Lauren E. Fisher White

Lauren Fisher White chairs the firm’s Labor and Employment practice group and is a partner in its Litigation group. She counsels company owners, human resource executives, and boards of directors on complex employment matters, ranging from executive onboarding and departures to contested terminations and resulting litigation.

Ms. Fisher White serves as a trusted advisor to non-profit, government, and for-profit entities, from startups to publicly traded companies. Her skill in navigating difficult personnel situations with clients, coupled with her thorough understanding of the legal framework underlying such matters, makes her an invaluable resource for the firm’s many clients that regularly consult with her. For example, Ms. Fisher White regularly counsels clients on the viability of independent contractor designations or risks associated with disciplinary actions and equips them with language tailored to minimize risk while achieving the desired business result.

Ms. Fisher White brings her extensive employment knowledge to her litigation practice, where she represents clients in state and federal courts. She also regularly engages with members of the firm’s corporate group, managing the employment side of business mergers or divestitures, and serves in a consulting capacity with companies seeking to modify their business structure to maintain compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act or other employment laws. She assists in the investigation of and response to claims of harassment, discrimination and retaliation, and revises employee handbooks to account for updates to Virginia and federal law. Ms. Fisher White is an engaging speaker who provides regular employment law training to managers and supervisors, equipping them with the knowledge necessary to identify and report claims and aiding her clients’ defense against future litigation.

PRACTICE AREAS
Employment Issues and Executive Agreements
Non-Competition and Trade Secrets
Trials / Appeals / Alternative Dispute Resolution

ADMISSIONS
• Virginia
• U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
• U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
• U.S. Supreme Court

Representative Matters
• Advised employers on complex issues such as harassment and discrimination claims, leave under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Family and Medical Leave Act(FMLA), worker misclassification, and pay equity.
• Counseled clients on the enforceability of restrictive covenants, such as non-competition, non-solicitation, confidentiality, and trade secret clauses, and represented clients in negotiation and litigation involving such covenants.
• Guided employers through COVID-related regulations, including vaccine mandates, exemption requests, and Virginia Department of Labor and Industry audits and whistleblower complaints.
• Provided strategic guidance to clients regarding key employee issues, such as workforce reorganizations and the development of wellness and diversity, equity, and inclusions programs.
• Prepared employment agreements, independent contractor agreements, severance agreements, settlement agreements, and employment handbooks.
• Served as counsel to boards of directors in connection with internal investigations and removal of executive personnel.
• Assisted clients with creation and implementation of social media and Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policies.
• Advised employers concerning the investigation of and response to data breaches.
• Represented employers before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Virginia Employment Commission, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Civil Rights, the Department of Labor, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, and the National Labor Relations Board.
• Mediated employment law disputes before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, private mediators and federal magistrate judges.
• Served as lead counsel in federal court litigation arising under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the ADA, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), the FMLA, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).
• Negotiated employee/independent contractor misclassification disputes with the Virginia Employment Commission and the Department of Labor and negotiated back wage/tax repayment plans.
• Advised institutions of higher education regarding faculty, student, administrative and compliance matters, including Title IX compliance and university and faculty policies and procedures.

Washington & Lee University, J.D., 2010
Cum Laude 
Managing Editor, Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice
Roger D. Groot Scholarship Recipient

Vanderbilt University, B.A., English and Psychology, 2006
Magna Cum Laude 

SELECT PRESENTATIONS
• Presenter, “Hot Topics in Employment Law: What Supervisors and Managers Need to Know,” Onsite Program for Client, March 2022
• Panelist, “‘I Have a Friend Who…’-Ask the Lawyer Anything (as Long as it’s HR Related),” International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association Communications, HR & Legal Workshop, March 2022
• Presenter, “Impact of COVID-19 on the Workplace: 2021 Update,” Virginia Association of Personal Care Providers, October 2021
• Presenter, “Employer Hindsight is 20/20: Employment Law Risks in the New Decade,” Onsite Program for Builders’ Exchange Association of Virginia, February 2020
• Presenter, “The Effect of ‘#MeToo’ and ‘Time’s Up’ in Discrimination Litigation,” Mission Possible: Winning Strategies for Litigation Management, The Trial Network, November 2019
• Co-presenter, “Off-Duty Conduct and Unlawful Discrimination,” Onsite Program for Client, November 2019
• Presenter, “Employment Law 101: An Intensive Course for Managers and Supervisors,” Onsite Program for Client, October 2019
• Presenter, “The Effect of ‘#MeToo’ and ‘Time’s Up’ in Discrimination Litigation,” Litigation Management in a New York Minute-2019 Edition, The Trial Network, August 2019
• Presenter, “Employment Law in Health Care Transactions,” Virginia Bar Association’s 14th Annual Health Care Practitioners’ Roundtable, October 2018
• Panelist, “EEOC Investigations,” Virginia Bar Association’s 48th Annual Conference on Labor and Employment Law, October 2018

SELECT PUBLICATIONS
• “Damages Under the Virginia Uniform Trade Secret Act After Collelo,” Virginia Trial Lawyers Association Journal, Volume 24, Number 1, 2012
• “The Perils of Employer-Provided Technology: Employer Inaction and the Attorney-Client Privilege,” Virginia Lawyer Magazine, June/July 2011
• A Miscarriage of Justice: Pregnancy Discrimination in Sectarian Schools, 16 Wash. & Lee J. Civ. Rts. & Soc. Just. 529 (2010)