A number of years ago, I received a kind note around the holidays from my opposing counsel in a wage-hour class action, thanking me and my firm for being their “partners” in addressing employment issues.
Maybe the word he used wasn’t “partners,” but it was something close to it.
At first, I must admit that I thought he was joking.
Then I realized that this attorney, for whom I have great respect, got it.
He got that employers are not looking to violate employment laws, and that the attorneys who represent them are not trying to help their clients violate the laws.
He got that the opposite is true – employers are trying to comply with the laws, and their attorneys are trying to help them do so. No employer is hoping to get sued. Not one. And lawyers advising employers on how to violate the laws will soon be looking for new clients. Or a malpractice attorney.
The general public may not understand this notion, and, unfortunately, many employees and plaintiffs’ lawyers may not, either.
The desire of employers and their counsel to comply with the law plays out thousands of times every day, to the great benefit not just of employers, but of employees.
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