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Fisher Phillips, a leading labor and employment law firm, announced today that it has opened an office in New York City. The firm enters the market with four attorneys from the New York office of Ogletree Deakins. A fifth Ogletree attorney joins Fisher Phillips in New Jersey.

Brian J. Gershengorn and Michael R. Marra are Co-Managing Partners in New York. With them come Associates Seth D. Kaufman and Melissa J. Osipoff. The New Jersey attorney, Christopher J. Capone, is a partner.

Gershengorn represents clients nationally in labor and employment matters in the healthcare, entertainment, sports, hospitality, financial services, retail, technology and education industries. His practice includes a special concentration in wage and hour litigation and he has successfully managed jury and bench trials involving claims related to those issues. He received his J.D., cum laude, from Brooklyn Law School and a B.S. in Industrial and Labor Relations from Cornell University.

Marra represents some of the world’s best known luxury brands, advertising and media services companies, and technology and emerging growth companies. His decade of in-house experience at The Interpublic Group of Companies in New York, where he served as Associate General Counsel, gives him valuable perspective on what it means to succeed for clients on both the counseling and litigation fronts. He received his law degree from NYU School of Law and a B.A. in Political Science, with high honors, from the University of Iowa, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa.

Fisher Phillips Chairman and Managing Partner Roger Quillen said: “Opening in New York City fulfills one of our firm’s strategic objectives. Establishing a significant presence in the financial capital of the world will cause domestic and global companies to use us in new ways. This service team brings powerful new resources to our clients. They are strong, respected professionals who instinctively understand what clients want when it comes to preventing and confronting workplace challenges. Their approach is both practical and sophisticated. Our firm’s partners cannot wait to introduce them to their clients.”

Gershengorn added: “Fisher Phillips has built an industry-leading reputation for five-star client service and across-the-board excellence in our field, which is what I want for every client I serve. This is a law firm making a commitment to succeed in New York City, and I am confident that our clients will applaud our move. Having practiced in the city for a combined 35 years, Michael and I can see that Fisher Phillips understands what is required to succeed in this market. We are excited to be a part of this success.”

Marra said: “One of the core principles of Fisher Phillips is that a lawyer cannot serve a client effectively without first understanding its business and philosophy for success. I agree. While we always ground our advice and strategy in the law, a purely academic approach to workplace issues does not provide clients with exceptional value. Legal advice must never be divorced from an understanding of a client’s business goals and needs. I am delighted to join a firm that shares these views. Our clients deserve no less.”

Gershengorn and Marra both praise the firm they are leaving. Marra said: “It is bittersweet to leave a place where we have prospered and made so many good friends. But this move to Fisher Phillips offers us the chance to do something very special. The timing of this opportunity could not be better for me, Brian and our fantastic team, and we are fully committed to this practice and its clients.” Gershengorn added: “We see a chance to build from the ground up something that we and our new firm will be proud of. New York City is a unique place with unique challenges, and it takes a special kind of commitment to succeed here. Fisher Phillips gets it. We can’t exaggerate the importance of that.”

Seth Kaufman represents employers in employment-related litigation and in traditional labor matters. He received his J.D., cum laude, from Cornell Law School and a B.S., magna cum laude, from Syracuse University.

Melissa Osipoff represents employers in employment-related litigation before federal and state courts as well as before administrative agencies. She earned her J.D., magna cum laude, from St. John’s University School of Law where she was a member of the St. John’s Law Review. She earned a B.A., with distinction, in Sociology from the University of Virginia.

The Fisher Phillips office is located at 1 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10020.

Chris Capone, who will become a partner in the New Jersey office of Fisher Phillips, represents employers in employment-related litigation before federal and state courts as well as administrative agencies. He earned his J.D. from Rutgers in 2005 and holds both M.A. and B.A. degrees from Connecticut College.