a number of new obligations under OSHA’s revised recordkeeping rules as of August 10, 2016.  These include (1) a new anti-retaliation provision; (2) new employee notification requirements; and (3) a new requirement to implement and maintain a “reasonable” injury and illness reporting procedure.  For employers required to record injuries and illnesses under OSHA’s...Read More

DOL Issues New Final Rule on FLSA Exemptions Vastly Increasing the Number of Employees Eligible for Overtime Pay

Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division announced its Final Rule updating the salary requirements for exemptions from overtime pay requirements under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The Final Rule more than doubles the salary threshold needed to satisfy the most common exemptions, raising it from $23,660 to $47,476 annually ($455 to $913 weekly), and increases the...Read More

Are You Ready for the New Overtime Exemption Rules?

The new salary requirements for overtime exemptions are expected to take effect in 2016.  As reported in a previous legal update, the proposed final rule would more than double the salary level required for exemptions applicable to executive, administrative, or professional employees, from $455 per week ($23,660 per year) to $970 per week ($50,440 per year). Employers are urged to review their...Read More

New Federal Trade Secrets Law Features “Civil Seizure” Remedy

The “Defend Trade Secrets Act” has passed through Congress and is awaiting signature by President Obama, which is expected any day now.  Up to now, trade secrets have been the exclusive province of state law.  Although the new law will not displace state laws, it will provide an overlapping set of procedures to protect trade secrets and allow for enforcement of misappropriation claims in...Read More

Untimely Discrimination Claims Could Be Revived

A recent decision by the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals (covering Georgia, Florida, and Alabama) may have opened the door for countless otherwise-expired claims of age discrimination with no evidence of intentional basis. In Villareal v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., the Court ruled that an unsuccessful job applicant could pursue a claim of age discrimination under the federal Age...Read More