Human Resource Executive

culture of respect and accountability fostered from the top-down. That lack of leadership, he says, suggests that an accusation, even if well-founded, won’t result in effective punishment.

Management needs to show that a commitment to eradicate sexual harassment is not just a legal requirement fulfilled by periodic training. That can be illustrated by consistently prompt investigations and the administration of effective penalties where appropriate, he says.

“While training is an important and necessary component of any anti-harassment policy, it must be accompanied by effective and timely follow-through, including investigating promptly and holding perpetrators,

even top management, accountable,” says Enjamio.

Time for New Thinking on Training

The EEOC’s 2016 Select Task Force on the Study of Harassment in the Workplace report found that much of the workplace training done on the issue in the last 30 years has failed as a prevention tool. It’s time, the EEOC says, for “new and different” training approaches.

That’s no surprise to repeat winner Jonathan Stoler, a partner in the labor and employment practice at Sheppard Mullin in New York. Stoler says HR leaders need to revamp training if the #Me Too movement is going to actually lessen workplace sexual-harassment claims.

Since Title VII of the Civil Rights
Act of 1964, which prohibits workplace
discrimination, was enacted, employers
have understood the importance
of periodic training for staff and
supervisors, Stoler says. But over
time, employees and employers have
It should offer an experience that
brings real workplace situations to
life, allowing employees to say, “Hey,
you know, I’ve seen that situation
before,” or “I recall somebody making
a comment like that,” Stoler says.

“It means creating a scenario that perhaps either they’ve experienced or that they’ve seen or heard, and then educating them on how to address it, how to remedy it, how to prevent it,” he adds, noting that most HR departments are well-intentioned when it comes to training but don’t have a strategy to drive success.

“What has gotten stale or where [HR leaders] have grown comfortable is in the way they are delivering those messages to employees,” he says. “It’s amazing that after practicing for 25 years, giving these training sessions to hundreds and hundreds of clients, I’m just as busy today on sexual-harassment cases as I was 25 years ago.”

Best Practices: Ways to Make Change
Apart from training aimed
at prevention, Enjamio from
Hunton Andrews Kurth advises
that organizations have multiple
channels for employees to register
complaints if a situation does arise.
He says this practice can foster trust
that the employer will investigate
promptly, thoroughly and in a neutral,
independent manner.
Creating and communicating
a strong reporting system can
encourage empowerment, Seyfarth
Shaw’s Damon says, and HR should
training, and it has largely become a
“check-the-box” obligation that falls
well short of its intentions.

“Much of the training that some
employers use is very similar in
that they’re sort of these boring
PowerPoints that explain what the law
is, identifying what sexual harassment
is,” Stoler says, noting such sessions
miss the mark on promoting tangible
steps for creating a “tolerant,
respectful, workplace environment.”
“Our clients want to make sure that
people are not only checking the box
and saying they went to training, but
instead are really getting something
out of it,” he says. Stoler adds that what
HR departments and employers have
lost sight of is that, to be effective,
training needs to resonate with
employees.

It’s important for accusers to truly
feel that their complaints are
being heard. “They need to know
that they will be supported or
protected.”

— JULIANNE STORY

How They Are Selected

This is the 11th edition of the “Nation’s Most Powerful Employment Attorneys,” a joint project produced by Human Resource Executive® and Lawdragon, a media company that has been issuing “best of” lawyer lists ince 1989. When the guide was created in 2007, it honored the nation’s top 50 corporate employment attorneys. It now recognizes 216 employment lawyers who stand out for their ability to guide employers through the constantly evolving laws governing the workplace. In this issue, HRE and Lawdragon honor 100 leading corporate-side lawyers; 20 specialists apiece in immigration, traditional labor law, and employee benefits and ERISA; and 40 Up-and-Comers.

That latter group serves as one of the most exciting features of these lists, with more than 25 lawyers moving from our “farm team” to the major league over the years. This year, three standout employment lawyers—Lorie Almon of Seyfarth Shaw, Dawn Siler-Nixon of FordHarrison and Jennifer Keller of Baker Donelson, who also became president and COO of her firm—moved from Up-and-Comers to the Top 100. Joining them are Robert Newman of Covington, who was recognized in the ERISA top 20, and Michael Lebowich of Proskauer, who was recognized in the traditional labor and employment’s top 20.

Another special facet of this guide is the HRE/Lawdragon Hall of Fame, now in its sixth year. It features legends of the employment bar, whose contributions to the field and firms are unparalleled. Very few lawyers are considered for Hall of Fame status—which begins with 35 years in the employment-law trenches and requires consistent recognition for all-around excellence in counseling clients, contributing to the bar and serving as a visionary to improve workplaces. This year, 16 attorneys were added to the Hall of Fame and will be retired from future consideration for other lists; their achievements are perpetually recognized on HRE’s website at https://bit.ly/2IXUrkX and on Lawdragon’s website at https://bit.ly/2IIUdOv.

Each of these lists is intended to offer corporate counsel and human resource professionals an unsurpassed guide to the best lawyers to help them resolve difficult employment situations and keep them in compliance with the country’s increasingly complicated and changing workplace-related laws and regulations.

The process pairs online balloting and submissions with rigorous vetting, as well as editorial and peer review. Last December, HRE’s 75,000-plus subscribers and Lawdragon’s 500,000 database members were invited to submit nominations for the guide. Nomination forms were also posted on both websites, and attorneys who came in through this process are included on these lists. Three months and thousands of submissions later, the vetting began—first by Lawdragon’s research team and then through each nominee’s clients and peers. To make the cut on the general and specialty lists, a lawyer typically had to have practiced more than 20 years and amassed a list of remarkable accomplishments—defending and counseling companies in the day’s most critical matters, advising them on hiring and retaining the best employees from around the world and continuing to unravel the ever-evolving world of employee benefits. A recognized attorney has also generally chaired his or her firm’s employment department and often has been selected to lead his or her state or national employment-bar organization.

The criteria for Up-and-Comers are similar, though ratcheted back a bit to account for their 24 or fewer years in practice. All have received glowing recommendations from corporate counsel, who have reaped the benefits of their wisdom; in every case, their clients would hire these lawyers when next they are tested.

The lawyers included on the HRE/Lawdragon lists are also vetted for integrity. Bar records are checked, and peers and counsel are questioned about their integrity beyond a lawyer’s technical and tactical skills. It’s important that those who make the cut admire—even if they don’t always agree with—their colleagues on these lists.

Lastly, an editorial advisory board comprised of a who’s who of the nation’s corporate employment bar vets the finalists. They discuss their own experiences with the attorneys under consideration and follow the trail to the clients, judges and opposing counsel who can offer firsthand experiences with these lawyers. Only those who earn glowing marks from clients, peers, colleagues and judges make the cut.