Worker & Employee Focused

profile

Nicole M. Rothgeb

Practice Areas:

  • Labor and Employment Law
Nicole M. Rothgeb
Rated by Super Lawyers


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Nicole M. Rothgeb
Rated by Super Lawyers


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Biography

Nicole joined the firm in 2005 and has been a partner since 2009. Her practice includes representing individual employees and representing labor unions. For her individual clients, Nicole provides counselling and representation in claims involving unlawful treatment related to discrimination, harassment, retaliation, whistleblowing, leaves of absence, and wrongful termination. She represents employees in front of administrative agencies including the CHRO, the DOL, and the EEOC, in mediations and arbitrations, as well as in the federal and state courts, at all stages of trial and appeal. She also regularly advises, negotiates for, and represents individual employees with issues arising under employment contracts, severance and/or non-compete agreements.

Nicole's experience representing Union clients includes many aspects of litigating and settling grievances, arbitrations, and administrative matters before the NLRB, the SBLR, the SBMA, the AAA, and in the courts. She also regularly advises Union leadership and members on contract administration and interpretation, negotiations, and the rights, protections and obligations that are available to unions and their members under applicable labor laws.

Nicole has played a significant role in many of the Firm's major victories. She played a key role in litigating union representation cases involving Columbia University and the New School, which established the right of student workers to organize. She also co-counselled a complex individual retaliation case, which resulted in a six-figure jury award for non-economic damages, as well as reinstatement plus an additional six-figure award from the court for the client's economic losses.

For both her union and individual employee clients, Nicole's primary goal is to empower workers and to even the playing field with employers.

Education

  • University of Connecticut School of Law, Hartford, Connecticut
    • J.D. – 2003 with Honors
    • Honorable M. Joseph Blumenfeld Award and Fleming James, Jr. Award
    • CALI Excellence for the Future Award, Employment Discrimination and Organizing the Workplace
  • University of Massachusetts at Amherst
    • B.A. – 2000 with Honors
    • Major: Political Science and Legal Studies

Bar Admission

  • Connecticut
  • Massachusetts
  • U.S. District Court District of Connecticut
  • U.S. District Court District of Massachusetts
  • U.S. Court of Appeals 2nd Circuit
  • United States Supreme Court

Professional Associations

  • Connecticut Employment Lawyers Association, Past President, and Executive Board 2008 to present
  • Connecticut Bar Association, Labor and Employment Section, Executive Committee and, Member

Honors

  • James W. Cooper Fellow, Connecticut Bar Foundation, 2020
  • New England Super Lawyer, Employment and Labor Category, 2016-Present
  • Rising Star, Super Lawyers, 2010-2015
  • Most Powerful and Influential Women, National Diversity Council, 2012

Past Positions

  • Connecticut Legal Services, Public Benefits and Employment Attorney