Why Arbitration Is Tailor Made for Professional Firms - Chapter 21 - AAA Handbook on Employment Arbitration and ADR - Third Edition

Author(s):

Edward E. Shumaker III

Page Count:

6 pages

Media Description:

1 PDF Download

Published:

December, 2015

Author Detail:

Edward E. Shumaker, III is a former U.S. ambassador to Trinidad. He currently serves as executive director and general counsel of the New Hampshire Education Association. He is a Fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers and chairs a subcommittee of the American Bar Association’s Section of Dispute Resolution. He serves as a neutral on the rosters of the American Arbitration Association for commercial and employment disputes.

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Description:

Originally from:

AAA Handbook on Employment Arbitration and ADR - Third Edition

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I. Introduction

Safeguarding a reputation for professional expertise and good judgment is of paramount importance to business professionals. Whatever profession you are in, a good public image is difficult to earn and easy to lose. In today’s litigious, media-driven times, negative publicity (e.g., from a financial fraud claim by a disgruntled partner, a malpractice claim by a dissatisfied client, or a discrimination or harassment claim by a terminated employee) can have a devastating effect on the reputation of the business, even if the story is completely untrue.

Today, every professional practice is potentially vulnerable to lawsuits by employees for termination and other employer decisions that adversely affect the employee’s life. For example, take a professional practice that terminates a receptionist after she reveals that she is pregnant, or after she rebuffs the romantic advances of the managing partner. Or a firm that does nothing after an employee makes repeated complaints about sexual harassment by a junior partner. These firms should expect to be the subject of a charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, or the analogous state agency, and very likely a lawsuit.

Administrative and support staff are not the only potential plaintiffs in employment litigation against the firm. Lawyers, architects, engineers, accountants, and others have been plaintiffs in lawsuits against their firms. Although they may be partners or shareholders, they are nevertheless employees who can assert federal and state civil rights statutes when they feel their rights have been violated. Even a decision by a professional firm not to extend an offer to join the partnership, according to the U.S. Supreme Court, can be challenged under the employment discrimination laws.