Financial Services Part IV: Internal and External Investigations in the Highly Regulated Financial Services Industry

JOHN F. FULLERTON III is a Member of the Firm in the Labor and Employment practice, in the New York office of Epstein Becker Green. He has substantial experience serving clients in the financial, health care, sports, real estate, and building service industries.

Mr. Fullerton:

• Represents employers in Sarbanes-Oxley and Dodd-Frank whistleblower compliance and litigation defense
• Represents employers in litigation, arbitration, and mediation matters concerning discrimination, wage and hour, restrictive covenant/non-compete, and wrongful termination claims
• Counsels employers on workplace issues, including hiring and promotion, firing and discipline, wage and hour, and the implementation of employment policies, to ensure compliance with federal and state laws
• Counsels clients on drafting all types of employment, consulting, and separation agreements
• Represents clients in labor relations and collective bargaining
• Provides corporate transactional advice on labor and employment issues
• Mr. Fullerton has represented all four major sports leagues over the course of his career. In February 2014, he successfully represented the Cleveland Indians in salary arbitration with relief pitcher Vinnie Pestano. 

Since 2004, Mr. Fullerton has been an adjunct professor of law at Pace University School of Law, where he has taught classes in labor law and advanced appellate advocacy and served for nine years as the faculty advisor to the law school's National Moot Court team. A frequent lecturer, Mr. Fullerton has authored numerous articles on labor and employment topics for various publications, including The National Law Journal, The New York Law Journal, The Labor Lawyer, Employment Law360, Real Estate Weekly, Corporate Counsel, and Dispute Resolution Journal. He has also authored the book Employment Separation Agreements Line by Line: A Detailed Look at Employment Separation Agreements and How to Change Them to Meet Your Clients' Needs, published by Thomson West in 2011. He edits and contributes to the Financial Services Employment Law Blog and serves as coeditor of the firm's Act Now Advisories.

Mr. Fullerton is a graduate of Brown University and New York University School of Law, where he was editor-in-chief of the Moot Court Casebook and a recipient of the New York Council of Defense Lawyers' Norman Ostrow Scholarship. Following graduation, he clerked for the Hon. Allyne R. Ross of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

 Mr. Fullerton has been selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America (2007 to 2014) and New York Super Lawyers - Metro Edition (2007 to 2013). He is described as an "expert in labor union law" in the 2006 edition of Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business.

MEMBERSHIPS

• American Bar Association, Labor and Employment Law Section
• New York State Bar Association, Labor and Employment Law Section
• SIFMA Compliance & Legal Society
• Society for Human Resource Management

BAR ADMISSIONS

Massachusetts

New York

COURT ADMISSIONS

Supreme Court of the United States

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit

U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York

U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York

EDUCATION

J.D., New York University School of Law, 1994

B.A., Brown University, magna cum laude, 1988

BRIAN L. FRIEDMAN is a Member of the Firm in the Litigation & Business Disputes practice, in the New York office of Epstein Becker Green. He has experience representing clients in a variety of industries, including financial services and securities, real estate and construction, retail goods and services, insurance, and health care. A substantial portion of his practice is devoted to representing banks, broker-dealers, futures commission merchants, swap dealers, and other leading financial institutions in litigation and regulatory matters.

Mr. Friedman:

• Represents clients in a variety of complex disputes involving financial services, contracts, business torts, fiduciary duty, insurance, bankruptcy, real estate, and construction, in state and federal courts and in arbitrations and mediations before FINRA, JAMS, AAA, and ICC
• Represents clients in investigations and enforcement proceedings by federal and state agencies, including the Securities and Exchange Commission, FINRA, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the National Futures Association, securities and commodities exchanges, state securities regulators, and the New York State Office of the Attorney General
• Represents clients in labor- and employment-related arbitrations and litigations
• Conducts internal investigations
• Advises on regulatory and compliance issues

Mr. Friedman regularly appears in federal and state courts and before arbitrators and administrative agencies. He has handled jury trials, arbitrations, mediations, TRO hearings, and preliminary injunction hearings covering a broad range of complex legal and factual issues.

In addition, Mr. Friedman has handled, on a pro bono basis, juvenile criminal appeals and divorce proceedings as well as matters involving special education in prison.

Before joining Epstein Becker Green, Mr. Friedman was a Senior Counsel at an international firm, where he was also a member of the firm’s Financial Services Practice Group and Securities Litigation Practice Group.

Active in his community, Mr. Friedman currently serves as a Trustee on the Board of Education for the Irvington (NY) Union Free School District.

VICTORIA SLOAN LIN is a Member of the Firm in the Employment, Labor & Workforce Management and Litigation practices, in the New York office of Epstein Becker Green. In 2018, she was recommended in The Legal 500 United States, in the Workplace and Employment Counseling category, and she was selected to the New York Metro Rising Stars list (2012 to 2016) and named to the New York Metro Super Lawyers list (2018) in the area of Employment Litigation: Defense and Business Litigation.

Ms. Sloan Lin's practice focuses on litigation, mediation, and arbitration involving complex employment and commercial disputes. She works closely with financial services, health care, retail, technology, and other employers to formulate clear and efficient legal strategies.

Ms. Sloan Lin:

• Conducts internal investigations arising out of employment-related concerns
• Represents employers in federal and state court, mediation and arbitration on matters involving discrimination, harassment, retaliation, failure to accommodate disabilities, whistleblowing, contracts, compensation, and other employment-related issues
• Counsels clients concerning terminations and reductions in force, and prepares related agreements

Ms. Sloan Lin's representative experience includes:

• Conducting internal investigations related to complaints of sexual harassment, discrimination, bullying, other inappropriate behavior, failure to accommodate, and unequal pay
• Defending employers in matters brought under Title VII, the New York State Human Rights Law, and New York City discrimination laws
• Investigating and defending administrative actions, including charges filed at the New York State Division of Human Rights and New York City Commission on Human Rights
• Defending business litigation actions in an array of industries, including financial services, health care, medical billing, retail, legal, information technology, website development, and public relations
• Addressing and resolving a variety of HIPAA-related confidentiality issues in discovery
• Resolving actions brought pursuant to the ADA involving large-scale entertainment facilities and retail establishments
• Litigating a qui tam action in federal district court on behalf of a hospital, which was premised on the violation of anti-kickback statutes and OASAS licensure, and involved the disclosure of substance abuse patient records pursuant to the federal regulations stated in 42 C.F.R. Part 2
• Obtaining judgment and declaratory relief in federal district court on CERCLA and New Jersey Spill Act environmental cost recovery claims following a three-month trial
• Obtaining a defense judgment in federal district court in a case alleging delay in commercial redevelopment as a result of alleged contamination from an underground storage tank
• Litigating environmental contamination claims brought pursuant to the New York Navigation Law and nuisance