Jackson Lewis Attracts Top Talent in Albany

ALBANY, NY (June 8, 2015) Jackson Lewis P.C., one of the country’s largest and fastest-growing workplace law firms, is pleased to announce the expansion of its attorney roster in Albany with the addition of prominent Shareholders John E. Higgins and Vincent E. Polsinelli, both formerly partners in the labor and employment group at Nixon Peabody, and Associate Daniel O’Neil, recently an Assistant District Attorney with Worcester, MA’s Office of the District Attorney, Middle District.

“The arrival of John, Vince and Dan is a tremendous boost to our office,” said Franklin H. Goldberger, Resident Manager of the office.  “John and Vince are well known and respected throughout the region for their vast employment litigation and counseling experience.  Their deep connections in the business community greatly enhance our reach in the Albany market and elsewhere.  In addition, Dan’s benefits law expertise adds significant depth to our robust local benefits practice as well as our expansive national Employee Benefits group.”

“I have known John for decades, and he is regarded by many of our clients and peers as one of the best management-side labor and employment defense litigators in New York,” added Albany Shareholder William J. Anthony, Leader of Jackson Lewis’ Class Actions and Complex Litigation practice group.  “Vince is an extremely talented lawyer with class action experience who will provide an instant boost to our significant class action practice.  They are both extremely skilled at providing high-quality, effective solutions to the employment issues facing today’s employers.  We are proud to continue to be the beneficiary of talented laterals throughout the firm.”

Mr. Higgins has more than 25 years of experience representing employers in a vast array of industries in state and federal courts and before administrative agencies. Although much of his practice is devoted to helping employers avoid contentious labor and employment litigation by developing sound policies, providing custom-designed supervisor and employee training programs and working with clients to create practical solutions to solving complex workplace problems, his greatest passion is litigating and resolving difficult, frequently high-profile cases of race, sex, age, disability, national origin and other types of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation cases, as well as defending against breach of contract, wrongful discharge, wage and hour and ERISA claims.  Mr. Higgins has appeared before state and federal courts throughout New York, as well as in New Jersey, the District of Columbia, Virginia and elsewhere, and before various federal and state administrative agencies.

Mr. Higgins is a frequent speaker on workplace diversity and inclusion strategies and has been engaged for many years in helping employers and the legal profession develop lawful and effective voluntary diversity programs. From 2004-2008, John served as chair or co-chair of the New York State Bar Association’s Committee on Minorities in the Profession (now the Committee on Diversity and Inclusion, which he is still a member of), and as President of the Capital District Black and Hispanic Bar Association.  He continues to be a leader in the NYSBA where he has been a member of the House of Delegates for many years, and he is currently the management-side co-chair of the NYSBA Labor and Employment Section’s Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Committee.

Mr. Higgins has been included in Best Lawyers in America® since 2007.  He was recently named the Best Lawyers® 2015 Labor Law - Management “Lawyer of the Year” in Albany, and is currently included in  Best Lawyers in America in Employment Law–Management, Labor Law–Management, and Litigation—Labor and Employment.  He received his B.A. from Hamilton College and his J.D. from Albany Law School of Union University.

Mr. Polsinelli likewise provides preventive counseling and compliance advice to employers in all areas of employment law, and assists companies in resolving employment-related disputes in federal and state courts as well as before administrative agencies.  He regularly advises clients in a broad range of industries on complex and highly regulated areas, such as wage and hour and affirmative action compliance.

When employment disputes arise, Mr. Polsinelli helps clients to achieve their best result, whether through strategic litigation or alternative resolution efforts. He has recently helped clients obtain such results in cases involving wage and hour compliance discrimination, harassment and retaliation claims; employee benefits issues; restrictive covenant enforcement; and other contractual disputes.

Mr. Polsinelli received his B.A. from Amherst College and his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law, and is admitted to practice law in New York and Florida.

Mr. O’Neil recently received his LL.M. in Taxation from New York University’s School of Law, where he participated in the University’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program. Prior to that, he served as Assistant District Attorney in the Office of the District Attorney, Middle District in Worcester, MA.  He has extensive litigation experience, including arraignments, pretrial hearings, motion hearings, bench trials, jury trials and sentencing hearings.  He also has experience conducting legal research, interpreting and applying statutes, case law and other legal authorities and drafting briefs, memoranda and motions.

Mr. O’Neil received his B.A. from the University of Notre Dame and his Joint J.D./LL.M. in Securities & Financial Regulation from the Georgetown University Law Center, in addition to his LL.M. from NYU’s School of Law.

Jackson Lewis’ Albany office can be reached at (518) 434-1300.

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About Jackson Lewis

Founded in 1958, Jackson Lewis is dedicated to representing management exclusively in workplace law. With 800 attorneys practicing in major locations throughout the U.S. and Puerto Rico, Jackson Lewis is included in the AmLaw 100 and Global 100 rankings of law firms. The firm’s wide range of specialized areas of practice provides the resources to address every aspect of the employer/employee relationship. Jackson Lewis has one of the most active employment litigation practices in the world, with a current caseload of over 6,500 litigations and approximately 650 class actions. Jackson Lewis is a founding member of L&E Global Employers’ Counsel Worldwide, an alliance of premier employment law boutique firms and practices in Europe, North America, and the Asia Pacific Region.