Stéphanie Smith
Partner
Stéphanie Smith’s practice focuses on all aspects of employment law, including hiring and firing, performance management and disciplinary action, reductions in force, leaves of absence and workplace accommodations, protection of intellectual property, and compliance with federal and state employment laws, including wage and hour and leave laws.
Stéphanie regularly advises companies and executives in connection with employment and severance arrangements, non-competition/non-solicitation agreements, and non-disclosure agreements. She has experience drafting personnel policies and counseling clients on the use of independent contractors. She also counsels corporate clients in connection with internal investigations, including allegations of discrimination, harassment, and employee theft.
Stéphanie also represents clients in litigation matters before government agencies and state and federal courts, including those involving discrimination and harassment, wage disputes, contractual disputes, and ERISA benefit claims. She also represents clients in mediations and arbitrations, including before FINRA.
Stéphanie has conducted customized trainings and seminars on various employment-related topics, including sexual harassment and discrimination avoidance, and best practices for finding leadership for startups. Additionally, she has assisted with employment matters in connection with corporate transactions.
Prior to joining Casner & Edwards, Stéphanie was a Counsel in the Labor & Employment Practice Group at WilmerHale. Before obtaining her law degree, she was a marketing manager for a medical software publisher.
Stéphanie speaks fluent French.
Honors & Awards
Boston Magazine, "Top Lawyers" – Labor & Employment, 2021-2024
- Massachusetts
JD, magna cum laude, Boston University School of Law
Bachelor of Commerce, Great Distinction, McGill University
Experience
- Represented a chain of restaurants in an investigation by the Department of Labor into claims of unpaid overtime, resulting in a favorable resolution
- Reached favorable settlement for clients in civil action alleging breach of non-competition obligations
- Successfully resolved discrimination and harassment claims before the MCAD (both in private settlements and mediations)
- Member, American Bar Association
- Member, Massachusetts Bar Association
Publications
- Client Alert: Ringing in 2023 – Important Legal Updates for Massachusetts Employers, 2023
- Client Alert: Trio of Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Decisions Create Significant Impact on Wage Payments, 2022
- Client Alert: Important COVID-Related Benefits Require Immediate Action by Massachusetts Employers, 2021
- Author, “How New Mass. Family Leave Interacts With Existing Laws,” Law 360, 2021
- Client Alert: Massachusetts PFML Scenarios – Parental Leave, 2021
- "Families First Coronavirus Response Act Provides Paid Leave for COVID-19 Related Absences," Massachusetts Bar Association's Section Review, 2020
- Client Alert: Implementation of Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave Program Delayed, 2019
- Client Alert: Part I: Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave - First Deadline is Less than a Month Away. Are you ready?, 2019
- Client Alert: Part II: Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave, 2019
- Client Alert: Can Employees Delay Designating FMLA-Qualifying Leave as FMLA? DOL Says "No," Disagrees With Ninth Circuit, 2019
- "Employer Insights From 11th Circ. Disability Bias Ruling," Law360, 2019
- Client Alert: Employment Law Update – Are You Ready for 2019?, 2019
- Quoted in "What Managers Need to Know About the FMLA," SHRM, 2018
- Client Alert: Massachusetts Passes Sweeping Non-Compete Reform, 2018
- Client Alert: U.S. Supreme Court Upholds Class Action Waivers in Arbitration Agreements, 2018
- “Employment Law Update: A ‘To Do’ List for 2019,” Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, 2018
- "Take Care When Drafting Executive Employment Agreements," SHRM, 2017
- Client Alert: Employment Law Practice Tip – Early Lessons From Comey’s Dismissal, 2017
- Client Alert: Employers Will Be Working Overtime to Implement Final Rule, 2016
- Finding Leadership for Young Life Science Companies, Kevin M. McGovern Family Center for Venture Development in the Life Sciences, Cornell University, 2014
Seminars
- Panelist, “Contract, Tort, Wage and Hour, and Legislative Update,” MCLE Employment Law Conference, 2023
- Co-presenter, "MCLE's '1st Look' FFCRA & the CARES Act" Webinar, 2020
