Adam Pankratz

I generally practice employer-side employment law, although I do represent businesses and individuals in defending contract actions and other business related claims, prosecuting and defending restrictive covenant actions, and mergers & acquisition employment due diligence and integration. I provide a full range of services for employers regarding human resources issues including the following: - Counseling on employment issues including hiring, discipline and termination; - Counseling employers on FMLA and other complex leave and accommodation issues; - Advising on merger & acquisition due diligence and integration; - Drafting and revising offer letters, employee handbooks and policies, and compensation policies and agreements; - Drafting, revising, and defending non-competition agreements and restrictive covenants, and invention assignments; - Drafting and evaluating executive compensation and employment agreements; - Drafting, negotiating, and defending severance and release agreements; - Advising and counseling on both on day-to-day issues as well as strategic and systemic initiatives; - Conducting workplace investigations and training on employment related issues; - Collaborating with the Human Resources professionals to create and implement employee trainings on employment topics and employee relations issues; - Counseling on WARN Act compliance and classification of individuals as employees or independent contractors; - Defending charges of discrimination before government agencies; and - Defending employers in both arbitration, and state and federal courts against all manner of employment related claims. I have experience defending claims pursuant to Title VII, Section 1981, ADA, FMLA, FLSA, Davis-Bacon Act, wage payment laws, and the state/local counterparts to the Federal discrimination statutes.

Labor and Employment - Represented employers in federal and state courts, as well as administrative agencies such as the EEOC, the US DOL, OSHA and their state and local counterparts. - Defended clients against lawsuits alleging violations of restrictive covenants and claims under the FMLA, Davis-Bacon Act and the FLSA. - Defended allegations of sexual harassment and discrimination based on age, disability, ethnicity, gender, medical leave, pregnancy, nationality and religion. - Drafted employment policies, handbooks, contracts, restrictive covenants, and executive and severance agreements. - Counseled employers on a wide range of employment-related matters, including policies, terminations, severances, reductions in force, FLSA compliance and classification of individuals as employees or independent contractors, FMLA compliance, WARN Act compliance, Department of Labor investigations, and I-9 compliance and investigations. Commercial and Business Litigation and Arbitration - Defended a federal qui tam lawsuit against a national health care organization. - Successfully prosecuted contract lawsuits and arbitrations regarding recovery of payments. Insurance/Reinsurance Litigation and Arbitration - Defended a life reinsurer in an arbitration proceeding challenging the reinsurer’s ability to raise yearly renewable term premium rates. - Prosecuted multiple declaratory judgment actions in federal court on behalf of an insurer in coverage disputes. - Defended a United States holding company and its United Kingdom based subsidiary insurance company in coverage, contract and vexatious refusal to pay claims. - Prosecuted a declaratory judgment action in federal court on behalf of a reinsurer challenging the claims settlement practices of a disability income insurer that improperly ceded individual disability claims to the reinsurance treaty.

- Successfully briefed two appeals before the Kansas Court of Appeals. - Researched complex legal issues and drafted legal briefs in a wide variety of practice areas including bankruptcy, business (transactional) law, condemnation, contested adoption, contract interpretation, employment, insurance defense, personal injury, products liability, torts and trusts. - Lead counsel on two judge tried trials. - Represented employers in federal and state court, and before administrative agencies when faced with various employment related claims of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation including those pursuant to the ADA, ADEA, FMLA, FLSA, Title VII, as well as the state and local counterparts.

I wrote and negotiated contracts in the worldwide jets division. I also assisted customers with the details of their aircraft, including specs and avionics, and assisted customers with the delivery, registration and export of their aircraft.

Graduated cum laude and in the top 10%