William Walden

Achieving business solutions for clients in labor and employment

William Walden helps clients achieve business objectives, manage employment compliance risks and enhance litigation outcomes. In addition to his litigation experience in federal and state court, William regularly defends clients in government agency investigations and leads internal investigations into human resources complaints. William also advises his clients on the full range of HR, talent and people issues, such as:

• Trade secret protection and the enforcement of noncompete agreements
• Leave management and disability accommodation procedures
• Health and safety matters
• Wage and hour compliance
• Employee performance management, discipline and policy design

William's litigation, investigation and HR counseling practices span several industries, including logistics, transportation, food solutions, nonprofit and tax-exempt organizations, energy, technology, health care and emerging startups.

• Defending class, collective and single-plaintiff actions that raise employment-related claims.
• Evaluating labor and employment risks in mergers, acquisitions, divestures and other corporate transactions.
• Advising clients on weekly decisions related to employment contracts, performance management, disability and pregnancy accommodations, leave requests, wages and compensation, discipline, terminations, severance packages, reductions in force, business restructuring, drug testing and background checks.

• Led and advised on hundreds of internal investigations into claims of discrimination, harassment, hostile work environment, whistleblower retaliation and other forms of employee misconduct.
• Designed policies, processes and training solutions for Americans with Disabilities Act compliance that positioned a client for an early exit from a federal court consent decree in an EEOC enforcement action.
• Defended clients against dozens of employment-related lawsuits, government investigations and legal demands.