Praised for its ‘first-rate employment practice’, McDermott Will & Emery LLP is highly regarded for its work prosecuting and defending unfair competition and restrictive covenant litigation involving the disclosure of trade secrets, employee raiding and breaches of fiduciary duty. The duo jointly leading the practice is formed of Rachel Cowen in Chicago and Maria Rodriguez in Los Angeles. Cowen is well known for handling sensitive internal investigations for companies and healthcare providers regarding allegations of sexual harassment. Rodriguez’s clients largely come from the media, entertainment and sports industries. Boston's Jim Nicholas is a name to note for his experience handling wage and hour class actions under the FLSA, claims of discrimination and harassment.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Accolades

Client satisfaction

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

  • ‘The team knows our industry and the key players in our firm, which allows for greater efficiency and coordination among matters.’

  • ‘The team has deep expertise and experience in our sector.’

  • ‘This team has great knowledge of the subject matter and approaches issues with a common-sense attitude. This results in efficient, real-world results. We've seen this repeat itself with this team.’

  • ‘Maria Rodriguez is exceptionally well-versed in the subject matter. She speaks plainly and with a common-sense attitude. She is results oriented. She is creative and always has our best interest in mind. She is responsive.’

  • 'McDermott Will & Emery has a first-rate employment practice. They are particularly good at taking complex emergency litigation matters and prosecuting them quickly and aggressively. However, they also can give strategic broad advice on complex, significant employment issues.'

  • ‘McDermott's labor & employment team is distinguished by its comprehensive approach to client service. They are not just legal advisors but business partners who understand the nuances of our industry. Their willingness to collaborate, and devotion to the success of our business is why I have remained loyal to them in addition to their commitment to diversity and pro bono work.’

  • ‘They think many steps ahead and explain the different options to us. We switched to them from a different firm for our litigation. The team was really collaborative and also had good business sense. They also worked with us to see where we may have risk in the future.’

  • 'They are part of our team, and they function seamlessly as a team. We have a point person, but experts across multiple disciplines are brought in, and partners when their particular expertise is needed. We place a lot of demands on this group and they accommodate them all. Our schedule dictates theirs.'

Key clients

  • Allworth
  • BDO USA LLP
  • Circle K Stores
  • Eventus WholeHealth, PLLC
  • F.W. Webb Company
  • Proofpoint
  • Summit Health/CityMD

Work highlights

  • Representing Disney in a lawsuit filed by actor Rockmond Dunbar, who alleged wrongful termination from the show 911 after seeking exemptions from Disney’s COVID-19 vaccine policy.
  • Representing BDO USA in BDO USA, P.C. v. Stephen Morris and James Andrew Stiles, Jr.
  • Advising Village Practice Management, LLC, on a high-exposure wage-and-hour class action litigation.

Lawyers

Practice head

Rachel Cowen; Maria Rodriguez

Other key lawyers

Jim Nicholas