Our Practice

At Foley & Foley, we are uniquely equipped to handle the legal needs of employers. We provide legal counsel and representation in employment matters, workplace compliance, labor relations, and all aspects of litigation.

Proactive Employment Advice & Compliance

Our mission is to solve problems and anticipate issues so you can concentrate on what matters—your business. Whether it’s the EEOC, a disgruntled employee, or a group of employees claiming discrimination or harassment, we have the experience to defend you. With our help, you can minimize the risk of a lawsuit and bolster your defense should a legal claim occur.

Claims of harassment, discrimination, and retaliation continue to expand under a myriad of laws and agencies: the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), and Title VII, to cite a few. We can offer your organization the specialized, individual attention your matter needs. We have years of experience defending and preventing discrimination, harassment, and retaliation claims every day.

Counsel On Call: Get the advice you need when you need it.

We offer an extremely popular Employment Counsel On-Call Triage Service. For a fixed monthly fee, you have access to our seasoned employment attorneys whenever you need us. Clients love the access and assurance the service provides, plus the advantage of a fixed cost. Contact us to tailor a plan for your organization and stop hesitating to get the legal advice you need when you need it.

Litigation of Employment Disputes

In today’s litigious society, business owners/employers need to align themselves with experienced, practical, tough attorneys who will develop strategies to achieve the best possible result in the most expeditious and practical manner. Employers need attorneys who know their way around the courtroom and administrative hearings, but they also need lawyers who are skilled negotiators. You will find both at Foley & Foley, P.C.

Our Experience

We represent employers large and small from a wide variety of industry sectors in state and federal administrative and judicial proceedings. We defend cases directly for businesses, but also for many insurance companies who retain us to represent their insureds. The attorneys in our Litigation Practice Group have a wealth of experience handling the defense of a wide range of claims and cases, including but not limited to:

  • Wrongful Termination
  • Sexual Harassment
  • Discrimination
  • Claims involving OSHA and Workplace Safety
  • Claims involving the Americans with Disability Act
  • Claims involving the Family Medical Leave Act
  • Claims involving Paid Family Medical Leave and Sick Leave
  • Claims of Retaliation
  • Whistleblower claims
  • Wage and Hour claims
  • Class Actions
  • Claims involving Data Breach and Personal Information Protection
  • Misclassification of workers under the FLSA, state, federal and independent contractor laws’ claims involving OSHA and Workplace Safety
  • Contract cases
  • Union Grievance Arbitrations
  • Claims of Breach of Fiduciary Duty
  • Unfair Trade Practices
  • Insurance Coverage disputes
  • Property Damage claims

Putting Our Clients First

At Foley & Foley, we recognize that no two clients and no two cases are exactly the same. We avoid the “one size fits all” approach when defending or prosecuting cases. We tailor our litigation services and support to each client’s specific needs, objectives, and budget, adjusting when needed. When taking on any new litigation matter, we formulate a practical and result-driven litigation plan that takes into account the client’s goals, objectives, liability, exposure, and of course, budget.

We understand that avoidance of costly and time-consuming litigation is often the best solution for our clients. The congested dockets at our local courts often yield unnecessary delays and increased litigation costs. The attorneys at Foley & Foley appreciate our clients’ concerns about litigation expense and delay: We always strive to find the most expedient and cost-effective means to litigate claims and disputes. Toward that end, we take into account litigation expenses when advising our clients whether and to what degree to defend or prosecute claims. When appropriate and/or requested by our clients, our attorneys strive to promptly and efficiently resolve cases through early negotiation, pre-discovery dispositive motions, arbitration, and/or mediation.

From our long experience, we recognize that not every dispute and case can nor should be resolved short of litigation, arbitration, or trial. We realize that sometimes a trial can be in the client’s best interests, and we pride ourselves on always being prepared to try a case to a verdict if needed. In short, the attorneys in Foley & Foley’s Litigation Practice Group foster and enjoy reputations as “trial attorneys” who zealously defend their clients’ interests.

The Foley & Foley Litigation Practice Group

Mike Foley

Attorney Mike Foley has advocated for a broad spectrum of employers in all matters of labor and employment law for over three decades. Over the years, Mike has led clients to their desired outcomes in hundreds of arbitrations and litigation matters. His knowledgeable, practical and business- focused approach to litigation affords our clients the highest level of guidance and advocacy. Mike applies his deep experience from the bargaining table to presenting disputed cases to litigation strategy, development, tactics and settlement negotiations. With his leadership, our team will solve any complex problem and achieve a favorable result for our clients.

Tim Kenneally

Attorney Tim Kenneally has represented businesses since 1994 in all manner of civil litigation. Tim has successfully resolved hundreds of claims in the state and federal courts, before federal and state administrative agencies such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the Department of Labor (DOL), the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD), the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and with Attorneys General. Possessing a calm, cool and collected demeanor, even under pressure, Tim is able to connect with his audience, whether it be judge, jury, arbitrator, mediator, or investigator, to convince them of the correctness of his client’s position. Tim has won many of his cases through motions to dismiss, motions for summary judgment and persuasive position statements and briefs. With decades of experience as a negotiator and litigator, Tim achieves a favorable settlement for clients.

Wendy Hansen

Attorney Wendy Hansen has both HR and litigation experience–she understands the pressures businesses are under. Prior to joining our firm, Wendy worked at an insurance defense litigation firm where she reviewed and analyzed employment law agency charges, threatened litigation, and actual litigation. Wendy worked with employers under their employment practice liability insurance on a variety of claims, including harassment, discrimination, retaliation and wrongful termination.

Minimize business interruption & financial loss

Whether a business is facing a claim or lawsuit from an employee, the government, or another business, our litigation attorneys possess the experience, knowledge, and skills necessary to achieve our client’s desired result. We know that business owners want to focus on managing and growing their businesses. We understand that litigation can be a costly and time-consuming distraction. We want to put our vast expertise to work for your business so you can minimize your business interruption and financial losses.

Administrative Agency Defense

Most employers will face the need for defense before an administrative agency. Addressing the alphabet soup of state and federal agencies is part of running a business: the AG’s office, EEOC, OSHA, NLRB, and DOL, to name a few. The agency defense is often the first chance employers have to state their case, and it is crucial to put your strongest defense forward when an employee files with an administrative agency.

A strong defense at the agency level can be a deterrent to the employee’s counsel to continue the case. Filing a complaint is also the first step towards pursuing a lawsuit, as employees must file a complaint with an administrative agency before going to court—this is known as exhausting an administrative remedy. For claims starting at the agency level, the defense and outcome will become part of the record. These administrative agency charges can later serve as part of the overall litigation process and not just a nuisance.

Think twice before mounting a defense to an agency charge on your own. Wise decisions made at this level could save you valuable resources in the future.

At Foley & Foley, PC, we have extensive experience representing employers in all industries before administrative agencies nationwide. Our practice regularly defends clients before all agencies, including:

  • state discrimination agencies,
  • the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission,
  • Attorney Generals’ offices,
  • the Department of Labor,
  • the Occupational Safety and Health Administration,
  • the National Labor Relations Board,
  • Divisions of Administrative Law Appeals
  • and many others.

We also have experience representing employers successfully in court if an administrative agency decision is ultimately appealed.

Labor Relations

At Foley & Foley, we are well positioned to guide employers to the best strategy when the call from the union arrives. If your organization is impacted by the national uptick in union organization, we can help.

Labor services at Foley & Foley include:

  • Collective bargaining
  • Representation of clients in arbitration, mediation, and other impasse resolution proceedings including interest arbitration
  • Contract interpretation
  • Counseling employers on union organizing drives
  • Helping our clients develop positive employee and labor relations strategies
  • Obtaining injunctions and other federal and state court litigation
  • Advising clients on issues of successorship related to acquisitions and divestitures
  • Defending our clients’ interests in cases involving charges before state and national labor boards

A legal toolkit
for your business.