Trio of Labor & Employment Partners Joins Holland & Knight
LOS ANGELES/PHILADELPHIA (September 4, 2018) – Labor and Employment Attorneys Sara Begley, Thomas Hill and Christina Tellado have joined Holland & Knight as partners in its Labor, Employment and Benefits Group. Ms. Begley will reside in the firm’s Philadelphia office, while Mr. Hill and Ms. Tellado will reside in the Los Angeles office. All previously practiced at Reed Smith, where Ms. Begley served as global practice group leader of the Labor & Employment Group from 2012 to 2017 and was global chair of the firm’s Women’s Initiative Network.
“Sara, Tom and Tina represent many of the country’s largest employers, including numerous Fortune 100 companies,” said Robert Vyverberg, leader of Holland & Knight’s national Labor, Employment and Benefits Practice Group. “They have practiced together for years with great success and are tremendous additions to the strong teams we have in place on the East and West Coasts.”
Ms. Begley is a seasoned employment attorney known for her results-driven, practical approach to solving complex, high-stakes matters for corporate employers. Her practice is diverse and comprises a wide scope of employment litigation, including defending employers against claims of age, gender, race and disability discrimination, retaliation, sexual harassment and whistleblower claims and in trade secret and non-compete matters. She also is experienced in successfully representing employers in EEOC investigations involving claims of systemic discrimination, defending EEOC class actions and handling Commissioner Charges. Ms. Begley is particularly talented at early and effective resolution of cases and is called upon regularly to conduct C-suite and other high-level internal investigations. She is recognized by Chambers USA, Legal 500 and Best Lawyers in America for excellence in employment law. She also is passionate about the advancement of women in the profession.
Mr. Hill is an accomplished and highly regarded management-side employment lawyer, as well as a skilled trial and appellate attorney. He has been lead counsel in more than 600 civil lawsuits filed in 20 different states, and he has first-chaired over 250 adversarial proceeding to decision, including jury and bench trials, arbitrations and various administrative trials and adjudicatory hearings. A primary focus of his practice is the defense of complex wage and hour litigation. He has served as lead counsel in more than 120 class, collective and representative actions and, in the process, played a significant role in shaping California’s wage and hour laws.
Ms. Tellado represents employers in all aspects of employment and labor law, with a particular emphasis on wage and hour, discrimination and harassment, and trade secret/non-compete issues. Her practice encompasses both counseling clients on workforce issues and representing them when litigation arises. She has extensive experience representing employers in nationwide class and collective actions and regularly defends claims brought under the full range of federal and state employment statutes and state common laws.
“Tom, Tina and I have long held Holland & Knight’s labor and employment lawyers in high esteem and are delighted to now call them our colleagues,” said Ms. Begley. “The firm has a large and comprehensive labor and employment practice throughout the United States, which is known for its highly proactively approach in helping companies head off problems and resolve disputes before they end up in court.”