Firm News

On May 16, 2024, Chris Lenzo discussed religious exemptions to anti-discrimination laws during a seminar entitled “Trends in Employment Discrimination” at the Annual Meeting of the New Jersey State Bar Association in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

In March 2024, Chris Lenzo and Claudia Reis were selected for inclusion in the list of New Jersey Super Lawyers in the fields of Employment and Labor Law and Employment Litigation for Plaintiffs through a poll of New Jersey lawyers conducted by New Jersey Monthly Magazine and the legal publisher Thomson Reuters.* For the sixth time, Chris Lenzo was in the list of the Top 100 New Jersey Super Lawyers receiving the most votes from their peers.

On November 2, 2023, Best Law Firms selected Lenzo & Reis, LLC, for its list of the Best Law Firms in the country for the tenth year in a row. The firm was ranked in tier one in the New Jersey metropolitan area for both representation of individuals in employment law matters and labor and employment litigation.*

On September 29, 2023, Chris Lenzo settled the gender discrimination case of Meade v. Township of Livingston, in which he won a unanimous published New Jersey Supreme Court decision holding that employers can be held liable for unlawful discrimination by subordinate employees against managerial employees that results in adverse employment action against the managerial employee, for $1 million on the eve of trial after seven years of litigation.

On September 12, 2023, the Supreme Court quoted arguments raised by Claudia Reis in an amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief she filed urging the Court to find a school district liable under the Law Against Discrimination for the sexual assault of a minor by an adult bus aide.

On September 8, 2023, Claudia Reis settled a single plaintiff disability discrimination case for $1.8 million.

In August 2023, Chris Lenzo and Claudia Reis were selected by their peers in the labor and employment law bar for inclusion in the list of The Best Lawyers In America for 2024 in the field of representing Individuals in Employment Law.* This is the 19th year in a row that Chris has been listed and the 8th year in a row that Claudia has been selected for inclusion. This year, Chris is also listed as “Lawyer of the Year” in the field of representing Individuals in Employment Law for the Newark metropolitan area for the fifth time.*

On August 18, 2023, Chris Lenzo was quoted in a Bloomberg Businessweek article discussing a whistleblower retaliation lawsuit he has filed on behalf of one of his clients against a financial services firm and two of its owners, one of whom is Republican Presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy. Read more here.

On July 18, 2023, Claudia Reis spoke at the Summer Law Institute presented by the New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education. Claudia’s presentation entailed a detailed discussion about the evolution of the law concerning workplace cannabis laws.

On June 2, 2023, Claudia A. Reis was a presenter at the Hot Tips in Employment Law Seminar during which seminar she spoke about how to make arbitration work for all parties and how to avoid the imposition of the Faragher-Ellerth affirmative defense in cases of superivsory sexual harassment and/or sexual assault where the plaintiff-employee succumbed to a supervisor’s unwanted sexual advances.

On May 26, 2023, the New Jersey Superior Court issued summary judgment in favor of one of Claudia A. Reis’s clients on a failure to engage in the interactive process claim. Summary judgment means that the plaintiff-employee established her claim and, therefore, wins on her claim without having to proceed to trial on that particular claim. Summary judgment is seldomly granted in employment cases and even more rarely granted to plaintiffs.

In May 2023, Chris Lenzo and Claudia Reis were selected for inclusion in the list of New Jersey Super Lawyers in the fields of Employment and Labor Law and Employment Litigation for Plaintiffs through a poll of New Jersey lawyers conducted by New Jersey Monthly Magazine and the legal publisher Thomson Reuters.*

On May 3, 2023, Claudia Reis was a presenter at the New Jersey State Bar Association, NJICLE, program entitled Employment Litigation and Unconscious Bias — How to Combat Its Detrimental Impact on Your Cases and Your Clients.

On April 26, 2023, Claudia Reis presented a discussion about practical technology tips for enhancing law firm productivity to members of the New Jersey Women Lawyers’ Association.

On February 15, 2023, Claudia Reis moderated and Chris Lenzo spoke on a seminar panel regarding forced arbitration of employment disputes presented by the New Jersey affiliate of the National Employment Lawyers Association.

On December 6, 2022, Chris Lenzo spoke at the Employment Law Roundtable presented by the New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education. Chris participated on a panel discussing post-pandemic trial practice.

On November 3, 2022, U.S. News & World Report selected Lenzo & Reis, LLC, for its list of the Best Law Firms in the country for the ninth year in a row. The firm was ranked in tier one in the New Jersey metropolitan area for both representation of individuals in employment law matters and labor and employment litigation.*

In August 2022, Chris Lenzo and Claudia Reis were selected by their peers in the labor and employment law bar for inclusion in the list of The Best Lawyers In America for 2023 in the field of representing Individuals in Employment Law.* This is the 18th year in a row that Chris has been listed and the 7th year in a row that Claudia has been selected for inclusion.

On July 19, 2022, Claudia Reis presented a teaching lecture to New Jersey attorneys, including seasoned employment attorneys, on Marijuana and Work at the New Jersey State Bar Association’s 2022 Labor and Employment Law Summer Institute.

On June 17, 2022, Chris Lenzo and Claudia Reis spoke at the Hot Tips in Labor and Employment Law Seminar presented by the New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education. Chris discussed employer liability for discrimination against supervisors by subordinates. Claudia discussed employment law issues relating to employee usage of marijuana.

On March 31, 2022, Chris Lenzo spoke at a seminar entitled Employment Arbitration presented by the New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education. Chris discussed the disadvantages of arbitration as an alternative to court for employees and ways to avoid the enforcement of arbitration agreements.

In March 2022, Chris Lenzo and Claudia Reis were selected for inclusion in the list of New Jersey Super Lawyers in the fields of Employment and Labor Law and Employment Litigation for Plaintiffs through a poll of New Jersey lawyers conducted by New Jersey Monthly Magazine and the legal publisher Thomson Reuters.*

On February 24, 2022, Chris Lenzo spoke at the Ethics: Diversity and Inclusion Program as part of the New Jersey Association for Justice’s Winter Seminar. Chris discussed ethical mistakes by lawyers involving discriminatory professional misconduct.

On January 11, 2022, Chris Lenzo spoke at a seminar entitled Civil Rights and the First Amendment in the Age of Covid and Beyond presented by the New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education. Chris discussed religious exceptions to anti-discrimination laws.

On December 30, 2021, Chris Lenzo won an important victory at the New Jersey Supreme Court. The Court issued a unanimous opinion reversing the dismissal of the gender discrimination claim that Chris filed on behalf of former Livingston Township Manager Michele Meade. The decision recognized for the first time under New Jersey law that discriminatory bias from a supervisor’s direct report is actionable if the employer takes adverse action against the manager with knowledge that the discriminatory animus of the subordinate was one of the causes of the situation upon which the adverse employment action was based. You can read the Associated Press article regarding the Supreme Court decision here.

On November 4, 2021, U.S. News & World Report selected Lenzo & Reis, LLC, for its list of the Best Law Firms in the country for the eighth year in a row. The firm was ranked in tier one in the New Jersey metropolitan area for both representation of individuals in employment law matters and labor and employment litigation.*

In August 2021, Chris Lenzo and Claudia Reis were selected by their peers in the labor and employment law bar for inclusion in the list of The Best Lawyers In America for 2022 in the field of representing Individuals in Employment Law.* This is the 17th year in a row that Chris has been listed and the 6th year in a row that Claudia has been selected for inclusion. This year, Chris is also listed as “Lawyer of the Year” in the field of representing Individuals in Employment Law for the Newark metropolitan area for the fourth time.*

On June 29, 2021, Chris Lenzo spoke at a seminar on Avoiding Trial Mistakes That Can Upend a Verdict at the New Jersey Association for Justice’s Boardwalk Seminar.

On June 18, 2021, Chris Lenzo and Claudia Reis spoke at the Hot Tips in Labor and Employment Law Seminar presented by the New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education. Chris discussed religious exceptions to anti-discrimination laws. Claudia discussed employment law issues relating to employee usage of marijuana.

In April 2021, the New Jersey Labor and Employment Law Quarterly published an article authored by Chris Lenzo. The title of the article was “‘Keeping The Faith’ or ‘Losing My Religion’: The Clash Between Civil Rights and Religion”.

In March 2021, the New Jersey Labor and Employment Law Quarterly published an article authored by Claudia Reis. The title of the article was “‘Understanding the Science of Cannabis, Limitations of Drug Testing, and Difficulty of Trying to Determine Impairment”.

In March 2021, Chris Lenzo and Claudia Reis were selected for inclusion in the list of New Jersey Super Lawyers in the fields of Employment and Labor Law and Employment Litigation for Plaintiffs through a poll of New Jersey lawyers conducted by New Jersey Monthly Magazine and the legal publisher Thomson Reuters.*

On February 25, 2021, Chris Lenzo spoke at the Ethics: Diversity and Inclusion Program at the New Jersey Association for Justice’s Winter Seminar. Chris discussed legal issues related to COVID-19 and job interviews.

In December 2020, Chris Lenzo was nominated by his peers and elected by the Board of the American Bar Foundation (“ABF”) to be a Fellow of the ABF. The Fellows comprise a global honorary society of attorneys, judges, law faculty, and legal scholars whose public and private careers have demonstrated outstanding dedication to the highest principles of the legal profession and to the welfare of their communities. Membership in the Fellows is limited to 1% of licensed lawyers in a jurisdiction. The ABF is committed to expanding knowledge and confronting injustice of all kinds, including racial injustice. The ABF’s research, programming, writing, and policy recommendations have helped move the legal profession and society as a whole toward greater equality and justice.

On November 4, 2020, U.S. News & World Report selected Lenzo & Reis, LLC, for its list of the Best Law Firms in the country for the seventh year in a row. The firm was ranked in tier one in the New Jersey metropolitan area for both representation of individuals in employment law matters and labor and employment litigation.*

In August 2020, Chris Lenzo and Claudia Reis were selected by their peers in the labor and employment law bar for inclusion in the list of The Best Lawyers In America for 2021 in the field of representing Individuals in Employment Law.* This is the 16th year in a row that Chris has been listed and the 5th year in a row that Claudia has been selected for inclusion.

On August 11, 2020, Claudia Reis participated as a speaker in the Employment Law Summer Roundup conference presented by the New Jersey Institute of Continuing Legal Education. Claudia’s presentation addressed employers’ obligation to accommodate employees in high risk groups for developing COVID-19.

On August 6, 2020, Claudia Reis was a panelist discussing strategic insights and considerations for determining witness order, preparing witnesses, and using experts at trial during the Employment Law Seminar of the New Jersey Association for Justice (NJAJ) Boardwalk Seminar.

On July 30, 2020, Claudia Reis participated as a speaker during a panel discussion at the New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education concerning the Supreme Court’s decision in Bostock , which made clear that discrimination against gay and trans workers is unlawful gender discrimination. Claudia specifically addressed the impact of the decision on New Jersey workers.

On July 14, 2020, Claudia Reis lectured other attorneys on New Jersey’s Equal Pay Act and Wage Theft Law at the New Jersey Institute of Continuing Legal Education’s 2020 Summer Institute program.

On June 12, 2020, Chris Lenzo and Claudia Reis spoke at the Hot Tips in Labor and Employment Law Seminar presented by the New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education. Chris discussed how to avoid forced arbitration of employment cases. Claudia discussed tips for arbitrating employment disputes.

In March 2020, Chris Lenzo and Claudia Reis were selected for inclusion in the list of New Jersey Super Lawyers in the fields of Employment and Labor Law and Employment Litigation for Plaintiffs through a poll of New Jersey lawyers conducted by New Jersey Monthly Magazine and the legal publisher Thomson Reuters.*

On February 13, 2020, Claudia Reis was a panelist who provided insights into how to successfully prepare clients for their deposition and trial examinations at the New Jersey Chapter of the National Employment Lawyers Association.

On December 12, 2019, Chris Lenzo spoke at a Labor and Employment Law Workshop sponsored by the management-side employment law firm Ford Harrison.

On November 25, 2019, Chris Lenzo spoke at the Footprints in the Digital Sand Seminar presented by the New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education. Chris discussed employee electronic privacy rights in the workplace.

On November 1, 2019, U.S. News & World Report selected Lenzo & Reis, LLC, for its list of the Best Law Firms in the country for the sixth year in a row. The firm was ranked in tier one in the New Jersey metropolitan area for both representation of individuals in employment law matters and labor and employment litigation.*

On October 29, 2019, Chris Lenzo filed a disability and religious discrimination lawsuit against the Mahwah Township Board of Education on behalf of an eighth-grade student who has been bullied for three years due to his cleft palate, speech impediment, weight, and religion, as reported on November 1, 2019, by the Bergen Record.

In August 2019, Chris Lenzo and Claudia Reis were selected by their peers in the labor and employment law bar for inclusion in the list of The Best Lawyers In America for 2020 in the field of representing Individuals in Employment Law.* This is the 15^th year in a row that Chris has been listed and the 4^th year in a row that Claudia has been selected for inclusion. This year, Chris is also listed as “Lawyer of the Year” in the field of representing Individuals in Employment Law for the Newark metropolitan area for the third time.*

On August 9, 2019, Chris Lenzo spoke at the Footprints in the Digital Sand Seminar presented by the New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education. Chris discussed employee electronic privacy rights in the workplace.

On June 14, 2019, Chris Lenzo and Claudia Reis spoke at the Hot Tips in Labor and Employment Law Seminar presented by the New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education. Chris discussed employee privacy rights in the workplace. Claudia discussed legal issues in the workplace relating to employee use of medical marijuana.

On Thursday, May 16, 2019, Claudia Reis was quoted in a Courier Post article entitled “Whistleblower says NJ violated civil rights of psychiatric patients with disabilities” regarding one of our firm’s pending cases. The article can be accessed here.

On Wednesday, May 15, 2019, Claudia Reis was a presenter at the New Jersey Bar Association’s Annual Conference during which she discussed and addressed the implications of S121, which prohibits the enforcement of confidentiality in settlement agreements as well as the waiver of employees’ substantive and due process rights.

On Monday, May 13, 2019, Claudia Reis was a presenter at a Labor and Employment Relations Association meeting during which she discussed S121, a recently enacted revision to the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination that prohibits the enforcement of confidentiality in settlement agreements as well as the waiver of employees’ substantive and due process rights.

On March 27, 2019, Claudia A. Reis participated in a panel discussing strategies related to trial openings at a NELA-NJ meeting.

In March 2019, Chris Lenzo and Claudia Reis were selected for inclusion in the list of New Jersey Super Lawyers in the fields of Employment and Labor Law and Employment Litigation for Plaintiffs through a poll of New Jersey lawyers conducted by New Jersey Monthly Magazine and the legal publisher Thomson Reuters.* Claudia Reis was in the list of the Top 50 Women New Jersey Super Lawyers for the fourth year in a row.

On February 27, 2019, Chris Lenzo spoke at the Labor and Employment Law Forum presented by the New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education. Chris participated in a panel discussion of disability discrimination and reasonable accommodation issues involving employees’ use of medical marijuana.

On November 1, 2018, U.S. News & World Report selected Lenzo & Reis, LLC, for its list of the Best Law Firms in the country for the fifth year in a row. The firm was ranked in tier one in the New Jersey metropolitan area for both representation of individuals in employment law matters and labor and employment litigation.*

In August 2018, Chris Lenzo and Claudia Reis were selected by their peers in the labor and employment law bar for inclusion in the list of The Best Lawyers In America for 2019 in the field of representing Individuals in Employment Law.* This is the 14th year in a row that Chris has been listed and the third year in a row that Claudia was selected for inclusion.

On June 1, 2018, Chris Lenzo and Claudia Reis spoke at the Hot Tips in Labor and Employment Law Seminar presented by the New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education. Chris discussed employer abuse of employees’ psychological examinations. Claudia spoke about the #MeToo movement.

In April 2018, Chris Lenzo published an article titled “The Free Speech Rights of Lawyers and Litigants in Civil Matters” in the New Jersey Labor and Employment Law Quarterly.

In March 2018, Chris Lenzo and Claudia Reis were selected for inclusion in the list of New Jersey Super Lawyers in the fields of Employment and Labor Law and Employment Litigation for Plaintiffs through a poll of New Jersey lawyers conducted by New Jersey Monthly Magazine and the legal publisher Thomson Reuters.* For the fifth year in a row, Chris Lenzo was in the list of the Top 100 New Jersey Super Lawyers receiving the most votes from their peers. Claudia Reis was in the list of the Top 50 Women New Jersey Super Lawyers for the third year in a row.

On November 28, 2017, Chris Lenzo spoke at the Employment Law and the First Amendment Seminar presented by the New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education. Chris discussed the free speech rights of lawyers and their clients.

On November 20, 2017, Chris Lenzo and Claudia Reis spoke at the Fall Continuing Legal Education Fest presented by the New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education. Chris spoke on a panel addressing workplace investigations. Claudia spoke on a panel addressing social media and employment law.

On November 1, 2017, U.S. News & World Report selected Lenzo & Reis, LLC, for its list of the Best Law Firms in the country for the fourth year in a row. The firm was ranked in tier one in the New Jersey metropolitan area for both representation of individuals in employment law matters and labor and employment litigation.*

On October 12, 2017, Claudia A. Reis discussed age discrimination in the hiring process at the State of Workforce Diversity Forum presented by the New Start Career Network at the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, Rutgers University.

On September 26, 2017, Chris Lenzo spoke about political discrimination and retaliation in the workplace on a plaintiffs’ attorney panel at the Ninth Annual Forum on Defending and Managing Employment Discrimination Litigation presented by the American Conference Institute.

On August 11, 2017, Chris Lenzo and Claudia Reis spoke at the Summer Continuing Legal Education Fest presented by the New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education. Chris spoke on a panel addressing workplace investigations. Claudia spoke on a panel addressing social media and employment law.

* NO ASPECT OF THIS ADVERTISEMENT HAS BEEN APPROVED BY THE SUPREME COURT OF NEW JERSEY. FOR BEST LAWYERS METHODOLOGY, SEE WWW.BESTLAWYERS.COM. FOR SUPER LAWYERS METHODOLOGY, SEE WWW.SUPERLAWYERS.COM. FOR MARTINDALE-HUBBELL METHODOLOGY, SEE WWW.MARTINDALE.COM. FOR BEST LAW FIRMS METHODOLOGY, SEE WWW.BESTLAWFIRMS.COM.