Benjamin E. Stockman
Ben advises clients in the media and entertainment, advertising, higher education, real estate, biotechnology, and healthcare industries, among others. Ben regularly counsels clients on hiring and termination, executive employment agreements, employment due diligence for M&A transactions, large-scale workforce reorganizations, and employment policies and practices, including employee handbooks and workplace training.
Ben gained a unique perspective on the role of outside counsel through a five-month secondment for a global advertising client. In this associate general counsel role, Ben was responsible for leading the client’s employment law team on all labor and employment matters arising in connection with its large workforce throughout the Americas, including managing outside counsel on litigations.
Prior to joining Venable, Ben worked for the Office of the Corporation Counsel of the City of New York, as senior counsel in the Labor and Employment Division. In that role, he advised city agencies and pension funds on local, state, and federal employment statutes, including the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), Title VII, and human rights laws. Ben also clerked in state and federal courts.
Experience
Government Experience
Representative Matters
- 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
- Represented sports and entertainment agents in contract negotiations with employer agencies
- Negotiated the successful resolution of a high-stakes restrictive covenant dispute between two advertising agencies in California
- Represented key management team in negotiation of employment and equity terms related to a private equity acquisition
- Won summary judgment dismissal of a complex federal class action brought by hundreds of former graduate students seeking tuition reimbursement against a world-renowned university located in New York City
- Won summary judgment dismissal of a federal employment discrimination lawsuit brought by five employees against a prestigious New York City medical college; successfully argued and defeated appeal of the summary judgment decision before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
- Counseled high-profile entertainment industry clients through negotiations of executive employment agreements and sensitive restrictive covenants matters
- Successfully negotiated a collective bargaining agreement on behalf of a multinational mining company
- Developed an employment and tax law compliance and risk mitigation strategy for a startup technology company seeking to hire employees and contractors abroad
- Defeated an attempt by the California Department of Labor Standards Enforcement to intervene in an action by one of California’s largest medical centers to enforce a valid arbitration agreement with one of its employees
- Defeated an attempt by a labor union to enjoin a workforce reorganization on behalf of a New York City government agency
- Successfully negotiated on behalf of a New York City hospitality company to achieve a favorable settlement of a wage and hour audit by the New York State Department of Labor
- As first-chair counsel, successfully defended New York City agencies in three separate jury trials in the U.S. District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York
- Won dismissal of parallel federal and state court complaints alleging race and gender discrimination on behalf of a New York City government agency
- Counseled a billion-dollar pension fund in the implementation of a settlement negotiated with the U.S. Department of Justice under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA)
Insights
Credentials
Education
- J.D. Brooklyn Law School 2006
- Executive editor, Brooklyn Journal of International Law
- B.A. University of Vermont 1998
Bar Admissions
- New York
- California
- Massachusetts (inactive)
Court Admissions
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York
- U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
Clerk Experience
- Honorable Beverly W. Cutler Third Judicial District, State of Alaska
- Honorable Michael R. Wilner U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
Professional Memberships and Activities
- Member, The American Employment Law Council
Languages
- Spanish
Community
Pro Bono
- Provides employment advice and counsel to an internationally renowned nonprofit museum in New York City
- Counsels nonprofit children's organizations on employment matters
- Mentored students in a pro bono writing program designed to shrink the learning gap in underserved communities
Volunteerism
- Member, New York Regional Board, University of Vermont Alumni Association