Erin R. Nathan

Erin Nathan is engaged primarily in commercial litigation, specializing in employment and labor law, class actions and appellate law. She represents individuals and businesses of all sizes, providing counseling, workplace training and representation in state and federal court and before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Ms. Nathan has also successfully defended cases on appeal. She represents clients before the Iowa Supreme Court and the Iowa Court of Appeals, the Illinois Court and the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.

Employment and Labor Experience. Ms. Nathan understands the issues employers and human resource professionals are faced with and works diligently to provide them with the most practical approaches to tackling even the most difficult circumstances. She is well-versed in issues involving discrimination and harassment in the workplace, Title VII, ADA, ADEA, PDA, FMLA, retaliatory discharge, defamation, fraud, tortious interference, infliction of emotional distress, breach of contract, and wage and hour violations. Ms. Nathan is also retained by employers to conduct workplace investigations in such related matters.

Practical Employment Counseling and Advice. Ms. Nathan represents and counsels businesses and individuals and provides practical advice on negotiating employment contracts, independent contractor agreements, and non-compete and non-solicitation agreements. She understands the complexities of employment hiring and terminations, large-scale reductions in force, resolving wage and hour issues (e.g. which employees are “exempt”), and creating and revising employee handbooks. Ms. Nathan frequently helps clients navigate through various employment laws and regulations to ensure compliant employee actions.

Non-Compete and Trade Secret Experience. Ms. Nathan regularly assists employers and individuals when faced with non-compete, non-solicitation and trade secret issues. She also negotiates restrictive covenant agreements on behalf of individuals and represents individuals when faced with non-compete litigation. She frequently drafts and negotiations restrictive covenant agreements on behalf of both employers and executives. Ms. Nathan represents companies in the enforcement of their non-compete agreements and for violation of trade secret laws.

Employee Training Programs. Ms. Nathan is a dynamic speaker and regularly provides educational trainings for clients and organizations relating to their most pressing issues, most recently relating to the prevention of discrimination and harassment in the workplace and recognizing and counteracting implicit bias. Ms. Nathan tailors each program to meet the objectives of each audience with the intent to provide practical understanding of an ever-changing workplace.

Prior to joining the firm in 2013, Ms. Nathan was the sole labor and employment associate at Locke Lord LLP in Chicago. She was also an adjunct faculty member of Loyola University School of Law where she taught appellate advocacy and an advanced writing course.

Place of birth: Des Moines, Iowa

Honors & Awards

• Included in Great Plains Super Lawyers Rising Star list, 2014 - 2018
• Included in Illinois Super Lawyers Rising Star list, 2012 - 2013

Memberships

• Iowa State Bar Association
  
  • Member, Board of Governors, District 6
  • Labor and Employment Law Section
  • Litigation Section
• Linn County Bar Association
• Johnson County Bar Association

     Community Involvement

• Iowa City, City High Mock Trial, Coach
• Montessori School of Iowa City, Board of Trustees

Presentations

2018 Presentations

• Avoiding Legal Issues Made by Entrepreneurs, University of Iowa College of Law, Iowa Medical Innovation Group, October
• Implicit Bias and How to Address the Workplace, ACC Corporate Counsel Forum, October
• Unconscious Bias and How It Impacts Your Workplace, Iowa Hospital Association (IHA) Annual Meeting, October
• Employment Law: Everything You Were Afraid to Ask, Iowa Engineering Conference, May
• New Harassment Training: How to Update your Training in the Post-Weinstein Era, Employment Law Update, May
• Learning About Implicit Bias and How it Impacts Your Workplace, Employment Law Update, May

2017 Presentations 

• How to Avoid the Top 10 Employment Mistakes Made by Entrepreneurs and Growing Businesses, May
• Top 10 Workplace Law Developments to Expect from the Trump Administration, Employment Law Seminar, May
• Harassment in Today’s Workplace: Identifying, Preventing, Training and Trending Developments, Employment Law Seminar, May

2016 Presentations

• Final Rule on the White Collar Overtime Exemptions, Association of Corporate Counsel - Iowa Chapter, Corporate Counsel Forum, November
• New Department of Labor Overtime Regulations Seminar, Economic Alliance, July
• Employment Update: A discussion on wage/hour issues, including the new proposed salary exemption regulations and strategies for successful employment terminations, Holmes Murphy Seminar, May
• Overtime Rule/Regular Rate: The Proposed White Collar Exemption Regulations: How to Prepare, Employment Law Update, April
• Tips for Termination, Employment Law Update, April

2015 Presentations

• Proving or Challenging Damages in Employment Cases, Iowa State Bar Association Labor & Employment Seminar, November
• Negotiating Employment Contracts, UIHC Seminar by Hawkins Wealth Management, October
• FLSA / Wage & Hour Crackdown, Employment Law: Beyond the Basics, July
• Negotiating Employment Contracts, UIHC Seminar by Hawkins Wealth Management, May
• Retaliatory Discharge and Whistle-Blower Issues, Employment Law Seminar, April

2014 Presentations

• Termination and Severance Agreements, Employment Law Seminar, May
• Social Media: What to Consider when Creating a Social Media Policy, Employment Law Seminar, May

Publications

• Employment Harassment Liability: New Strict Liability for Illinois Employers, Locke Lord Labor and Employment Conference (October 15, 2010) (author), MCLE-accredited program
• Employer Harassment Liability: Distinctions Between the Illinois Human Rights Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, ExecutiveView.com (Dec. 17, 2009)
• Employee Fraud: Prevention, Detection and Investigation, Locke Lord Labor & Employment Law Conference (October 23, 2009) (co-author), MCLE-accredited program
• How to Terminate Employees and Avoid the Courthouse, Locke Lord Labor & Employment Law Conference (October 16, 2008) (co-author), MCLE-accredited program