MARGARET N. KUHLMAN

PROFESSIONAL PROFILE

Ms. Kuhlman’s professional experience is in the areas of litigation, labor, and employment matters. Her litigation practice includes professional liability defense, fiduciary litigation, employment discrimination, breach of contract and insurance coverage litigation. She also conducts internal compliance investigations on behalf of a Fortune 500 company and provides advice on employment-related issues. Ms. Kuhlman spent several years working as in-house counsel for two different Fortune 100 companies located in St. Louis. She has defended employers in numerous discrimination claims, labor arbitrations, NLRB actions, and alternative dispute resolution mediations and arbitrations. She also has extensive experience advising labor relations and human resource professionals on state and federal employment and labor laws, and has provided legal advice for labor negotiations on both a national and facility-based level. Other matters have included advertising, eminent domain and breach of contract claims.

Prior to becoming in-house counsel, Ms. Kuhlman was employed as an associate in the litigation department of one of Missouri’s largest law firms and served as a judicial clerk for the Honorable Donald J. Stohr, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri.

REPRESENTATIVE MATTERS

• Represented lawyers and law firm in defense of legal malpractice in various circumstances including transactional, intellectual property, trusts and estates, and civil litigation
• Conducted internal investigations on behalf of publicly-traded companies involving claims of employment discrimination, Sarbanes-Oxley violations, employee misconduct, and corporate compliance violations.
• Represented employer in race discrimination case filed by former employee terminated for threatening behavior and providing false information during an investigation.
• Represented employer in a hostile work environment and workers’ compensation retaliation case filed by a former employee.
• Represented management in over 25 labor arbitrations; topics have included discipline and discharge, drug testing, vacation selection, job assignment, holiday pay, commissions, subcontracting and overtime.
• Represented employer in several alternative dispute resolution proceedings filed by employees, which have included mediation and arbitration.
• Represented yellow pages publisher in both jury and non-jury trials involving breach of contract claims.
• Provided legal advice and support to breweries, can plants, wholesale beer distributors and grain elevator facilities during labor negotiations with international and local unions.