Responding to Federal Motions to Dismiss: Amend or Oppose, Defense Exhibits, and Retaining Leave to Replead

Lawrence M. Pearson, Partner | Wigdor LLP

Most recently a Partner at Wigdor LLP, Lawrence M. Pearson has spent the last 16 years litigating discrimination, sexual harassment, retaliation, and whistleblower claims on behalf of employees and executives. He has litigated hundreds of cases involving unlawful termination, contract violations, and torts to resolution in federal and state courts. He has argued two appeals before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. Lawrence brings more than 25 years of labor and employment experience to his practice. Before joining Wigdor, he represented employers at Jackson Lewis LLP and practiced in the Labor & Employment Practice Group at Morgan Lewis LLP. Lawrence has just launched his own law practice in which he is representing individuals as well as employers, and expanding his services to include mediation and arbitration.

• Education & Credentials

Lawrence is admitted in New York and before the U.S. District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York and the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. He received his J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School. There he served as Book Review Editor of the Journal of Labor and Employment Law and received a Public Service Award for his work with the Philadelphia Unemployment Project. He earned his B.A., cum laude, from The George Washington University, where he was a member of the Honors Program and received a merit scholarship.

• Recognition & Leadership

Chambers USA has ranked Lawrence in Labor & Employment: Mainly Plaintiffs – New York. Best Lawyers has recognized him in Labor and Employment Litigation every year since 2019. He has appeared on the Lawdragon 500 Leading Employment Lawyers list since 2019 and on the New York Metro Super Lawyers list since 2014. He also holds a 10.0 “Superb” rating from Avvo.

• Professional Involvement

Lawrence speaks regularly on employment discrimination, sexual harassment, whistleblower retaliation, executive compensation, severance agreements, and restrictive covenants. He has written numerous articles on employment law topics, including for the New York Law Journal and Business Insider. He has appeared as a legal commentator on CNBC. His cases have been covered by outlets including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Bloomberg Law, and Law360. He also leads compliance training for management and employees. On a pro bono basis, he counsels a New York nonprofit that funds youth-led community projects worldwide and advises a mental health agency that helps adults return to work and community life.

• Experience

Lawrence argued two appeals before the Second Circuit for a former private wealth manager pursuing Sarbanes-Oxley whistleblower retaliation claims against JPMorgan Chase & Co. He has also won major court-filed motions for professionals, partners, and executives across the technology, consulting, financial services, and accounting industries. His federal cases include discrimination suits against a large bank, a large advertising company, and a start-up travel company.

His public results include a $400,000 jury verdict against Maxi-Aids, Inc. in a disability discrimination case and a $1.34 million default judgment against New York’s so-called “Taxi King.” He has litigated dozens of FINRA and AAA arbitrations, including one in which he defeated an employer’s $2.5 million clawback claim against a former executive. His verdicts, awards, and settlements total more than $50 million.

SESSION 1 – The Plaintiff’s Amend-or-Oppose Election Under Rule 15 and Judges’ Individual Motion Rules | Lawrence M. Pearson | 12:00pm – 1:00pm

This session examines, from the plaintiff’s chair, the decision of whether to amend or stand when a federal motion to dismiss or pre-motion letter arrives in an employment, civil rights or tort case. The one-hour program will cover the single 21-day amendment Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 15(a)(1)(B) window and how it can be lost; amend-now-or-never individual judges’ rules and the Loreley v. Wells Fargo 2015 Second Circuit case; triage of defense arguments; how to handle response letters; and waiver of defenses by the movant.

BREAK | 1:00pm – 1:10pm

SESSION 2 – Opposing Federal Motions to Dismiss that Include Defense Exhibits and Preserving Leave to Replead | Lawrence M. Pearson | 1:10pm – 2:10pm

This one-hour session discusses from the plaintiff’s side federal motions to dismiss in civil litigation of employment, civil rights, and tort claims. It covers sorting and objecting to defense exhibits on a motion to dismiss, body-worn video exhibits, and potential conversation to a Rule 56(d) motion. In addition, preserving leave to amend or replead through a separate motion and choosing between amending, appealing, Rule 59(e), and refiling after dismissal.