Biography
Jim is the Chair of the New York Employment Litigation Group, which addresses Fox clients’ labor and employment litigation needs in all federal and state courts and administrative tribunals, as well as arbitration hearings in New York. As former Senior Counsel/Trial Specialist for the New York City Corporation Counsel’s Office, Jim possesses a wealth of experience handling federal and state court litigations involving employment discrimination, civil rights claims, wage and hour matters and policy issues. He has served as lead counsel in more than 60 federal and state trials that have gone to verdict and has appeared in numerous administrative proceedings.
Jim frequently handles class action and collective action law suits as well as single and multi-plaintiff claims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), as well as such claims under the New York State and New York City Human Rights Laws and the New York Labor Law. Jim is also experienced in handling constitutional claims under Sections 1981 and 1983 of the United States Code.
Representative Matters
Jim has appeared as lead trial counsel in the following representative matters:
Scott v. City of New York
Successfully defended the City of New York in a class action law suit involving 16,000 present and former police officers and detectives claiming violations of the FLSA and seeking $500 million in damages
Mullins v. City of New York
Successfully defended the City of New York in a collective action case brought on by 4,000 present and former police sergeants claiming violations of the FLSA and seeking $60 million in damages
Plummer v. Quinn
Successfully defended Speaker of the New York City Council Christine Quinn and the City of New York against a Section 1983 claim
Almontaser v. NYC Dept. of Education
Successfully defended the New York City Department of Education and several individual defendants against a Section 1983 claim regarding an organization that distributed T-shirts displaying an offensive slogan
Latino Officers Association v. New York City
Defended New York City in a class action law suit filed on behalf of 15,000 current and former minority police officers alleging violations of Title VII and Section 1981, employment discrimination and employment misconduct, which ultimately was settled on very favorable terms
Patrolman’s Benevolent Ass’n v. City of New York
Represented the City of New York and various high-ranking public officials in a multi-plaintiff jury trial concerning Title VII and Section 1983 discrimination and retaliation violations regarding the transfer of minority police officers in the wake of the Abner Louima incident
Tesser v. Board of Education for the City of New York
Successfully defended the New York City Board of Education against a Title VII religious discrimination and retaliation claim
USA v. City
Represented the City of New York, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the Fire Department for the City of New York (FDNY) in a multi-plaintiff and US Department of Justice action asserting race discrimination under Title VII and Section 1983 in the hiring of minorities
Davis v. City of New York
Successfully defended the City of New York against a claim from a former city councilman running for a position on New York City Council after the New York Police Department enforced a provision that “deems reigned” any police officer who is nominated by any party for an elected official and who does not decline that nomination within 10 days
Before Fox Rothschild
Prior to joining the firm, Jim served as Senior Counsel to the New York City Corporation Counsel. He also spent several years in private practice at his own firm.
Jim is a former law clerk for the Honorable Edward M. Conan of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York. While in law school, he served as survey editor of the Syracuse Law Review.
Client Resources
Wage & Hour - Developments & Highlights Blog
Jim contributes to Fox Rothschild's Wage & Hour - Developments & Highlights Blog, which provides the latest information on developments in wage and hour law, including class actions, exemption/misclassification and working time issues.
Honors & Awards
- Named to the “Super Lawyers” list for Employment Litigation: Defense in New York (2014-2020)
- Named among the “Top Lawyers in New York,” published in a supplement to The New York Times Magazine (2014)