Wendy Johnson Lario

Practice Areas

Labor & Employment

Trial Practice

Career

Wendy Johnson Lario Chairs the New Jersey Labor & Employment Practice and Co-Chairs the firm’s Labor & Employment Practice’s Employment Litigation & Trials group. She represents employers in litigation involving claims of discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wrongful termination and whistleblowing, among others. She appears regularly in federal and state courts in New Jersey and New York and defends employers against charges filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights (NJDCR) and the New York Division of Human Rights (NYDHR). Wendy also provides advice and training to management and in-house counsel on employment issues, including hiring, firing, harassment, misconduct, leave and attendance, employee accommodations, employment and severance agreements, executive contracts, independent contractors, internal investigations, background checks, employee handbooks and policies, social networking, reductions in force, and employer requirements under identity theft statutes. She has represented companies in the telecommunications, retail, automotive, pharmaceutical, consumer electronics and chemical industries, among others.

Wendy has appeared on national television, including CBS's The Early Show and CNN's Lou Dobbs Tonight. She has commented on employment law issues in The Wall Street Journal, Philadelphia Inquirer, New Jersey Law Journal, Star-Ledger, The Record, the Courier News, New Jersey Business, NJ Biz and the Asbury Park Press.

Wendy lectures extensively and conducts seminars and training sessions concerning numerous employment law issues, including anti-discrimination laws, wrongful discharge, sexual and other harassment, and diversity training. She also trains and lectures on women's leadership, performance management, social networking, state and federal laws, including Title VII, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, New Jersey's Law Against Discrimination, New York's Human Rights Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), New Jersey's Family Leave Act, and New Jersey's Conscientious Employee Protection Act.

Concentrations:

Employment litigation

Agency litigation (EEOC, NJDCR, NYDHR)

Employment counseling and training

ADA, FMLA and Workers’ Compensation

Employment and severance agreements

Data privacy and protection

Professional Memberships

Member, Seton Hall University School of Law, Board of Visitors; Chair, 2022-Present; Vice Chair, 2018-2021; Secretary, 2017-2018

Fellow, Litigation Counsel of America, 2014-Present

Board Member, SOMERSET COUNTY YMCA, 2015-2019

Member, New Jersey Women Lawyers Association; Immediate Past President and Nominations Chair, 2012-2013; President, 2011-2012; President-Elect, 2010-2011; Secretary, 2009-2010; Board Member, 2007-2009

Member, American Bar Association

Member, New Jersey State Bar Association

Member, New York State Bar Association

Trustee, Association of the Federal Bar of the State of New Jersey

Publications

Listed, Chambers USA Guide, 2011-2022

Personal

Education

J.D., Seton Hall University School of Law, 1992

B.A., Duke University, 1986

Clerkships

Hon. David S. Baime, New Jersey Appellate Division, 1992-1993