Lauren is a Partner with Calcagni & Kanefsky.  She focuses her practice on litigation and internal investigations, concentrating on all matters of employment law.

A seasoned trial attorney, Lauren has vast experience in federal, state, and regulatory matters, as well as arbitration.  She regularly handles employment litigation, workplace investigations, government inquiries, high-stakes workplace disputes, and C-suite employment negotiations.

Lauren is adept at identifying litigation risk in the workplace and crafting custom-tailored solutions to mitigate exposure.  She provides training, prepares legally compliant workplace policies and procedures, and counsels her clients throughout the employee lifecycle, from onboarding through performance management, dispute resolution, restructuring, and terminations.  Lauren is often called upon to structure and negotiate employment agreements, restrictive covenants (including non-competition clauses), separation agreements, and executive compensation arrangements.

Lauren is a former Assistant United States Attorney in the District of Delaware, where she investigated and prosecuted criminal and civil cases.  During her six-year tenure, Lauren successfully tried to juries both criminal and civil matters, with a focus on federal employment crimes including embezzlement, trade secret theft, and other misappropriation and false statement offenses.  Lauren also defended the government in employment litigation in federal court.

Before joining Calcagni & Kanefsky, Lauren practiced in the New Jersey office of a regional boutique firm, with a focus on employment law and litigation.

Before private practice, Lauren served as Enforcement Counsel with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority in New York.  At FINRA, Lauren investigated and arbitrated matters involving employee embezzlement, theft, and regulatory violations in the securities industry.

Lauren began her legal career in the New York office of a large national firm, where she focused on commercial litigation and corporate restructuring

• Successfully defended businesses in federal court litigation concerning claims of sexual harassment and nonpayment of wages.
• Representations of businesses in Department of Labor audits concerning misclassification of employees and independent contractors.
• Providing general employment law counseling and human resource guidance to regional, national, and global organizations.
• Representation of corporate executives in complex employment litigation.
• Successfully negotiated favorable employment agreements and separation packages for highly-compensated corporate executives across several industries.

Lauren frequently presents on employment law issues, and she has been quoted in national publications including Forbes magazine.  Lauren is also a regular panelist in legal industry and Continuing Legal Education (CLE) programs focused on employment law issues.  Lauren’s past events have included CLE programs for the New York County Bar Association (NYCLA), the New York City Bar Association (NYCBA), and the New Jersey State Bar Association (NJSBA).  Lauren serves as the Legislative Affairs Chair and a Board Member for the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), Gateway Chapter.

Lauren’s contributions to national publications include the following:

“Impact Of Covid On Civil Rights In Workplace Will Be Focus Of EEOC Hearing,” Forbes (Apr. 27, 2021), available at https://www.forbes.com/sites/edwardsegal/2021/04/27/impact-of-covid-on-civil-rights-in-workplace-will-be-focus-of-eeoc-hearing/?sh=3ceae3fc126d.

“EEOC Hearing Highlights Covid’s Many Challenges For Companies And Workers,” Forbes (Apr. 28, 2021, available at https://www.forbes.com/sites/edwardsegal/2021/04/28/eeoc-hearing-highlights-impact-of-covid-on-companies-and-workers-civil-rights/?sh=680e78e143ce.

“CFO Job-Hopping: How Much Is Too Much?,” CFO Magazine (Apr. 8, 2021), available at https://www.cfo.com/careers/2021/04/cfo-job-hopping-how-much-is-too-much/.

Lauren is a published academic writer.  Her writings include:  “Networking in the Internet Age,” American Bankruptcy Institute Annual Meeting (2010); and “Take this Cash,” FINalternatives, Hedge Fund and Private Equity News (March 2008), reprinted in Asset Based Financing Journal, Vol. 6., No. 5. (May 2008).

Lauren also volunteers as a Judge for the Dean Jerome Prince Memorial Evidence Competition.