About Attorney

Attorney Kelly O’Connell brings over nine years of experience, the vast majority of which in civil litigation, including, but not limited to, contract drafting, motion practice, depositions, mediations, settlement negotiations, trial preparation, and trial in the areas of employment law, civil rights, and contract causes of action in federal and state courts. This includes, assisting in a multi-million-dollar race and gender discrimination case, drafting and negotiating favorable employment contracts, and settling millions on behalf of her clients.

Throughout her career, attorney O’Connell has independently handled employment cases from intake to Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) investigation, as well as all stages of litigation and arbitration. Her accomplishments include, but are not limited to, the following:

• She has investigated, evaluated, litigated, and settled claims of discrimination, harassment and retaliation under Title VII, the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), the Equal Pay Act (“EPA”), the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (“ADEA”), the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”), the Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”), whistleblower regulations, and various federal and state statutes in New York and Florida that impact the workplace.
• Assisting companies on the various legal issues encountered with doing business in New York and Florida, including advice with respect to employee handbooks, non-compete agreements, and employee and independent contractor termination, payment issues, intellectual property, and business contract disputes;
• Advising and successfully representing employees with claims against large corporations and government entities, in nearly all areas of employment law, including sexual harassment, discrimination, retaliation, wage violations, and whistleblowers;
• Settling employment and catastrophic injury cases for their policy limits;
• Counselling international employees working for companies based in the United States of their rights and advising them on strategies to advance their rights without risking their company sponsored green card status;
• Arguing and advocating successfully before the EEOC, New York State Division of Human Rights (“NYSDHR”), Florida Commission on Human Relations (“FCHR”), NYC Commission on Human Rights, JAMS arbitration, AAA arbitration, and other local state agencies; and
• Submitting briefs for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second and Eleventh Circuits relating to business disputes.