When workplace conflicts occur, my job is to help employers manage those conflicts so that they do not become more disruptive than they need to be.

Most attorneys who work in labor and employment law only represent employees or employers, but Jackie Woolley takes an uncommon approach to her practice. She has more than 30 years of experience in the field of employment law. Throughout her career she has both supported employees who have needed a fierce and experienced advocate, as well as helped employers navigate and manage their day-to-day personnel matters. Her hybrid model allows her to examine and understand labor and employment issues from both sides, which affords her clients exceptional representation.

Jackie spends much of her time advising and partnering with her employer clients to address personnel matters and problems. For many clients, she serves as both out-house employment counsel and HR department. Her responsibilities include ensuring compliance with employment laws, improving employee hiring, managing discipline and termination processes, responding to accommodation requests, conducting trainings and internal investigations, and drafting and enforcing personnel policies and employee contracts and agreements. One of her primary goals is to foster positive working relationships between employers and their employees.

The remainder of Jackie’s practice is dedicated to counseling employee clients who have experienced on-the-job discrimination, harassment, or retaliation. She also advises clients on the terms and conditions of their employment, from hiring through separation. Additionally, Jackie drafts and negotiates executive agreements and separation packages, advises employees on leave and reasonable accommodation issues, and handles wage and hour-related disputes. She litigates some of her cases through the administrative agency process, in alternative dispute resolution forums and/or in court, but her goal – whenever practicable – is to resolve work disputes amicably in order to avoid the risk, stress and costs associated with formal litigation.

Jackie followed her father into the practice of law and, like him, clerked for the Honorable Louis C. Bechtle, former Chief Judge Emeritus for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Since her clerkship, she has worked with several prominent Philadelphia-area law firms, including both an Am Law 100 firm and an employment law boutique firm.

Representative Matters

Employer Matters

• Defended a client against a former employee’s race discrimination and retaliation claim and negotiated an early-in-litigation, de minimis settlement
• Conducted a workplace investigation after a former employee alleged a hostile work environment based on her gender
• Prepared personnel policies and onboarding and separation templates and conducted workplace trainings for multi-state employer

Employee Matters

• Negotiated favorable terms and conditions of separation for an executive after a change in company leadership
• Achieved amicable, pre-litigation, settlement terms for a female executive employee who had asserted that her discharge was motivated by her sex
• Represented an employee through an internal HR complaint and investigation process stemming from age discrimination and retaliation claims she had lodged through her employer’s complaint processes and procedures