Olivieri, Edward H.

I became a lawyer because ... When I studied Sociology in college, I learned about inequality in the workplace and in society as a whole. Subtle forms of race and sex discrimination prevent people from realizing their full potential; women still make less than 80 cents on the dollar than men for equal work; employers would rather fire hard workers than make simple accommodations to their religions or disabilities. Being a lawyer is one of many ways to fight back and give a voice to people who have been silenced.

What I like most about the law is ... it is very academic and philosophical, yet at the same time is socially, politically, and economically relevant, and affects our lives every day.

My most rewarding case... Even in the relatively short time I have been practicing law, it is difficult to choose just one. If I had to pick a recent case, it would be one involving a woman who worked for a large health care organization. She became pregnant and experienced some complications during her pregnancy that caused her to take an early maternity leave. Her baby was then born prematurely and suffered nearly fatal health problems. The baby had several surgeries and needed around-the-clock care from her mother, as well as skilled nursing, for the first few months of her life. When our client's leave was about to expire, she explained to her employer that she was awaiting approval from Social Security so that her daughter would have enough hours of skilled nursing for her to be able to return to work, and asked to work part-time until the Social Security was approved. The employer dismissed this request as "dramatic," and fired her. The next day, the Social Security was approved, and our client would have been able to return to work. The employer did not offer her job back, but merely commented that this was "ironic." As a condition of employment, the employer forced its employees to sign arbitration agreements that caused them to forfeit their right to a jury trial. However, we were able to proceed before an arbitrator, who agreed our client was fired because of her pregnancy-related medical condition and because of her association with her disabled daughter. She was award her full back pay, compensatory damages, attorneys' fees, and reinstatement to her previous position.

My favorite quote is ... "Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing." Benjamin Franklin

When not at work, I enjoy ... movies, books about lawyers, seeing live bands, spending time with friends and family.