Bronwyn L. Roberts

Bronwyn handles commercial and employment matters for clients ranging from early-stage startups to Fortune 100 companies. She has a broad-based practice in the area of employment, helping clients to minimize risk and resolve disputes through practical employment solutions and, when necessary, litigation. She has conducted numerous high-profile, sensitive investigations of employee misconduct and disloyalty, and she has helped guide employers through difficult resolutions.

Bronwyn represents technology and life sciences businesses in employment litigation matters, including the defense of employment discrimination cases, restrictive covenant litigation, wrongful discharge cases, wage and hour claims, employment contract matters, and trade secret and noncompetition cases. She is a first chair trial lawyer with extensive courtroom experience, and she regularly appears before state and federal courts, as well as the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination, for which she is an advisory board member advising the governor and the commission on policy matters.

Bronwyn counsels businesses on employment matters, including the preparation of human resource policies, hiring and recruiting, wage and hour compliance, worker classification, mobility issues, whistleblower allegations, discrimination, harassment and reductions in force. Bronwyn regularly conducts, directs and advises on workplace investigations. She also provides corporate training on various employment issues.

Bronwyn’s representative experience includes:

• Partnering with experienced in-house counsel at large companies to manage employment-related issues
• Working with small companies and startups to implement employment policies and procedures to protect intellectual property and knowledge capital
• Managing internal c-suite investigations
• Assisting firm clients with hiring, firing, performance management, and sensitive employee matters
• Offering first chair defense of employment claims, including jury trials
• Counseling clients on and litigating employee mobility issues, including enforcement of employee noncompete agreements upon termination and risk management relating to hiring
• Providing defense of government misclassification audits related to on-demand (gig economy) businesses
• Performing pre-acquisition due diligence, negotiation and drafting of transaction agreements, and preparation of employment and retention agreements

Select publications and speaking engagements

• Presenter, “US Legal Update Part One,” Cooley HR Network 2023 webinar, September 28, 2023
• Presenter, “Employment Law in a Recession,” Boston Bar Association webinar, May 15, 2023
• Presenter, 25th Annual Employment Law Conference 2022, Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, December 2, 2022
• Presenter, “East Coast and Midwest Legal Update,” Cooley HR Network 2022 webinar, October 13, 2022
• Presenter, “Post-COVID Employment: Remote Work, Office Return, Vaccine Mandates + Choice of Law Issues,” Cooley webinar, April 28, 2022
• Chapter author, “Drafting Employment Documents in Massachusetts,” Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, 2021
• Presenter, “Legal Update East Coast + Midwest,” Cooley HR Network 2021 webinar, October 21, 2021
• Presenter, “Leaves of Absence,” Cooley HR Network 2020 webinar, November 5, 2020
• Presenter, “Legal Update East Coast,” Cooley HR Network 2020 webinar, October 15, 2020
• Co-author, “US Supreme Court Recognizes Title VII Protections to LGBTQ Employees,” Cooley alert, June 16, 2020
• Co-author, “Practical Considerations for Boston Employers Preparing ‘Return to Office’ Plans,” Cooley alert, May 4, 2020