Subject to change.
Samira Alimohammad, Esq.
VP and general counsel–Americas, SThree
Alimohammad oversees SThree Americas’ legal and compliance division. Responsible for protecting its assets across its six brands, she has helped leaders mitigate exposure amid an impressive profit increase from $181 million in 2014 to $300+ million today. Of Alimohammad’s many contributions, she reconstructed SThree’s contracts department, significantly reducing exposure to contractual risk, while building out the compliance department and implementing policies adherent to federal, state, and city laws. She served as SThree’s interim group general counsel, and she is a member of the U.S. management board and return to work team. Over the past two years, Alimohammad has shepherded SThree through the many national, state, and local regulatory changes throughout the Covid-19 crisis, continuing to maintain her lead advisory role in North America. A strong believer in diversity, equity, and inclusion and supporting other women, in 2021 Alimohammad made the National Association of Women Lawyers’ Rising List, and she is a member of the ASA Women in Leadership Committee.
Katharine O. Beattie, Esq.
Partner, Foley & Lardner LLP
Beattie is a partner and litigation lawyer with Foley & Lardner LLP and a member of the labor and employment practice group. Her work primarily involves litigation and counseling on federal and state labor and employment matters, including issues involving discrimination and harassment, leaves of absence, wage and hour disputes on an individual and class-wide basis, employee classification, wrongful termination, trade secret protection, and the enforcement of noncompetition and nondisclosure agreements. Beattie frequently provides employment and labor guidance on corporate merger and acquisition transactions, and regularly negotiates and drafts executive employment, separation, and related agreements on behalf of both publicly and privately held companies. In her labor practice, she advises clients on a range of collective bargaining issues and represents clients before the National Labor Relations Board with respect to unfair labor practice charges and union election proceedings.
Bob J. Goldberg, Esq.
Partner, Taylor English Duma LLP
Goldberg has an extensive background in counseling clients in a wide range of commercial, corporate, and regulatory matters. He joined Taylor English in 2005 and is the former chair of the corporate and business practice group. Goldberg concentrates his practice in the areas of commercial transactions, mergers and acquisitions, business organizations, and general business operations support. He has significant experience in the staffing, technology, telecommunications, and hospitality industries. Previously, Goldberg served as vice president and general counsel at Harbor Payments Inc. (now an American Express company), where he was responsible for all aspects of the company’s legal affairs and human resources. Prior to Harbor Payments, he spent seven years at MCI Communications Corp., where he was managing commercial counsel supporting the company’s global marketing, product development, and sales organizations. Goldberg received his juris doctorate degree from American University Washington College of Law and his bachelor of science degree from Tulane University.
Geri L. Haight, Esq.
Member, Mintz Levin Cohn Ferris Glovsky and Popeo PC
Haight is a member in Mintz’s employment, labor, and benefits practice focusing on employment litigation, counseling, and compliance, as well as intellectual property and trade secret matters. She leverages extensive experience as an in-house attorney and trial lawyer and with a broad range of business and employment issues to advise clients across a variety of industries, including food and beverage, consumer products, retail, and technology. Haight’s work primarily involves both litigation and counseling on a broad spectrum of employment issues, including trade secret and intellectual property protection, the enforcement of noncompetition and nondisclosure agreements, independent contractor and employee classification, internal investigations, and compliance matters. In addition to her practice, Haight chairs the steering committee of the Mintz Women’s Initiative, an affinity group dedicated to supporting and enriching the lives and careers of the firm’s female attorneys.
Helen L. Konrad, Esq.
Director, McCandlish Holton PC
Konrad is director in the immigration practice group of the law firm McCandlish Holton PC, where she concentrates on work site compliance; defending employers in U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Special Counsel, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement investigations; and employment-based and professional immigration. She has worked directly with the staffing industry for nearly 20 years and has shared her extensive expertise with staffing professionals at Staffing World®, through American Staffing Association webinars, and at past ASA Staffing Law Conferences. Konrad has regularly been recognized as one of the best immigration lawyers in America and she is consistently one of the highest-rated speakers at ASA events.
Sarah Kroll-Rosenbaum, Esq.
Partner–litigation, Akerman LLP
Kroll-Rosenbaum is a trusted strategic advisor to her clients, with whom she collaborates closely to design and execute litigation strategies through the lens of their business priorities. Her team also assists clients in navigating various areas of intersecting legal compliance. In recent years, Kroll-Rosenbaum has led the defense of more than a dozen temporary health care staffing companies in class, collective, and representative actions attacking the industry’s business model. In these cases and others, she has argued extensively in California state and federal courts, including the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, in federal courts across the country, and in arbitration.
Dawn Lurie, Esq.
Senior counsel, Seyfarth Shaw LLP
For years, Lurie has assisted clients in understanding and influencing immigration regulations and policy. She counts herself among a small number of practitioners nationally who have dedicated their practice exclusively to I-9 worksite enforcement and immigration compliance matters. Lurie co-chairs Seyfarth Shaw’s immigration and compliance specialty team and drives the management of the practice, promoting process-oriented offerings to clients. She routinely assists clients in immigration-related government I-9 audits or internal assessments, including electronic I-9 due diligence reviews. She provides proactive counseling on I-9 hiring practices, including immigration-related discrimination and E-Verify process, as well as monitoring and compliance matters. Lurie defends employers in civil and criminal workplace enforcement actions, conducting immigration-related internal investigations and due diligence and analysis of I-9 issues in mergers, acquisitions, and other corporate transactions.
Laura MacNeel, Esq.
VP, legal affairs, Aya Healthcare
MacNeel is the vice president of legal affairs at Aya Healthcare, the largest health care staffing agency in the U.S. She joined Aya Healthcare in January 2016 as its first in-house attorney and has overseen and cultivated the growth of the legal department into a team of over 20. In her role, MacNeel oversees the legal and related matters of Aya Healthcare and its subsidiaries, including mergers and acquisitions, contracting, litigation, employment, government affairs, corporate governance, compliance, insurance procurement and claims, and other risk management issues. Prior to joining Aya Healthcare, she worked at Finch, Thornton & Baird LLP, where she represented management in labor and employment matters and business litigation. MacNeel received her juris doctorate degree from the University of San Diego School of Law, from which she graduated cum laude and was made a member of the Order of the Coif and Order of Barristers. In law school, MacNeel was on the Appellate Moot Court National Team and served as a member of its board. She received her bachelor of arts degree in economics and Spanish from Duke University.
Toby Malara, Esq.
VP, government relations, American Staffing Association
Malara is vice president of government relations for the American Staffing Association. He advises on all staffing-related legislation and regulation, including the Affordable Care Act, immigration/I-9, paid sick leave, sales tax, and per diem issues. He also directs the association’s political activities through its political action committee, StaffingPAC. Malara graduated from Georgetown University and earned a juris doctorate degree from the Columbus School of Law at Catholic University.
Joanna Monroe, Esq.
Co-managing partner, Staffing GC
Founder and co-managing partner of Staffing GC, Monroe is a legal staffing executive and trusted c-suite adviser with two decades of experience helping grow revenue and profit while reducing risk and expense. She recently retired as chief compliance and risk officer of TrueBlue. Her areas of expertise are in business strategy, regulatory compliance, risk management, contractual negotiations, outside counsel management, government affairs, and human resources, with proven success in aligning legal expertise with organizational needs for achieving business growth. Monroe’s practical, solutions-focused advice enables leaders to take appropriate risks to unleash business growth.
John M. Polson, Esq.
Partner, Fisher & Phillips
Polson is a partner in the Irvine and Los Angeles offices of the law firm Fisher Phillips and co-chair of the firm’s PEO and staffing industry team and the gig economy industry team. He is also a member of the firm’s Covid-19 taskforce. He has a diverse practice that includes compliance, litigation, contracts, mergers and acquisitions, strategic planning, and startup representation. Polson has represented professional employer organization and staffing clients in a wide range of litigation and appellate matters. He is a subject matter expert in joint employer, co-employer, and other employer status issues. The Best Lawyers in America publication has included Polson since 2008 and named him 2021 “Lawyer of the Year” in employment law–management for Orange County, CA.
Brandon C. Román, Esq.
Partner, Squire Patton Boggs
Román advises a wide array of domestic and international clients—including banks, nonbank financial institutions, financial market utilities, trade associations, and multinational corporations—on a variety of financial services and tax issues. He assists clients in developing comprehensive strategies to further their legislative and regulatory interests before Congress, relevant congressional committees, and various regulatory agencies. Román also assists various nonprofit organizations with their corporate formation, including assistance with obtaining tax-exempt status with the Internal Revenue Service and state-level tax regulators, as well as advises nonprofit organizations on corporate governance and compliance issues. He is a member of the advisory committee of the Squire Patton Boggs Foundation, which promotes the role of public service and pro-bono work in the practice of law and the development of public policy.
Evan M. Rosen, Esq.
Principal, Jackson Lewis PC
Rosen is a principal in the Atlanta office of Jackson Lewis PC. He is a labor and employment litigator and counselor who has been recognized nationally for his expertise by The Best Lawyers in America for the past five years in the practice areas of employment law, management and litigation, and labor and employment. Rosen specializes in the staffing industry and advises staffing companies throughout the country. He served on the board of directors for the Georgia Staffing Association for the past nine years, and serves as a founding and leading member of Jackson Lewis’ staffing and independent workforce practice group. Rosen works with staffing companies nationwide on a variety of issues, including defending companies against discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wage hour, breach of contract, Fair Credit Reporting Act, noncompete, and wrongful termination administrative charges and lawsuits; counseling companies on a wide range of employment policies and practices; and drafting agreements and policies such as employment agreements, separation agreements, employee handbooks, independent contractor agreements, and other employment policies.
Brittany Sakata, Esq.
General counsel, American Staffing Association
Sakata is an experienced labor and employment attorney with more than 10 years of experience litigating matters on behalf of individuals and employers. She advises American Staffing Association members on labor and employment law and policy issues, including equal employment opportunity, wage and hour, immigration/I-9, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and National Labor Relations Board issues. Sakata graduated from George Mason University and earned a juris doctorate degree from the Washington College of Law at American University.
Donald W. Schroeder, Esq.
Partner, Foley & Lardner LLP
Schroeder is a partner and labor and employment attorney with Foley & Lardner LLP. He has extensive trial experience in both state and federal courts, where he focuses on representing Fortune 500 clients on matters including restrictive covenant litigation, wage and hour class actions, and single plaintiff discrimination cases. Schroeder’s trial experience includes a number of federal and state court jury trials involving claims under Title VII, the Americans with Disabilities Act, Age Discrimination in Employment Act, and the Massachusetts antidiscrimination statute. Additionally, Schroeder regularly handles traditional labor matters (focusing on the management side) for clients, including unfair labor practice proceedings, union elections, mass picketing, labor arbitrations, and collective bargaining negotiations.
Andrew W. Singer, Esq.
Partner, Tannenbaum Helpern Syracuse & Hirschtritt LLP
Singer is managing partner of Tannenbaum Helpern and is chair of the firm’s employment law practice. With extensive experience in all aspects of employment law, he regularly advises companies with various human resource and compliance issues relating to employment, regulation/compliance, social media and email usage policies, and litigation and dispute resolution. A frequent speaker on employment law topics and emerging trends, Singer regularly conducts training seminars for supervisory and managerial employees covering equal employment laws and sexual harassment, the Americans with Disabilities Act, wage and hour laws, independent contractor misclassification, workplace violence, social media policies, the Family and Medical Leave Act and other leave policies, workforce reduction and the WARN Act, and other employment law developments. He has been selected for inclusion in the New York Super Lawyers list every year since 2010.
Erin Stewart, Esq.
General counsel, Pinnacle Group
Stewart serves as general counsel for Pinnacle Group, a workforce solutions provider headquartered in Dallas that currently serves clients in six countries. Stewart, whose primary professional interests are employment law and human capital management, also serves as the company’s vice president of human resources. She leads the Pinnacle Group’s legal, human resources, supply chain, compliance, and risk management functions and is a member of the company’s executive leadership team. She has deep expertise with all legal issues impacting workforce solutions programs. Stewart combines that knowledge with a business-forward approach to create effective operational solutions for managing risk. By customizing these solutions for each client company based on its unique risk profile and tolerance, business objectives are achieved while compliance is maintained. Before joining Pinnacle Group as associate general counsel in 2012, Stewart was assistant general counsel at the University of North Texas System and worked with all campuses on legal issues related to employment, litigation, intellectual property, and contracts. Prior to moving to Texas in 2006, Stewart was a litigator with New York City-based Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman LLP. She is licensed to practice law in Texas and New York. She earned her juris doctorate degree at Columbia Law School and her bachelor’s degree in history and English literature from the University of Maryland College Park.
Vanessa Williams, Esq.
SVP, general counsel, and assistant secretary, Kelly
As senior vice president and general counsel for Kelly, Williams oversees the legal and corporate security teams and manages outside counsel relationships. She joined Kelly in 2020 with 24 years of senior legal experience at companies in the data science and information industries. She manages regulatory and legal compliance for Kelly, directs strategic legal initiatives, and provides senior management with actionable counsel. With extensive experience in commercial transactions, litigation management, data privacy, international law, and contract management, Williams offers counsel grounded in the rule of law and nurtured with practicality and innovation. She is a fellow of the American Bar Foundation and the State Bar of Michigan Foundation, former chair of the State Bar of Michigan Representative Assembly, and past president of the Association of Defense Trial Counsel. Williams is recipient of the Crain’s General & In-House Counsel Award for large private companies. In 2021, she was named to the EMpower Ethnic Minority Executives list, initiated by diversity and inclusion membership organization Involve.
