Karen McAndrew heads the firm's Litigation and Education Practice Groups. She has had an active litigation practice for more than 30 years, and is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. In recent years, her practice has focused on commercial litigation, employment, and college and university law, as described below:
- Education
Ms. McAndrew represents college and university clients throughout Vermont. She consults regularly with her education clients on institutional governance issues, faculty contracts (including tenure), employment matters, student disciplinary and educational accommodation issues, campus management and security and "town/gown" relations. She and other members of the firm have developed and presented training sessions for department chairs and other supervisors on the legal issues affecting educational institutions.
- Employment
Ms. McAndrew, together with Robert McKearin and Barbara Cory, directs the firm's employment practice group. Ms. McAndrew's clients include large national companies with operations in Vermont, as well as large and small Vermont-based companies. She has defended employers at the trial and appellate level in state and federal courts, but also offers ongoing advice and supervisor training designed to prevent claims and litigation. Ms. McAndrew and the other members in the firm's employment practice group provide audits of employer practices, review handbooks and employee disciplinary procedures, and counsel employers on applicability of the many statutes affecting the employment relationship, including Title VII of the Equal Employment Opportunity Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, Vermont's Fair Employment Practices Act, the Older Workers Benefits Protection Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and, to a more limited extent, the federal and state Labor Relations Acts. Ms. McAndrew works with her employer clients' human resources managers to think through employment decisions in advance, to avoid litigation wherever possible.
