Alexander W. Leonard

Alexander Leonard helps businesses from startups to well-established companies of every size, across geographies, and executives, resolve workplace disputes, manage risk and maintain compliance across the full employment lifecycle.

His experience spans every aspect of employment relationships, from hiring to post-termination and from internal investigation through trial and hearings.

Alexei advises clients in hospitality, retail, luxury, entertainment, financial services, technology and real estate on employment matters ranging from discrimination and retaliation to executive compensation and business transitions. His work spans FMLA, ADA, ADEA, WARN, FLSA, NLRA and Title VI compliance, internal investigations, training and counseling, and high-stakes litigation and arbitrations involving restrictive covenants, whistleblower claims and accessibility issues.

Alexei has successfully defended a myriad of employment discrimination, WARN Act, public accommodation, restrictive covenant and individual, collective and class action wage and hour matters in federal and state courts. He has also represented clients before administrative agencies, including the EEOC, OSHA, U.S. Department of Labor, New York Department of Labor, New York State Division of Human Rights and the New York City Commission on Human Rights.

Taking a practical, client-focused approach, Alexei partners with general counsel and HR leaders to reduce stress, defuse conflict and deliver efficient, commercially sensible solutions that minimize risk while helping his clients achieve their business objectives.

Experience

• Guided a celebrity chef through multiple nationwide wage and tipping class actions, mitigating business disruption and reputational risk.
• Negotiated a favorable settlement for a regional restaurant operator in a wage and hour class action covering more than 1,000 employees, at minimal cost and with reversion of unclaimed funds.
• Arbitrated enforcement of a separation agreement and restrictive covenants against a former CEO, securing full recovery of separation pay.
• Resolved contractual and statutory claims for a financial services professional, achieving an eight-figure result.
• Structured and negotiated an eight-figure noncontractual exit package for a luxury brand executive following an 18-month strategic lead-up.