BACKGROUND

---

United States District Court, Southern District of New York, Mediation Panel.

United States District Court, Eastern District of New York, ADR Panel.

Since 2013, while a practicing attorney, Roger served as mediator in dozens of cases involving employment and wage/hour disputes, including putative class, collective and individual claims. For many years, Roger has served as an advocate in numerous private and court-sponsored mediations.

Since retiring from the practice of law at the start of 2021, Roger has mediated hundreds of employment and wage/hour disputes, both pre-litigation or while legal actions were pending in federal and state courts. 

Extensive mediation and ADR training, including: The Center for Understanding in Conflict (2011);  U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York mediator training (2012): on-going mediation training updates provided by the Southern and Eastern District of New York; ADR CLE provided by the Eastern District, the Practicing Law Institute and the American Bar Association.

• 1996-2020, Partner/Principal, Jackson Lewis P.C. Represented management in preventing, resolving and litigating employment and labor relations disputes in multiple industries primarily in the New York and Long Island areas as well as throughout the country. Typical matters included compliance counseling, investigating and litigating discrimination, harassment and retaliation claims under federal, state (NYSHRL) and local (NYCHRL) law (race, disability, gender, age, religion, national origin, etc.); wage/hour disputes under the Fair Labor Standards Act and New York Labor Law (class, collective and individual claims); common law and tort claims arising in the employment context (defamation, assault, emotional distress, etc.); and contract enforcement under applicable law, employment contracts,  and collective bargaining agreements. 

​

• 1992-1996, Partner, Klein, Zelman, Briton, Rothermel & Dichter. Represented both individual plaintiffs and management in a full range of employment, unfair competition and labor relations matters.

​

• 1979-1992, Partner, Seham, Klein & Zelman. In addition to representing management and individuals, represented independent labor unions in organizing, collective bargaining, contract administration and litigation.

• New York University School of Law (JD, Law Review, Order of the Coif).

• Queens College (BA).