Wendy Fischman

Over the course of her twenty years practicing law, Wendy Fischman has built a successful practice advising corporate, non-profit, and higher education employers on all aspects of the employment relationship.  Ms. Fischman has extensive experience developing, implementing, and monitoring internal employment policies and procedures and representing clients before federal and state agencies.  Clients routinely seek Ms. Fischman’s advice on negotiating and drafting executive employment agreements; maintaining a diverse workforce; avoiding and mitigating complaints of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation; wage and hour compliance; performance management; terminations; reductions in force; and severance agreements.  To minimize the risk of employment issues before they arise, Ms. Fischman designs compliance programs and conducts “train-the-trainer,” workforce, and management-level  training programs.

Ms. Fischman also serves as outside general counsel to several emerging and established small and mid-sized businesses.  She prides herself on developing informal partnerships with her clients, providing each client with an external source to solve legal challenges that arise in business every day.  Ms. Fischman’s goal is to provide practical counsel to her clients in navigating legal risks, while positioning clients for strategic success.  Her real-world advice is forged from years of experience managing high-stakes litigation and hundreds of internal investigations involving personnel and business-related issues.  Harnessing her refined risk mitigation instincts, Ms. Fischman is skilled at drafting, evaluating, and negotiating a wide range of commercial agreements.

Representative Experience

• Guided internal investigations, defended multiple agency charges, and provided day-to-day advice and counsel on an array of employment and student conduct issues for a preeminent non-profit university
• Designed and spearheaded implementation of comprehensive programs to promote compliance with employment and labor laws for various types of business structures
• Conducted disparate impact analysis to prevent adverse impact on protected groups in implementation of workplace change programs, including voluntary retirement plan and reduction in force
• Conducted over 150 internal investigations involving allegations of illegal discrimination, retaliation, and fraud for a Fortune 5 company
• Serves as outside general counsel to social media marketing, public relations, and brand marketing firms; provides legal assistance in corporate, employment, intellectual property, and other general matters
• Co-developed best practices for a Fortune 5 company in response to the establishment of the Dodd-Frank whistleblower protection program
• Defended False Claims Act and retaliation allegations against a Fortune 200 company in, at the time, one of the largest whistleblower actions in history
• Designed corporate compliance programs involving federal regulatory structures; counseled multiple clients about legal compliance and risk mitigation; and served as export control regulations ombudsman to a large international corporation