Overview
Jennifer Phillips is an experienced and accomplished labor and employment attorney, with an extensive history of successfully managing complex legal and business risks, both for clients and as in-house counsel. Her expertise and practice focus on labor and employment counseling, litigation, and dispute resolution for businesses in a wide range of industries, including insurance, healthcare, retail, manufacturing, food/beverage, finance, and transportation, as well as in the public sector.
Jennifer counsels on and defends her clients against claims in state and federal courts, and before administrative agencies, involving all areas of labor and employment law, including harassment, discrimination, retaliation, and alleged violations of the FMLA, the ADA, the ADEA, the FLSA, and OSHA. She also counsels employers on organized labor matters, including union avoidance, the negotiation of collective bargaining agreements, labor arbitrations, and the resolution of grievances, work stoppages, and campaigns. In addition to her litigation practice, Jennifer advises leadership and human resource management and personnel on developing employee handbooks, employment contracts, including non-competition, non-solicitation, confidentiality, and trade secret protection provisions, termination and severance agreements, and affirmative action plans. She also has experience providing management training on harassment, discrimination and wage and hour compliance.
Jennifer’s practical, risk-based and business-focused approach to providing legal counsel stems in part from her years serving in in-house counsel leadership roles. Her experience includes serving as Director of Litigation and Assistant General Counsel for a publicly traded specialty retail jeweler and as Vice President, Associate Counsel-Human Resources for a publicly traded financial service company.
Jennifer earned her J.D. from The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law. She earned an M.N.A.L. in nonprofit administration and leadership from Cleveland State University’s Levin College of Public Affairs and Education and a B.S. from Ohio University’s E.W. Scripps School of Journalism.
Representative Cases & Matters
- Tried a disability discrimination case to a jury resulting in a defense verdict for the employer. This case was filed in the Court of Common Pleas, Lake County, Ohio.
- Received summary judgment representing an employer in a race discrimination and retaliation lawsuit. This case was filed in the Court of Common Pleas, Lucas County, Ohio.
- Successfully defended multiple charges of discrimination alleging religious discrimination that were filed against federal contractor after it implemented a mandatory vaccination policy during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Credentials
Clerkships
- Judicial Extern, Hon. Evelyn Lundberg Stratton, Supreme Court of Ohio (2003)
Education
Ohio State University Moritz College of Law
St. Mary’s College, Oxford University, American Bar Association Law Program
Cleveland State University
Ohio University E.W. Scripps School of Journalism
Admissions – Court
- U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio
- U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio
Admissions – State
- Ohio
Professional & Civic
Professional Activities
Ohio State Bar Association
FDCC Ladder Down Cleveland, Class of 2022
Community Involvement
Cuyahoga Community College; Business Advisory Committee Member (2021 – present)
Camp Confidence of Ohio; Co-Founder and Director (2018 – present)
Royal Family KIDS Camp; Leadership Committee Member and Counselor (2015 – 2019)