This event has completed.

5/2/2025 - 5/2/2025
8:30 AM - 5:45 PM EST

Spring 2025 Full Day Conference
May 2, 2025 (8:30 AM - 5:45 pm Eastern)
@ Fordham Law School

Rates: Member $315; Non-member $395; Non-profit Attorney $145; Student/Para $105
Virtual (Zoom Webinar) Rates: Non-Member $200; Member $150; Non-Profit Attorney $75; Student/Para FREE

If you would like to apply for financial aid, please email nelany@nelany.com for the application.
Breakfast, snacks, lunch and happy hour are all included in your in-person registration fee!

The day will include the following panels, plus more - some details are still being finalized; a complete agenda will be distributed ASAP!

8:30 - 8:55am    BREAKFAST

8:55 - 9:00am     WELCOME 

9:00 - 10:00am    Advocacy on Behalf of Low-Paid Immigrant Workers (1.0 Professional Practice) 

Please join us to hear from Make the Road NY staff about what they are prioritizing in terms of client and member education, Know Your Rights outreach, litigation (including birthright, expedited removal the registry) and legislative advocacy in the face of Trump 2.0. We will discuss issue spotting with clients and additional considerations for serving immigrant clients, the importance of communicating with local and state government agencies, dreaming big with policy, and protecting the intersectionality of immigrant worker identities. 

Panelists:

• Nathalia Varela, Supervising Attorney, Workplace Justice Program, Make the Road NY
• Cristobal Gutierrez,  Lead Attorney, Workplace Justice team & the TGNC (Trans and Gender-non-conforming) Justice Project, Make the Road NY

10:00 - 11:30am    Fighting Motions to Compel Forced Arbitration (1.5 Professional Practice Credit)

A deep dive to help practitioners fight motions to compel arbitration. This panel will include practical nuts-and-bolts guidance on fighting employers’ bids to push our clients into arbitration, while also surveying the latest developments in this fast-moving area of the law as influenced by recent Congressional action, Supreme Court, and Second Circuit cases.

Panelists:

• Hugh Baran, Partner, Katz Banks Kumin
• Karla Gilbride, Deputy Director, Public Citizen Litigation Group and former General Counsel, EEOC
• Julia Elmaleh-Sachs, Partner, Crumiller

11:00 - 11:40am    BREAK

11:40 - 12:40pm    Federal, State, and Local Whistleblower Protections and Incentives for New York Employees (1.0 Professional Practice Credit)
 
Whistleblower practitioners will review the retaliation protections and incentive programs that New York employment lawyers should know.  Panelists will explore developments under NY Labor Law 740 in the three years since its expansion and will provide an overview of other state, federal, and local whistleblower claims.  Speakers will discuss practical tips for representing whistleblowers and what they expect during the current administration.

Panelists:

• Michael Filoromo III, Partner, Katz Banks Kumin
• Anne L. Clark, Managing Partner, Vladeck, Raskin & Clark
• Jonathan Ben-Asher, Partner, Ritz Clark & Ben-Asher
• Hamsa Mahendranathan, Partner, Whistleblower Partners LLP

12:40 - 1:40pm    LUNCH

1:40 - 2:10pm    Breathe, Move & Release
 
In this 30-minute session, participants will focus on their physical well-being, which includes both muscular and mental release.  Together we will engage in deep breathing exercises before heading into gentle and intentional movements to help our bodies let go of built-up tension, all while sitting in a chair. These fundamental exercises can be replicated in an office space with ease to encourage more somatic awareness alongside healthier living. 

Presenter:

• India Lena Gonzalez, Movement Coach/Pilates Instructor

 
2:10 - 3:10pm    Everything you Wanted to Know about Taking Time Off to Care for a Family Member  (1.0 Professional Practice Credit)

Join NELA-NY for a CLE presentation on federal, New York State, and New York City laws related to leave protections for workers, including pregnant workers, new parents, and caregivers. The presentation will cover protections under a host of leave laws, including the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), New York Paid Family Leave, the New York Lawful Absence Law, the New York City Earned Sick and Safe Time Act (ESSTA), and paid prenatal personal leave. The panel will also cover accommodations laws that provide access to leave, including the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA). 
 
Panelists:

• Samantha Hunt, Equal Justice Works Fellow, A Better Balance
• Alexandra Reese, Staff Counsel, NYC DCWP
• Elizabeth Potter, Senior Staff Counsel, NYC DCWP 

3:10 - 3:15pm    BREAK

3:15 - 3:45pm    EEOC in the New Administration  (.5 Professional Practice Credit)

This 30-minute session will address recent activities of the EEOC and its Acting Chair, Andrea Lucas, with a particular focus on the direction that the EEOC is taking with respect to LGBTQ+ rights post-Bostock.
 
Panelists:

• Sarah Goetz, Senior Counsel, Democracy Forward 
• Laurie Morrison, Founding Partner, Law Offices of Laurie Morrison

3:45 - 4:45pm    A Judge’s Perspective on Summary Judgment in Employment Discrimination Cases: An Update​   (1.0 Professional Practice)

In 2012, at a symposium at New York Law School, Judge Denny Chin addressed summary judgment in employment cases, drawing from his experience on both the trial and appellate courts.  His remarks were published as an essay in The New York Law School Law Review.  In this presentation, Judge Chin will provide an update.

Panelist:

• Hon. Denny Chin, United States Circuit Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit

4:45 - 5:45pm    HAPPY HOUR