Michael Schulman

Michael Schulman is a partner in the firm’s Global Employment and Labor Group and co-head of the firm’s Washington, D.C. Litigation Department.

Michael regularly advises clients in connection with important workforce-related matters, including hiring and negotiating employment agreements for senior executives, sensitive executive separations, internal workplace investigations, employment claims and disputes, and employment issues arising in the context of mergers, acquisitions, bankruptcies and other corporate transactions. Michael is known for using a pragmatic, efficient, and results-oriented approach, focused on achieving his clients’ desired business outcomes.

Michael regularly guides clients through complex workforce issues, including, for instance allegations of workplace misconduct; restrictive covenant drafting, enforcement, and strategic evaluation; worker classification and wage-and-hour compliance practices; and the unique issues that arise in a unionized workplace. Michael’s experience covers a broad range of employment and labor laws at the federal, state, and local level, including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act of 1866, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the National Labor Relations Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, the Defend Trade Secrets Act, and corresponding state and local laws.

Michael has unique experience addressing labor and employment matters that arise in connection with corporate transactions, particularly for private equity firms. Michael has represented clients in over 2,000 transactions, including many large-scale multinational mergers, acquisitions, and asset carve-outs. He regularly conducts acquisition-related labor and employment due diligence and advises clients on the employment and workforce integration or separation implications of mergers, acquisitions, sales, and financings.

In the litigation context, Michael represents employers in U.S. federal and state court litigation, administrative agency proceedings, and arbitrations arising out of alleged labor and employment law violations. Michael defends employers against actions brought by government agencies, such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and Department of Labor, as well as actions initiated by current and former employees. He also prosecutes suits against former employees and their new employers for breach of restrictive covenants.