Liza M.
Velazquez

Liza Velazquez is a partner in the Litigation Department and chair of the Employment Law, Workplace Investigations & Trade Secrets Litigation practice group. She has extensive experience representing corporate clients, financial institutions, media and entertainment companies, and non-profit institutions in a broad range of employment-related litigations and investigations. Liza also regularly counsels clients on employment-related issues including litigation risk assessment, review of internal policies, developments in employment law and compliance.

Liza’s clients describe her as “the best at internal investigations of sensitive matters.” She is recognized by Chambers USA in the Labor & Employment (NY) category and by Benchmark Litigation as a “National Star” for Labor and Employment Litigation. Liza has also been named an “Employment MVP” by Law360, an “Employment Law Trailblazer” by The National Law Journal, a “Labor and Employment Lawyer of the Year” by Euromoney, and as “Litigator of the Week” by The American Lawyer for a high-stakes trade secrets and noncompetition trial victory.

Liza has represented clients before state and federal courts across the country, in alternative dispute resolution proceedings and before federal and state regulatory agencies. Liza also has extensive experience handling sensitive workplace investigations involving allegations of discrimination, harassment and other workplace misconduct on behalf of public companies, financial institutions, private equity funds, non-profit institutions and their executives and principals. Liza’s diverse client list includes Amazon, Barnes & Noble, BlackRock, Citigroup, Columbia University, Consumer Reports Board of Directors, Cornell University, Etsy, The Home Depot, IBM, JPMorgan Chase, Mastercard, The NFL, NBCUniversal, New York Presbyterian Hospital, Pfizer, PSEG, Prudential Insurance, SS&C Technologies, Santa Clara University, TD Bank, and 21st Century Fox.

Among her significant employment litigation matters, Liza has represented:

• SS&C Technologies in:
  • the settlement of a collective and class action under the Fair Labor Standards Act and New Jersey state wage and hour laws; and
  • the settlement of a putative class action alleging violations of New York state wage and hour laws;
• Amazon in winning the dismissal of nearly all claims brought by a former employee in a putative state-wide class action alleging disability discrimination, failure to provide a reasonable accommodation and retaliation. The Eastern District of California dismissed the plaintiff’s discrimination and wrongful termination claims, as well as the putative class action claims;
• Barnes & Noble in a high-stakes litigation alleging wrongful termination and defamation, notably securing the dismissal of the $70 million defamation claim on summary judgment;
• Citigroup in a lawsuit filed by a senior executive alleging gender discrimination and harassment claims under Title VII, the New York State and City Human Rights Laws and New York’s Gender Motivated Violence Protection Law;
• PSEG in securing the dismissal of a complaint alleging violations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, 42 U.S.C. § 1981, the New York State and City Human Rights Laws, and other ancillary claims;
• Teck Resources Limited in an employment discrimination lawsuit brought against Teck and multiple putative joint employers under various New York State and City laws in New York State Court;
• The New York Presbyterian Hospital and Santa Clara University in litigation and other matters regarding COVID-19 vaccine mandates, notably defeating multiple requests for injunctive relief;
• The N.Y. Unified Court System in successfully defending multiple court challenges seeking to block its implementation of a vaccine mandate under labor law and on Constitutional grounds;
• NBCUniversal in two collective actions alleging violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and New York Labor Law;
• Citigroup’s brokerage unit, Smith Barney, in a nationwide employment class action involving claims under Title VII and California state law based on alleged discrimination against female brokers in the distribution of client accounts, administrative support and partnership opportunities;
• Prudential Insurance in trial court and appellate litigation involving claims brought by over 200 current and former employees challenging the prior settlement of their employment-related claims in an alternative dispute resolution process; and
• Columbia University in matters brought by current and former students involving allegations of gender discrimination and sexual harassment under Title IX and municipal law.

Liza has also represented several companies in a variety of workplace investigations and internal reviews, including:

• 21st Century Fox in employment-related matters involving gender discrimination, sexual harassment and hostile work environment claims;
• BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, in a high-profile review concerning the handling of internal complaints of discrimination and harassment;
• The Board of Directors of Consumer Reports in an independent investiation into issues impacting the organization’s workplace culture;
• A Special Committee of the Board of Trustees of Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health in a high-profile audit of safety policies and procedures at residential campuses nationwide;
• A prominent university in an internal and grand jury investigation arising out of allegations of sexual misconduct by a physician, resulting in extensive measures designed to improve and enhance the reporting, investigation and response to allegations of sexual misconduct;
• A Fortune 50 energy company in an internal investigation regarding discrimination and retaliation claims arising from a corporate merger;
• A Fortune 50 retail chain in connection with a series of internal investigations involving allegations of employee misconduct and violations of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act;
• A major tech e-commerce company in a series of internal investigations concerning discrimination and retaliation claims; and
• A multinational financial services company in internal investigations regarding the reporting of sexual harassment complaints and a sexual harassment allegation involving a senior executive.

Liza has significant trial experience. Her representation of clients in a broad range of complex civil and corporate litigation matters enables her to bring a well-rounded perspective to her clients. At trial, Liza has represented:

• IBM in a rare preliminary injunction trial victory—affirmed on appeal—barring a former senior executive from accepting a competing position, for which she was named “Litigator of the Week” by The American Lawyer;
• Citigroup in the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy proceedings and multi-month trial;
• Aurora Bank in a trial victory in Colorado state court concerning the conduct of an independent mortgage foreclosure review; and
• Bosnian women in the successful trial of a landmark human rights case brought under the Alien Tort Statute.

Liza is actively involved in human rights and pro bono matters. Liza is Chair of the Board of Legal Services NYC, the nation’s largest civil legal services provider.

Awards and Recognitions

Liza has been repeatedly recognized for her trial and litigation achievements, particularly in the employment space. She is recognized by Chambers USA in the Labor & Employment (NY) category, by Benchmark Litigation as a “National Star” for Labor and Employment Litigation, and by Lawdragon on its “500 Leading Corporate Employment Lawyers,” “500 Leading Litigators in America” and “500 Leading Lawyers in America” guides. In 2022, Liza was recognized by Law360 as an MVP in the “Employment” category and by The National Law Journal as an “Employment Law Trailblazer” for her achievements advising employers during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, Liza was named “Labor and Employment Lawyer of Year” by Euromoney for their Americas Women in Business Law Awards series, and was named to Crain’s New York Business’s “Notable Women in Law” list.  In 2020, Liza was named a “Litigator of the Week” by The American Lawyer for a high-stakes trial victory in the Southern District of New York on behalf of IBM in a trade secrets and noncompetition case brought against a departing senior executive.