Overview

Laura Rosenbaum is a partner in the Labor and Employment group. She represents clients in employment-related litigation in court and before administrative agencies. Her experience includes defending employers against a wide range of employment claims relating to employment discrimination, harassment, and retaliation; medical leave laws; disability accommodation; wage and hour disputes; and workplace torts, as well as litigating non-competition agreements. Her practice also involves counseling employers on employment-related issues; conducting internal investigations; and preparing employee contracts, handbooks, and policies. Laura also conducts internal investigations for clients into employment-related issues including discrimination, harassment, and retaliation.

Before joining Stoel Rives, Laura worked as an associate for Goodwin Procter LLP, Boston. She worked as a law clerk for the Honorable Nancy Gertner, U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, and as a summer associate for Morrison and Foerster LLP, San Francisco. She also taught high school at the American School of Paris.

Education

Stanford Law School, J.D., 2005; Honors with Distinction for High Academic Achievement

Harvard College, 2000, magna cum laude; Phi Beta Kappa

Admissions

Oregon

Massachusetts

United States District Courts for the Districts of Oregon and Massachusetts

United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

Languages

  • French

Experience

  • Secured summary judgment for employer on lawsuit alleging disability discrimination and failure to accommodate. Successfully defended summary judgment victory on appeal before Ninth Circuit.
  • Secured dismissal of employment discrimination and ERISA claims. Successfully defended employer-favorable ruling on appeal before Ninth Circuit.
  • Obtained summary judgment in U.S. District Court dismissing lawsuit alleging race discrimination and retaliation.
  • Obtained summary judgment in Oregon state court dismissing lawsuit alleging wrongful termination and retaliation.
  • Secured dismissal of breach of contract claims brought by independent contractor.
  • Negotiated favorable settlement for employer in arbitration proceeding alleging class and collective action claims for violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
  • Secured defense verdict for Nike, Inc. after two-week jury trial on whistleblower retaliation claims.
  • Assisted in obtaining complete defense verdict at trial for Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of the Northwest in race discrimination and retaliation case.
  • Obtained dismissal of sex and age discrimination case for Nike, Inc., based on complex jurisdictional issues.
  • Successfully defended Fortune 100 companies, as well as mid-size and smaller employers, against complaints before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries and other state agencies.

Insights

Insights & Presentations

  • Regular contributor to the Stoel Rives World of Employment blog
  • “Five Legal and Regulatory Employment Updates for Manufacturers” (co-author), Portland Business Journal, September 2, 2022
  • “Legal talk: How to overcome the top challenges of managing remote employees (podcast)” (co-author), Portland Business Journal, March 24, 2021
  • “Considerations for Managing the Remote Workforce,” Portland Business Journal, February 26, 2021
  • Moderator, “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the Workplace: A Panel Discussion on Strategies to Effect Change,” Stoel Rives LLP webinar, December 17, 2020

Laura has presented to clients on numerous employment-related topics, including:

  • Speaker, “Paid Leave Oregon Update—The First 60 Days,” Stoel Rives LLP webinar, November 16, 2023
  • Speaker, “Best Practices in Employee Separations, Including Reductions in Force,” SHRM/Stoel Rives 21st Annual Labor and Employment Law Conference, March 9, 2023
  • Speaker, “Are you Ready for Oregon Paid Leave?” Webinar for Oregon Business & Industry, October 27, 2022
  • Speaker, “Oregon Paid Family Leave—Are you Prepared?” Stoel Rives LLP webinar, October 6, 2022
  • Speaker, “Important Changes to Nondisclosure and Settlement Agreements,” Stoel Rives webinar, June 9, 2022
  • Speaker, “Accommodations,” SHRM/Stoel Rives 20th Annual Labor and Employment Law Conference, March 2, 2022
  • Speaker, “Mastering the Fundamentals: The ADA and the Interactive Process,” Stoel Rives LLP webinar, April 22, 2021
  • Speaker, “The Leave Law Jigsaw Puzzle,” SHRM/Stoel Rives 19th Annual Labor and Employment Law Conference, March 4, 2021
  • Speaker, “Navigating the Oregon Workplace Fairness Act,” SHRM/Stoel Rives 19th Annual Labor and Employment Law Conference, March 3, 2021
  • Speaker, “Managing the COVID-Era Workplace Part 1: The ADA, Wage and Hour Laws, and Other Considerations” Stoel Rives LLP webinar, June 11, 2020
  • Speaker, “Taming the COVID-19 Chaos: What Employers Need to Know Part 2,” Stoel Rives LLP webinar, March 18, 2020
  • Speaker, “Taming the COVID-19 Chaos: What Employers Need to Know,” Stoel Rives LLP webinar, March 13, 2020
  • Speaker, “Reasonable Accommodations,” SHRM/Stoel Rives 18th Annual Labor and Employment Law Conference, February 27, 2020
  • Speaker, “Oregon’s New Equal Pay Act,” SHRM/Stoel Rives 17th Annual Labor and Employment Law Conference, February 27, 2019
  • Speaker, “Mental Health Conditions in the Workplace,” Stoel Rives Breakfast Briefing Seminar, June 7, 2018
  • Speaker, “The Bermuda Triangle of FMLA, ADA, and Sick Leave,” SHRM/Stoel Rives 16th Annual Labor and Employment Law Conference, February 28, 2018
  • Speaker, “Sexual Harassment in the Workplace,” Stoel Rives Breakfast Briefing Seminar, December 13, 2017
  • Speaker, “Employment Law Basics for Start-Ups,” TiE XL Entrepreneur Boot Camp, March 2017 and June 2017
  • Speaker, “Wage and Hour Litigation Update,” Enterprise Risk Management Symposium, March 2017
  • Speaker, “Oddities of Oregon Law,” SHRM/Stoel Rives 15th Annual Labor and Employment Law Conference, March 2017
  • Speaker, “Oregon Sick Leave,” SHRM/Stoel Rives 15th Annual Labor and Employment Law Conference, March 2017
  • Speaker, “Employee Classification Best Practices with an Update on the New Department of Labor Regulations,” Stoel Rives Breakfast Briefing Seminar, September 2016
  • Speaker, “Best Practices in Hiring/Onboarding New Employees,” SHRM/Stoel Rives 14th Annual Labor and Employment Law Conference, March 2016
  • Speaker, “Navigating Agency Complaints,” SHRM/Stoel Rives 13th Annual Labor and Employment Law Conference, March 2015
  • Speaker, “Top Wage and Hour Tips for Employers,” Stoel Rives Breakfast Briefing Seminar, September 2014

Publications

Recognition

  • Included in The Best Lawyers in America® (Labor Law—Management, Litigation—Labor and Employment), 2022–2024
  • Listed among Rising Stars (Employment Litigation: Defense, Employment & Labor), Oregon Super Lawyers®, 2015–2016
  • Selected as a “Litigation Star” by Benchmark Litigation

Affiliations

Professional

  • Stoel Rives-SHRM Annual Labor and Employment Law Conference, Former Co-Coordinator
  • American Bar Association, Labor and Employment Section, Member
  • Oregon State Bar, Labor and Employment Section, Member
  • Oregon Association of Defense Counsel, Member
  • Multnomah Bar Association, Member
  • Oregon Women Lawyers, Member

Civic

  • Friends of the Children—Portland, Board Member
  • I Have a Dream Foundation, Oregon, Former Board Member
  • Northwest Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action Association, Former Board Member
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