Debbie takes a practical approach to solving employment problems for her clients, whether they are start-ups, small businesses or multinational corporations.

OVERVIEW

Debbie Sandler has devoted her career to counseling employers with respect to employment best practices and litigation avoidance, as well as employment litigation involving such issues as workplace discrimination and harassment, wrongful discharge, wage and hour disputes, whistleblower claims, restrictive covenants and non-compete agreements. Debbie also drafts and negotiates employment contracts on behalf of both companies and executives.

Debbie takes a practical approach to solving employment problems for her clients, whether they are start-up companies, “mom-and-pop” operations or multinational corporations. Years of litigating on behalf of employers have made her adept at spotting and avoiding potential lawsuits, allowing her to guide her clients through the minefields of employee performance reviews, terminations, reduction-in-force and similar issues. Debbie subscribes to the philosophy that while the best lawsuits are the ones that never happen, an aggressive defense is sometimes needed to allow a company to run its business as it sees fit. 

She has presented seminars and published articles on many subjects including compliance with the Family and Medical Leave Act, avoiding workplace violence, managing accommodation requests under the Americans with Disabilities Act and harassment prevention and investigation.

Recognition and Involvement

Recognition & Involvement

Debbie is a co-chair of the Steering Committee of the Defense Research Institute Employment Law Committee. She is also on the faculty of the Pennsylvania Bar Institute's Employment Committee and past co-chair of the Philadelphia Bar Association's Employment Law Committee. 

Since 2019, Debbie has been named to The Best Lawyers in America® list in the practice area of Litigation - Labor and Employment. She is also AV® Preeminent rated by the Martindale-Hubbell peer review rating system.

Credentials

Bar and Court Admissions

Pennsylvania

New Jersey

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania

Education

University of Pennsylvania School of Law, JD, cum laude, 1984

Brandeis University, BA, summa cum laude, 1981 

News & Insights

Memberships

Defense Research Institute

Philadelphia Bar Association

REPRESENTATIVE MATTERS

  • Represented a supermarket in a race/retaliation suit brought by the EEOC, resulting in a defense verdict
  • Successfully argued before the New Jersey Supreme Court in a case that reaffirmed an at will employer’s right to require non-compete agreements from its employees
  • Represented a manufacturing client in a CEPA (whistleblowing) and national origin claim, resulting in plaintiff dropping the case after being deposed 
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