Edward Cerasia II
New York
Cerasia Law LLC
One Liberty Plaza
165 Broadway, 23rd Floor
New York, NY 10006
Tel: (646) 525-4231
Email:
ed@cdemploymentlaw.com
Web:
www.cdemploymentlaw.com
Ed is the Founding Member of Cerasia Law LLC. He has over 30 years of experience representing employers and executives in employment, wage and hour, restrictive covenant and employee benefits matters in the financial services, insurance, media, advertising, transportation, pharmaceutical, healthcare, sports, higher education and retail industries. For 16 years prior to founding the Firm, Ed was a partner at some of the world’s most prestigious law firms, where he held leadership positions within those firms’ employment law departments.
Ed is one of the leading employment litigators of his generation. Ed has been listed for several years in peer-reviewed publications, including two categories in Best Lawyers (Litigation – Labor & Employment Law and Labor Law – Management), as well as in New York Super Lawyers. When Ed’s practice was focused solely on representing employers, Chambers USA had ranked him as a Leading Individual in employment law going back to 2005. In 2018, Chambers noted that Ed is regarded as an “extraordinarily good trial lawyer,” and clients appreciate that he is “very knowledgeable in the field” and “very good with client relations.” In past years, Chambers noted that Ed is “a respected trial lawyer,” “highly esteemed,” “hailed as an outstandingly strong advocate,” is “very knowledgeable substantively,” that “his litigation skills are impressive” and that he “understands our business inside and out. He’s very good at coming up with creative and pragmatic solutions.” Chambers has described Ed “as good an employment litigator as there is. He’s very experienced, highly principled and always works diligently to obtain the best results.”
For three years in a row, the American Society of Legal Advocates selected Ed as one of the top 100 Labor & Employment lawyers in the State of New York. In 2011 and 2012, Lawdragon/Human Resource Executive magazine named Ed as one of “The 40 Up and Coming Corporate Employment Lawyers” in the US.
Ed is admitted to practice in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, as well as in several federal district courts and courts of appeals around the country, and the U.S. Supreme Court. Ed has litigated cases in 28 states. His nationwide trial and appellate practice focuses on representing clients in cases involving claims of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation; claims under the FLSA and state wage and hour laws; claims under ERISA involving breaches of fiduciary duty, 401(k) and ESOP issues, severance pay, and challenges to plan denials or termination of benefits; whistleblower claims; compensation and bonus claims; claims of defamation, breach of contract, and intentional torts; and claims involving restrictive covenants and employee recruitment practices. His litigation matters include single-plaintiff, multiple-plaintiff, class action, collective action, and EEOC pattern and practice cases.
With respect to Ed’s representation of employees, he has been described as “the best counsel at the worst time.” The following is a sampling of the praise that Ed has received from employees he has represented over the years:
- “He smoothly and quickly settled my case with my former employer via a law that no other lawyer that I consulted with even thought of. He helped me avoid the potentially embarrassing experience of litigation, yet still secured a very substantial settlement for me. The outcome he produced was above and beyond my highest expectations. However, monetary recovery was not the most valuable outcome that I received from working with Ed. The greatest benefit that I gained from this experience was the strong sense of self-empowerment that Ed instilled in me, and, to me, as a woman, this is priceless. What I admire most about Ed is his empathy and his unique ability to fully and completely comprehend the positioning and experiences of women in the workplace.”
- “He was tenacious and persistent to get the deal done while always having my best interests at heart.”
- “One of the things I valued in Ed is his understanding of both the employee and the company’s side of any situation, as he’s spent considerable time as a defense lawyer. I liked that he could get into the other side’s brain. I found Ed to be super responsive and very professional. He did a great job of keeping me abreast of his communication with my former employer’s lawyer and, though I know he has so many other high-priority cases, I felt that I was given just as much attention and care. Our case moved to mediation and I was even more impressed with Ed, being able to see him in action. His ability to build rapport is admirable and, I believe, important. He clearly has an excellent reputation in the legal world and amongst some of the most renowned mediators. During mediation, he guided me, gave me perspective, but didn’t force me to make any decisions I wasn’t comfortable with and I am deeply appreciative of this skill of his. Throughout everything, I always felt that Ed was putting my best interests ahead of his own.”
While we love to litigate and try cases – and have success doing so – we put our client’s interests first. Our objective is to achieve each client’s goal, whether that is an early settlement before or during litigation, or a successful verdict or judgment. Every client is important to us. So, we give each client personal attention and treat that client like it is our only client. With us, you get the legal representation you deserve.
Clients trust us with their most important employment law matters and livelihood. As a result, we have built long-standing relationships with our clients – many of whom have worked with us for over 27 years. We are trusted advisors, and clients take comfort in knowing that we are on their side.
We are comfortable litigating in many different jurisdictions. We have handled litigation in 28 states. Ed is licensed to practice in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, as well as in several federal district courts, federal courts of appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court. Alison is licensed to practice in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, as well as in several federal district courts and federal courts of appeals.
Our practice covers a broad base of industries, including financial services, insurance, pharmaceutical and biotech, entertainment and media, sports, legal, higher education, healthcare, transportation, technology, retail and diverse manufacturing. We have represented Fortune 50 companies, start-ups, senior executives, coaches and hourly employees in these industries.