Michael L. Rosen

Partner - Boston

Michael Rosen
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Michael Rosen represents employers across the full spectrum of employment law matters.  His practice focus is two-fold: he litigates every kind of employment-related dispute; and he regularly counsels employers on all of the strategic and day-to-day issues relating to their employees.

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Education:

  • New York University School of Law, J.D., with honors, 1991
  • University of Miami, B.A., magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, 1988

Representative Experience

  • Defeated a multi-million dollar "raiding" case brought before a FINRA panel by a brokerage house in connection with the hiring of a group of financial advisors
  • Obtained on behalf of a multi-national financial services company a favorable award from an NASD arbitration panel against a highly-compensated former research analyst who claimed entitlement to millions of dollars in severance pay and bonus amounts associated with his employment termination
  • Obtained a favorable jury verdict on behalf of a large manufacturer on claims by a former employee that he had been terminated based on his race and disability in refusing to return to work following a medical disability leave
  • Successfully represented a retailer in defending a putative class action in California state court involving allegations of failure to provide statutorily-mandated meal and rest periods and coerced patronage of the defendant’s products
  • Obtained “lack of probable cause” dismissal of dozens of discrimination and retaliation charges brought at the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination, EEOC, and other state and local EEO agencies
  • Successfully represented a manufacturer in defense of a putative collective action under FLSA and class action under state law, involving claims under federal law of failure to pay overtime on a timely basis and under state law of failure to pay n-exempt employees on a bi-weekly basis  
  • Successfully represented a start-up in defeating a multi-national cosmetics company's attempt to enjoin our client's hire of a new CEO to oversee its product development and marketing efforts; filed a declaratory judgment action in the Business Litigation Session of the Massachusetts Superior Court seeking a ruling that our client was not a "competitor" as defined in the non-compete agreement and then defeated a request for a preliminary injunction barring his employment by our client
  • Successfully represented a software company in responding to a concerted raiding campaign by former employees and their new employer; obtained injunctive relief bringing to a halt efforts to “lift out” client’s off-shore engineering office and ultimately obtained favorable monetary settlement
  • Successfully represented a large healthcare client in a multi-million dollar ERISA arbitration brought by the former chief executive of a client’s predecessor entity, who alleged he wrongfully had been denied retirement benefits under a split dollar plan
  • Co-author, Employing Workers in Massachusetts: A Guide for Emerging Companies e-book
  • Co-author, Employment Law: “But for” a Criminal Case, ABA LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT LAW newsletter (Summer 2014, Volume 42, Number 4)
  • Section 409A (Deferred Compensation) Issues in Employment Agreements, Mid-Winter Meeting Materials, ABA Labor and Employment Section, Committee on Employment Rights and Responsibilities, Subcommittee on Contracts and Executive Compensation (with Teresa Martland) (March, 2012)
  • Tips for Planning Reductions in Force, FOLEY HOAG eBOOK (2008)
  • Five Common Employment Law Hazards for Start-Ups, VENTURE CAPITAL REVIEW (Spring 2008)
  • Lift-Outs and Corporate Employee Raids: Checklist for the Raided Company, MID-WINTER MEETING MATERIALS, ABA LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT SECTION, COMMITTEE ON EMPLOYMENT RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES, SUBCOMMITTEE ON COVENANTS NOT TO COMPETE, TRADE SECRETS AND DUTY OF LOYALTY (April 2008)
  • Co-author, Choice of Law and Forum Issues in Restrictive Covenant Cases, MID-WINTER MEETING MATERIALS, ABA LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT SECTION, COMMITTEE ON EMPLOYMENT RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES, SUBCOMMITTEE ON COVENANTS NOT TO COMPETE, TRADE SECRETS AND DUTY OF LOYALTY (March 2007)
  • Ten tips for hiring without getting sued, MASS HIGH TECH (with Sheila O’Leary) (February 2, 2007)
  • Avoiding Legal Risks As You Expand Your Head Count, BOSTON BUSINESS JOURNAL (with Sheila O'Leary) (July 28 - Aug. 3, 2006)
  • Court cases show need for scrutiny of noncompetes, BOSTON BUSINESS JOURNAL (March 4-10, 2005)
  • Employing in California? Beware of risks in employment agreements, MASS HIGH TECH (with Robert A. Fisher) (August 2, 2004)

Foley Hoag Alerts & Updates

Honors

  • Ranked by CHAMBERS USA: AMERICA'S LEADING LAWYERS FOR BUSINESS as one of Massachusetts' leading labor and employment lawyers (2011-2018) 
  • Listed in Massachusetts Super Lawyers 
  • Received the Myron Greene Award for Excellence in Advocacy at New York University School of Law

Involvement 

  • Co-Chair, Contracts and Executive Compensation Subcommittee, American Bar Association, Labor and Employment Section, Committee on Employee Rights and Responsibilities 
  • Member of Subcommittee on Covenants Not to Compete, Trade Secrets and Duty of Loyalty, American Bar Association, Labor and Employment Section, Committee on Employee Rights and Responsibilities, 2000-2007  
  • Boston Bar Association, Labor and Employment Law Section, Member 
  • Massachusetts Bar Association, Labor and Employment Law Section, Member 
  • City on a Hill Charter High School, Member of Board of Trustees
  • Panelist, How the New Non-Compete Law Affects Your Clients," presented by JAMS and Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly (October 2018) 
  • Speaker, "The New Massachusetts Noncompete Law: What You Need to Know," Foley Hoag Labor and Employment Webinar (August 2018)
  • Moderator, “The Legal and Other Challenges to the ‘Gig Economy’ around the Globe: What's the Score?,” ABA Employment Rights and Responsibilities Committee Mid-Winter Meeting (March 2018) 
  • Speaker, "Responding to Sexual Harassment Complaints," Foley Hoag Labor and Employment Group Seminar (December 2017)
  • Panelist, "Beyond Harvey Weinstein: Workplace Sexual Harassment in the U.S.," Harvard Law School (December 2017)
  • Moderator, “Handling the Perils and Pitfalls Arising from Alleged Executive Misconduct,” ABA Employment Rights and Responsibilities Committee Mid-Winter Meeting (March 2017) 
  • Panelist, "Litigation Strategies for In-House Counsel: Ten Commandments of Practical Lawyering," TechGC (March 2017)
  • Panelist, "Restrictive Covenants in Massachusetts: Strategies for Defending and Enforcing in a Changing Legal Climate," 19th Annual Employment Law Conference 2016, Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education (December 2016)
  • Panelist, "Best Practices in Workplace Investigations," Boston Bar Association (November 2016)
  • Panelist, "Preparing for the New Law," The New Pay Equity Law: What Your Company Needs to Know, Foley Hoag Seminar (November 2016)
  • Moderator, “Your Employment Agreements Are Under Attack,” Foley Hoag Labor and Employment Webinar (January 2016)
  • Podcast, "Coping with Non-Competes," MIT Enterprise Forum Innovation Leader Podcast Series (October 2014)
  • Panelist, 6th Annual Symposium on Employee Non-Compete Agreements, Confidential Information and the Uniform Trade Secrets Act, Boston Bar Association (September 2014)
  • Panelist, “But For Causation for Title VII Retaliation Claims: Mixed Reactions,” ABA ERR Committee Mid-Winter Meeting (March 2014)
  • Moderator, "Irreparable Harm: Enforcing and Escaping Employee Non-Competition Agreements," MBA, CLE Program (February 2014)
  • Panelist, “Shifting Sands:  Emerging Issues for In-House Counsel” (focusing on restrictive covenant litigation), Association of Corporate Counsel, Northeast Chapter (November 2012)
  • Speaker, “Mitigating the Risks of Terminations:  Top 10 Tips in Discharging Employees,” AIM Human Resources Roundtables, Chelmsford, Woburn, Worcester and Taunton (September 2012)
  • Speaker, "Law School for the Tech Entrepreneur," Foley Hoag Emerging Enterprise Center (September  2011 and October 2012)
  • Panelist, “Who Wants to Be A Millionaire: The Nuts and Bolts of Executive Compensation”, ABA ERR Committee Meeting (March 2012)
  • Panelist, ”The Future of C-Suite Social Engagement:  Reasons CEOs Must Get Social”, CXO Leadership Institute (March 2012)
  • Panelist, "Drafting Noncompete Agreements from the Employer and Employee Perspectives," 5th Annual Labor and Employment Law Conference, Seattle, WA (November 2011)
  • Panelist, "Take the Money and Run:  Strategies and Issues in Executive Departures under Employment Contracts," American Bar Association Section of Labor and Employment Law, Employment Rights and Responsibilities Committee, 2011 Midwinter Meeting (March 2011)   
  • Panelist, "Discovery - The Black Hole:  Practical Strategies for a Changing Landscape", MCLE 2010 Employment Law Conference (December 2010) 
  • Panelist, "Executive Compensation Cutbacks and Take-Aways," American Bar Association Section of Labor and Employment Law, Employment Rights and Responsibilities Committee 2010 Midwinter Meeting (March 2010)
  • Panelist, "Top Five Issues in Employment Law," ABA Section of Labor & Employment Law Third Annual CLE Conference, Washington, DC (November 2009)
  • Speaker, "Advising Massachusetts Nonprofit Corporations," 2009 Association of Corporate Counsel Annual Meeting (October 2009)
  • Speaker, “Law School for the CFO,” CFO Roundtable Forum (April 2007, November 2007, September 2008, September 2009, December 2009 and September 2010)
  • Panelist, "Freedom To Compete? A Symposium on Bills Affecting Employee Non-Compete Agreements," Intellectual Property, Labor & Employment Law, and Litigation Sections of the Boston Bar Association (July 2009)
  • Moderator, "Legal Issues for Executive Employment Agreements in Pre- and Post-Acquisition Settings," American Bar Association Section of Labor and Employment Law, Employment Rights and Responsibilities Committee 2009 Midwinter Meeting (March 2009)
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Bar Admissions

  • Massachusetts

Court Admissions

  • U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts
  • U.S. Court of Appeals First Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals Third Circuit