Allyson Kurker

Collaboration

The Kurker Law Group is dedicated to providing exceptional employment law counseling and litigation.  Allyson Kurker works with her clients to understand their business objectives, and then uses her legal expertise to help clients find practical and effective solutions to move their business forward. She believes that communication is the key to any successful relationship. That is why she charges flat fees rather than by the hour. Allyson wants you to call her before a question becomes a problem.

Expertise

Allyson has helped hundreds of employers and schools resolve their personnel issues for nearly fifteen years, as both a sexual harassment investigator and presenter, and as an attorney in the employment group of the Boston office of Bingham McCutchen. She uses this experience to provide litigation prevention strategies, and defend clients in the event of a lawsuit.

Innovation

Allyson understands that businesses are concerned with bottom line costs and results, not how many hours it takes an attorney to complete a task. That is why she engages on a flat fee basis, rather than charging by a fraction of an hour. If you choose the Kurker Law Group, you can focus on solving your business problems, not the cost associated with every phone call or email you make to your attorney. Whether you retain the firm on a quarterly or annual basis to tend to your regular employment needs, or to handle a litigation or other discrete project, the flat fee structure allows you to seek counsel when needed.

Employment Counseling

The most effective way to reduce legal costs is to proactively address the Human Resources matters that give rise to litigation. Whether it is drafting employment policies, providing early advice on a disciplinary concern, conducting an investigation, or presenting training programs, Allyson will collaborate with you to create and implement strategies designed to prevent costly litigation.

The following list provides a sample of how the Kurker Law Group can help your company:

• Draft employee handbooks, and other employment policies
• Advise on hiring, leaves of absence, compensation, disciplinary concerns, diversity, workplace safety, employee privacy, terminations and lay-offs
• Conduct workplace investigations
• Present sexual harassment programs

Employment Litigation

Allyson has considerable experience defending employers from claims involving discrimination, sexual and other unlawful harassment, wrongful termination, retaliation, breach of contract, and wage and hour disputes, in state and federal court, as well as the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Unique Experience

Allyson brings a unique experience to her role as an employment attorney, having founded a consulting company that helped schools and universities investigate harassment complaints and present prevention programs. Her organization visited hundreds of schools across the country and was recognized by The Boston Globe, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, Cosmopolitan magazine and The National Organization for Women.  She also was featured in the Boston Business Journal article “Lawyers Shine Their First Year Out.”

Representative Matters

• Obtained defense verdict in a three-week employment discrimination jury trial for leading mutual fund management company where demand was $40 million
• Assisted client in managing the legal aspects of a substantial reduction in force
• Negotiated a separation agreement on behalf of a Massachusetts non-profit arts organization.
• Obtained dismissal of a race discrimination case before the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination
• Successfully argued and opposed a motion to dismiss in a matter before the Massachusetts probate court
• Assisted client to obtain an order granting a motion for summary judgment, dismissing breach of contract and related claims asserted against a mutual fund company
• Advised clients on employment issues arising in numerous corporate transactions
• Represented a travel company in a Wage and Hour class action
• Conducted hundreds of sexual and other unlawful harassment prevention seminars
• Represented clients on a pro bono basis, including two Tibetan men seeking asylum in the United States, and an incarcerated individual claiming she was denied appropriate medical treatment.

Publications

• Co-author, “A Break for Nursing Mothers,” Bingham.com (April 13, 2010)
• Co-author, “Employers Bear the Burden Regarding Layoff Criteria,” Bingham.com (June 24, 2008)

Speaking Engagements

• Your Employment Law Toolkit: What Employers Need To Know About Massachusetts Employment Law (Visiting Angels of New England, October 20, 2010)
• Boston Bar Association panel “How to find a job in a down economy” (October 7, 2010, Boston College Law School)
• Employment Law for Business, Small (and Not So Small): Landmines and Checklists (New England Human Resources Association, September 2010)
• “Life is a Balancing Act” (MassMutual Financial Group, April 2010)
• Litigating a Case at the MCAD (August 2008, Bingham McCutchen)

Memberships and Admissions

Northeast Human Resources Association (NEHRA); NEHRA Legal and Legislative Committee; Middlesex West Chamber of Commerce; Women’s Bar Association; American Bar Association; Massachusetts Bar Association; admitted to practice in Massachusetts; U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts; U.S. Court of Appeals, First Circuit; United States Supreme Court.

Education

• Northeastern University School of Law, Juris Doctor
• Connecticut College, Bachelor of Arts, Economics

Internships

• United States Attorneys’ Office, Boston, Massachusetts
• Sherin & Logden LLP, Boston, Massachusetts
• Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights, Boston, Massachusetts