Erin R. Nathan

Erin Nathan is a member with Simmons Perrine Moyer Bergman where she is engaged primarily in commercial litigation, specializing in employment and labor law, class actions and appellate law.

Ms. Nathan graduated with honors from the University of Iowa. She then went on to graduate from the University of Iowa College of Law, with distinction, and served as the Editor in Chief of the Journal of Transnational Law and Contemporary Problems.

Ms. Nathan comes to the firm from the Chicago office of Locke Lord LLP where she was the sole labor and employment associate. She was also an adjunct faculty member of Loyola University School of Law where she taught appellate advocacy and an advanced writing course.

Employment and Labor Experience. Ms. Nathan represents clients accused of the following: age; sex; race; disability and national origin discrimination; sexual harassment; hostile work environment; retaliatory discharge; ERISA violations; Family and Medical Leave Act violations; defamation; fraud; tortious interference; infliction of emotional distress; breach of contract; and wage and hour violations. Ms. Nathan handles matters in state and federal court and before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and other state and local governmental agencies, as well as before arbitration tribunals.

Practical Employment Counseling and Advice. Ms. Nathan represents and counsels businesses and individuals on employment-related matters, including employment contracts, independent contractor agreements, trade secrets and non-compete and non-solicitation agreements. Ms. Nathan provides advice and practical steps on employment hiring and terminations, large-scale reductions in force, resolving wage and hour issues (e.g. which employees are “exempt”), creating and revising employee handbooks to reduce risk and prevent contractual liability, crafting an alternative dispute resolution program that will withstand court scrutiny and implementing harassment prevention and other employee training programs.

Non-Compete and Trade Secret Experience. Ms. Nathan regularly assists employers and individuals when faced with non-compete, non-solicitation and trade secret issues. Ms. Nathan frequently drafts restrictive covenant agreements for employers and counsels employers on how to avoid employee theft of trade secret information. Ms. Nathan represents companies in the enforcement of their non-compete agreements and for violation of trade secret laws. Ms. Nathan also negotiates restrictive covenant agreements on behalf of individuals and represents individuals when faced with non-compete litigation.

Appellate Experience. Ms. Nathan has represented clients before the Iowa Supreme Court, the Iowa Court of Appeals, the Illinois Supreme Court and the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Ms. Nathan clerked for Justice David Wiggins of the Iowa Supreme Court and taught appellate advocacy at Loyola University School of Law in Chicago for three years.

Place of birth: Des Moines, Iowa

Recent articles:

• Employment Background Checks: An Update to Your Forms
• Erin Nathan Elected to ISBA Board of Governors
• 2018 Employment Law Seminar

Honors & Awards

• Included in Great Plains Super Lawyers Rising Star list, 2014 - 2018
• Included in Illinois Super Lawyers Rising Star list, 2012 - 2013

Memberships

• Iowa State Bar Association
  
  • Member, Board of Governors, District 6
  • Labor and Employment Law Section
  • Litigation Section
• Linn County Bar Association
• Johnson County Bar Association

Presentations

2018 Presentations

• Avoiding Legal Issues Made by Entrepreneurs, University of Iowa College of Law, Iowa Medical Innovation Group, October
• Implicit Bias and How to Address the Workplace, ACC Corporate Counsel Forum, October
• Unconscious Bias and How It Impacts Your Workplace, Iowa Hospital Association (IHA) Annual Meeting, October
• Employment Law: Everything You Were Afraid to Ask, Iowa Engineering Conference, May
• New Harassment Training: How to Update your Training in the Post-Weinstein Era, Employment Law Update, May
• Learning About Implicit Bias and How it Impacts Your Workplace, Employment Law Update, May

2017 Presentations 

• How to Avoid the Top 10 Employment Mistakes Made by Entrepreneurs and Growing Businesses, May
• Top 10 Workplace Law Developments to Expect from the Trump Administration, Employment Law Seminar, May
• Harassment in Today’s Workplace: Identifying, Preventing, Training and Trending Developments, Employment Law Seminar, May

2016 Presentations

• Final Rule on the White Collar Overtime Exemptions, Association of Corporate Counsel - Iowa Chapter, Corporate Counsel Forum, November
• New Department of Labor Overtime Regulations Seminar, Economic Alliance, July
• Employment Update: A discussion on wage/hour issues, including the new proposed salary exemption regulations and strategies for successful employment terminations, Holmes Murphy Seminar, May
• Overtime Rule/Regular Rate: The Proposed White Collar Exemption Regulations: How to Prepare, Employment Law Update, April
• Tips for Termination, Employment Law Update, April

2015 Presentations

• Proving or Challenging Damages in Employment Cases, Iowa State Bar Association Labor & Employment Seminar, November
• Negotiating Employment Contracts, UIHC Seminar by Hawkins Wealth Management, October
• FLSA / Wage & Hour Crackdown, Employment Law: Beyond the Basics, July
• Negotiating Employment Contracts, UIHC Seminar by Hawkins Wealth Management, May
• Retaliatory Discharge and Whistle-Blower Issues, Employment Law Seminar, April

2014 Presentations

• Termination and Severance Agreements, Employment Law Seminar, May
• Social Media: What to Consider when Creating a Social Media Policy, Employment Law Seminar, May

Publications

• Employment Harassment Liability: New Strict Liability for Illinois Employers, Locke Lord Labor and Employment Conference (October 15, 2010) (author), MCLE-accredited program
• Employer Harassment Liability: Distinctions Between the Illinois Human Rights Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, ExecutiveView.com (Dec. 17, 2009)
• Employee Fraud: Prevention, Detection and Investigation, Locke Lord Labor & Employment Law Conference (October 23, 2009) (co-author), MCLE-accredited program
• How to Terminate Employees and Avoid the Courthouse, Locke Lord Labor & Employment Law Conference (October 16, 2008) (co-author), MCLE-accredited program