Laurel A. Van Buskirk
Associate

Biography

Laurel Van Buskirk is a member of our Labor, Employment and Employee Benefits practice group.  She concentrates her practice on management side employment law, providing both counseling to employers and representing them in litigation.

With a focus on risk management, Laurel regularly advises private and public employers on compliance with state and federal employment laws, hiring, discipline, termination, discrimination, sexual harassment, wage and hour, and leave of absence issues.  She also helps employers conduct investigations and training, draft employment agreements, separation agreements, employer policies and handbooks. 

Laurel has experience representing employers before State and Federal administrative agencies and the courts on sexual harassment, discrimination, wrongful termination, wage and hour and unemployment matters. 

Laurel practices out of our Manchester, NH office.

EDUCATION:

University of Richmond School of Law, Juris Doctor, cum laude, 2003
McGill University, Bachelor of Arts, 2000

Professional Affiliations

• New Hampshire Bar Association
• Maine Bar Association
• Manchester Young Professional Association
• National Human Resources Association

Awards & Honors

• Recognized by Super Lawyers as a "Rising Star" in the practice area of Employment & Labor, 2011.
  

Speaking Engagements

• Currently scheduled: Social Media in the Workplace: Managing the Risks and the Reward,  VT Mortgage Bankers Association &  Mortgage Bankers/Brokers Association of NH Mortgage Compliance Conference (April 18, 2012)
• Social Media and Mortgage Banking: Traps for the Unwary, Mortgage Bankers and Brokers Association of New Hampshire (October 13, 2011)
• Legal Update, National Association for Human Resources (April 19, 2010)
• Green Card- What?!- Proper Hiring and Compliance in the Workplace, American Resort Developer’s Association (June 2007)

Community Involvement

• Member, American Cancer Society's "Making Strides Against Breast Cancer" - Manchester, NH Committee
• New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) Board of Trustees, Public Member- NH 
• Currier Museum of Art, Advisory Council Member

Publications

• “What You Don’t Know About Hiring Minor Workers Could Hurt You”,  Business NH Magazine, July 27, 2011
• “Spring is Here. . . Are You Ready for the Summer Hiring Season”, Dateline; NH, May 2011
• "Ask the Expert", BIA Report, June 1, 2010
• "Social Media and Blogging: What’s Your Policy? ", New Hampshire Business Review, March 24, 2010
• "Cost-cutting can wind up being expensive: Employers should consider the legal effects of cutting expenditures", New Hampshire Business Review, June 12-July 2, 2009
• "High court ruling opens 401(k) can of worms," The New Hampshire Business Review, March 28, 2008
• "Mobile Technology and Employer Liability", The New Hampshire Business Review, April 27, 2007 (reprinted by Society for Human Resource Management)
• "Do Employee Policies Need Updating in a Blogging World?", The New Hampshire Business Review, August 18, 2006 (reprinted in Privacy and Information Law Report , Vol 7, Issue 9, October 2006)
• "Court Rulings Set Guidelines for Body Art in the Workplace," The New Hampshire Business Review, December 9, 2005
• "NLRB Changes Its Mind About Non-Union Weingarten Rights," The New Hampshire Business Review, June 24, 2005

Bar Admissions

• New Hampshire
• Maine