For lawyers
Referrals and co-counsel
You have a client with a real claim. As you dig in, it turns out the same thing happened to dozens or hundreds of other people. The case is now bigger than a single-plaintiff matter, and class and group litigation is often best shared.
That is how Dorce v. City of New York began. Yolande I. Nicholson identified the pattern and brought it to me in 2018. She came in as counsel to the firm, resourced and insured through us, and she remains part of the case.
When to call
- A pay practice appears to disadvantage a protected group across a job title or department.
- An employer applies the same compensation rule, such as a day rate, a commission plan or an overtime exemption, to a large group of workers.
- A city or state program uses the same procedure against many owners, residents or employees.
- A public employer's pay or overtime practice affects a whole bargaining unit or title.
- You need class-certification, collective-action or Court of Claims experience you don't have in-house.
Usually not a fit
- A single-plaintiff harassment or termination case with no group dimension. I may still be able to help, but it isn't what this page is about.
- Claims fully covered by an individual arbitration agreement with a class waiver, unless there is a basis to challenge it.
- Securities or antitrust matters, which belong with specialized firms.
- Very small groups where individual actions are more efficient.
- Matters where the limitations period has already run for most of the group.
How it works
Arrangements are set case by case and in writing, with client consent and any fee division as the rules require. Referring counsel can stay actively involved or not. Cases are handled through Valli Kane & Vagnini LLP.
Notes for lawyers
Parts of the knowledge base are written for counsel: the open questions, the arguments each way, and where we come out.
- The Machine Is Not a Third Party — my article (October 17, 2026) on AI tools, confidentiality and privilege: the Gmail test, what Heppner held, and a better rule.
- Commissions and bonuses: notes for lawyers — pleading, proof and timing in unpaid bonus, severance and commission cases, and the three-way split on pay withheld before August 2021.
- NY Severance Rules Persist Despite McLaren Macomb Threat — my Law360 Expert Analysis article (October 13, 2026) on what New York law still restricts if the Board overrules McLaren Macomb.
- Severance agreements: the open questions — the reach of General Obligations Law § 5-336, McLaren Macomb, WARN offset, and pre-suit FLSA releases.
- Does the good-faith defense to liquidated damages have an objective half?