Teresa M. Biviano
Teresa has significant experience conducting internal investigations on behalf of clients, including in the areas of employee misconduct, personnel issues, and workplace policy violations. Teresa also has experience conducting Title IX investigations on behalf of educational institutions. She handles a range of legal matters involving employment laws and policy compliance, hiring and termination, and responding to state and federal administrative agency charges of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation.
Teresa provides compliance counseling and policy development and revision on various laws, including New York state and city sick leave; the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA); Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA); Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA); Title IX and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA); and other federal and New York state and city laws.
Teresa's education practice is informed by four years of professional experience in higher education administration. Her work as the assistant director of a university law school’s academic department included managing data and student record confidentiality matters related to FERPA; policy and curriculum; student educational records; and academic counseling.
Related Practices
Experience
Representative Matters
Teresa’s work for firm clients has included:
- Represented EMZ portfolio company FotoFinder Systems, Inc., a Germany-based global leader in skin imaging solutions, in connection with its acquisition of DermLite LLC, a U.S.-based handheld dermoscopy device company
- Successfully obtaining a default judgment and a damages award for a client in a breach of contract action in New York State Supreme Court
- Winning dismissal of an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) complaint before the Department of Labor’s Office of Administrative Law Judges
- Winning arbitration awards securing favorable contract interpretation and dismissal of employee grievances on behalf of a unionized educational institution
- Conducting investigations for educational institutions involving allegations of sexual misconduct and violations Title IX, and assisting with ensuring legally compliant complaint resolution
- Conducting an internal investigation and drafting an investigation report for a government nonprofit in connection with employee complaints and allegations that a supervisor created a hostile work environment
- Drafting submissions on behalf of an educational institution in New Jersey, resulting in the dismissal and successful opposition to appeal of dismissal for a complaint involving allegations of breach of contract, negligence, and discrimination
- Assisting with drafting successful motions for dismissal of complaints against a New York hospital and a higher education institution involving allegations of employment discrimination and breach of contract
- Assisting the negotiation of a collective bargaining agreement for a unionized educational institution
- Advising and drafting domestic worker agreements on behalf of high-profile clients in New York City
- Advising a national higher education-related client on state and federal anti-discrimination laws and university admissions regulations
- Advising a California entertainment nonprofit on state and federal law and best practices regarding internship and diversity hiring
- Representing nonprofit and private sector clients in connection with administrative fines related to New York State Workers’ Compensation and Unemployment Insurance laws
- Representing a large mining company in parallel state litigation and Department of Labor matters
- Defending private educational institutions in state and federal court actions involving various negligence, contract, and discrimination claims, including drafting motions for dismissal and summary judgment
- Defending food industry clients from complaints involving federal and state wage and hour claims and public accommodation complaints under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
- Drafting employee handbooks for nonprofits and professional organizations, and assisting with preparation of new policies for educational institutions related to COVID-19
Insights
Credentials
Education
- J.D. Georgetown University Law Center 2018
- Saint Thomas More Award
- Managing editor of operations, The Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics
- Published Note, Geo. J. Legal Ethics, Vol. 30, 2016 – 2017
- Dean's List
- Student attorney, Civil Rights Clinic at the Institute for Public Representation
- B.A. Public Relations and Advertising summa cum laude Chapman University 2011
Bar Admissions
- New York
Court Admissions
- U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York
Recognition
- Super Lawyers, Rising Star, 2023
Community
Pro Bono
- Active in Venable's Pro Bono program
- Represented pro bono clients in connection with unemployment insurance matters
- Assisted in successfully securing asylum and subsequent green card status for an applicant on the basis of sexual-orientation persecution