This event has completed.

9/12/2025
8:30 AM - 5:45 PM EST

Fall 2025 Conference Full Day Conference
September 12, 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 -- the order is still being finalized; a complete, timed agenda will be distributed ASAP!

Federal Employment Case Law Developments (1.5 Professional Practice Credit)
Second Circuit and Supreme Court update on employment discrimination and labor law, including discussion of Ames v. Ohio Dept. of Youth Services and key Second Circuit rulings.
 
Panelists:

• Stephen Bergstein, Bergstein & Ullrich, LLP
• Rita Sethi, Special Professor of Law at Maurice Deane School of Law at Hofstra University

 
Understanding Labor Trafficking Claims (1.5 Professional Practice Credit)
Federal and New York law provide for a civil remedy for victims of forced labor and labor trafficking with long statutes of limitations and generous damages. Many workers who suffered wage theft, discrimination, and/or retaliation, may also have claims under these statutes. Certain provisions in employment contracts. for white-collared workers can even constitute forced labor. This panel will explain the elements of forced labor/labor trafficking, introduce common fact patterns, and discuss the litigation of these claims.
 
The panelists have all litigated numerous trafficking cases in New York and elsewhere, on both an individual and class basis.
 
Panelists:

• Aaron Halegua, Aaron Halegua, PLLC
• Hugh Baran, Katz Banks Kumin
• Madeleine McKenzie, Aaron Halegua, PLLC

 
Ethics Update:  Client Confidentiality, Generative AI, and Other Issues Worrying Workers Rights Lawyers Today (1.0 Ethics Credit) 
The NELA/NY Listserve is a treasure. But how much is too much information to share, without jeopardizing client confidentiality?  We’ll look at ABA Ethics Opinion 511, and best practices to protect client confidentiality.  Generative AI is, for many of us, and new and important tool in our law practice.  What ethics concerns apply?  We’ll also look at some ethics scenarios common to our practice:   representing multiple parties;  interactions with witnesses; documents our clients give us; back-channel settlement discussions; and inadvertent disclosure.  

The presenter is is a solo practitioner in NYC, and teaches Employment Discrimination Law at Touro Law Center.   She is a member of NELA National’s Ethics Committee.  She recently concluded her term of service on NELA’s Board of Directors, and is now on the board of NELA’s sister organization, the National Institute for Workers’ Rights. 
 
Panelist:

• Deborah Karpatkin, Law Office of Deborah Karpatkin

Leveraging Expert Witnesses to Quantify Economic Damages in Employment Law Cases (1.0 Professional Practice Credit) 
This panel will provide employment attorneys with essential strategies for effectively utilizing expert witnesses to calculate and present compelling economic damage evidence in discrimination, wrongful termination, and wage-related litigation. Participants will learn when expert testimony becomes crucial for establishing damages, how to select the right economic expert for their case, and proven methodologies for presenting complex financial calculations in an accessible way to judges and juries. The session will also cover advanced techniques for cross-examining opposing expert witnesses, identifying weaknesses in their damage calculations, and developing persuasive counterarguments to challenge defense tactics in order to maximize your client's economic recovery.

Panelists:

• Diana File, DF Analytics
• Solange Charas, DF Analytics / Columbia University
• Dan Wolstein, Kincaid Wolstein Vocational and Rehabilitation Services

“The Highest Duties Known to Law”: Lessons from ERISA  (1.0 Professional Practice Credit)
 The Co-Chairs of Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight’s Financial Management and ERISA Litigation Practice Group will discuss duties under Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) for retirement plan fiduciaries. The presentation will cover background to ERISA’s fiduciary duties, key statutory provisions, major cases developing the law of this area, and current litigation trends. Focus will be on both how to prosecute, and how to prevent, fiduciary mismanagement of employees’ retirement savings.  
 
Panelists:

• Charles Field, Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight
• Leigh Anne St. Charles, Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight