Advertise on podcast: Ogletree Deakins Podcasts

In this episode of our Cross-Border Catch-Up podcast series, Samantha Duncan (Washington, D.C.) and Jane Jeong (New York) discuss the key pillars of an effective risk management framework for multinational employers whose employees travel to or work from high-risk locations. Jane and Samantha cover how to classify risk using resources like the U.S. State Department’s travel advisories and the Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC) guidance, and outline mitigation strategies spanning travel policies, device and cybersecurity controls, employee acknowledgements, and security briefings. The speakers also address legal considerations specific to these assignments, including work authorization requirements, territorial employment law exposure, and workers’ compensation coverage for injuries occurring abroad.

In this episode of our Cross-Border Catch-Up podcast series, Samantha Duncan (Washington, D.C.) and Kristyn Lambert (New Orleans) examine why fixed-term employment contracts, which U.S. employers often treat as simple scheduling tools, operate under a separate set of rules in most  countries. Kristyn and Samantha discuss how fixed-term and indefinite contracts differ in justification, termination, and formality requirements; how probationary periods must be adjusted for fixe- term arrangements; and the time cap, renewal cap, and substance triggers that can convert a contract to permanent status—with examples from Spain, Poland, Brazil, France, Indonesia, the Philippines, and China. The speakers also address the financial exposure that follows conversion and offer practical steps for multinational employers, including regular audits and country-specific renewal tracking.

In this podcast, Perry Yung, Shir Fulga, and Erin Schacter discuss the Nova Scotia decision in Gentleman v. Kings (County), which addressed whether an individual was entitled to protection from a collective bargaining agreement, though their offer of employment was rescinded before the first day of employment. The speakers provide practical pointers, including the importance for employers to recognize the moment an offer for a unionized position is accepted, the employment relationship and all the rights and obligations under the collective agreement may begin.

In this episode of our Cross-Border Catch-Up podcast series, Kate Thompson (New York/Boston) and Carlos Colón-Machargo (Atlanta) examine Victoria’s proposed Equal Opportunity Amendment Work From Home Bill 2026, which would convert working from home from a request employees can make into a right they can claim, shifting the burden onto employers to justify any refusal. The speakers cover the bill’s eligibility rules, its interaction with the federal Fair Work Act’s flexible work provisions, the 21-day notice and response process, employer cost obligations, and the dispute path through the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission and VCAT. The conversation closes with practical guidance for multinational employers on why a single global work from home policy cannot be assumed to apply uniformly across jurisdictions.

In this seventh and final episode of the Talent Risk Assessor series on Defensible Decisions, shareholders Scott Kelly (Birmingham/Washington, D.C.) and Lauren Hicks (Indianapolis/Atlanta) are joined by Pete Bell and Chrissy Blantz of the firm’s data analytics team to bring together the six workforce dimensions covered across the series—(1) selections and hiring, (2) dispositions, (3) separations, (4) talent progression, (5) performance, and (6) compensation—into a single, repeatable seven step framework. The speakers walk through each step in sequence, protecting privilege, validating the data, identifying the right comparison group, drilling down to investigate a flag, documenting a legitimate explanation, evaluating whether change is warranted, and monitoring over time, while emphasizing that these dimensions are interconnected windows into the same workforce rather than isolated analyses. The episode closes with a broader point that the Talent Risk Assessor’s value depends on integrating statistical rigor with legal judgment under privilege, and that this framework is designed to remain stable even as the regulatory landscape and underlying data continue to evolve.

In this episode of our Cross-Border Catch-Up podcast series, Maya Barba (San Francisco) and Kristyn Lambert (New Orleans) break down a commonly misunderstood risk for global employers: attorney-client privilege doesn’t operate across borders as most companies assume. From the U.S. baseline to recent legislative developments in France and Switzerland, the speakers walk through how different legal systems protect—or fail to protect—in-house counsel communications. Tune in for practical takeaways on how multinational teams can identify their privilege gaps and safeguard confidential legal advice worldwide.

In this episode of our Cross-Border Catch-Up podcast series, Patty Shapiro (San Diego) and Kristyn Lambert (New Orleans) break down what U.S. employers need to know about Australian employment law. They cover the layered framework of the Fair Work Act, modern awards, and enterprise agreements, as well as the strict procedural requirements for termination, redundancy, and discipline. The speakers also examine Australia’s proactive duty to prevent sexual harassment, a standard that goes well beyond what U.S. employers typically encounter.

In episode six of the Talent Risk Assessor series of Defensible Decisions, Scott Kelly (Birmingham/Washington) and Cam Ellis (Atlanta) are again joined by Pete Bell of the firm’s data analytics team to examine how compensation data can be analyzed for potential pay disparities. Building on the performance rating patterns discussed in episode five, the speakers walk through a layered approach, starting with average pay comparisons among similarly situated employees, moving to a review of outliers on a scatterplot based on tenure and time in role, and then, finally to statistical significance testing. The discussion continues with consideration for factors such as prior experience, education, and geographic differentials that may act to explain observed differences. The episode emphasizes that this work must be conducted under attorney-client privilege, and the need for analysis refresh given expected employment movements, and that a more robust, regression-based analysis should be considered where flags remain.

In episode five of the Talent Risk Assessor series on Defensible Decisions, Scott Kelly (Birmingham/Washington, D.C.) and Cam Ellis (Atlanta) are joined by Pete Bell of the firm’s data analytics team to examine performance ratings—one of the foundational pillars of employment decisions from merit to promotion to termination. The speakers walk through how the talent risk assessor goes beyond a company-wide view to flag gender or race-based differences in ratings within a specific manager’s team or job family, and discuss the impact of calibration gaps, unclear criteria, and documentation. The speakers then trace how performance ratings cascade into pay, promotion, reduction-in-force selections, and discipline and termination decisions, underscoring the advantage of investigating a statistical flag under privilege.

In episode four of the Talent Risk Assessor series on Defensible Decisions, shareholders Scott Kelly (Birmingham/Washington) and Lauren Hicks (Indianapolis/Atlanta) are joined by Emily Botto, a senior data analyst on the firm’s data analytics team, to examine talent progression and retention. Building on the voluntary separation patterns identified in episode three, the speakers walk through how time-to-promotion and tenure data, when read together, reveal whether certain job families or business units show both slower advancement and shorter tenure for certain demographic groups. The speakers also explore potential facially neutral barriers, such as promotion criteria that depend on informal access to senior leadership and the importance of identifying these patterns proactively and under privilege.

In this podcast, Shir Fulga, Erin Schachter, and Susan Ivimey discuss important changes to employment standards in Canada that took effect on January 1, 2026, focusing on the extension of long-term illness leave in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, and new rules in Saskatchewan that prohibit employers from withholding tips. Additionally, they cover the introduction of new job-protected leaves in Saskatchewan, which include maternity leave and leave for interpersonal violence, as well as new provisions allowing for the substitution of public holidays.

In episode three of this special series of Defensible Decisions discussing Ogletree’s Talent Risk Assessor, shareholders Scott Kelly (Birmingham/Washington) and Chris Near (Columbia) are joined by Chrissy Blantz from the firm’s Data Analytics team to examine separations and terminations—an area of the employment lifecycle where legal risk is often most acute. Using a hypothetical multi-state employer, the speakers walk through how a statistically significant flag in overall separation rates can be disaggregated by involuntary versus voluntary terminations and further broken down by separation reason codes to identify the actual driver behind the pattern, in this case, disproportionate use of temporary, time-limited roles. The episode illustrates how a data-driven, legally informed inquiry, conducted under privilege and properly documented, builds a defensible position even when the underlying cause turns out to have a legitimate explanation.

In episode two of this special series of Defensible Decisions discussing Ogletree’s Talent Risk Assessor, shareholders Scott Kelly (Birmingham/Washington) and Chris Near (Columbia), who are joined by Chrissy Blantz from the firm’s Data Analytics team, focus on dispositions and merit-based hiring documentation. The speakers explain how disposition codes work alongside dashboard analytics to show whether hiring decisions are consistently tied to job-related, posted criteria, and offers practical guidance on auditing job advertisements and disposition practices to reduce litigation risk. The episode closes by previewing episode three, which will apply these same documentation principles to separations and terminations.

In this second episode of our Labor Law Solutions podcast, shareholders Tom Davis (Nashville), Tom Stanek (Phoenix), and Brian Hayes (Washington), who co-chair the firm’s Traditional Labor Relations Practice Group, examine the confirmation of James Macy to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Brian, who is a former NLRB member, offers his insights on what a third management-minded member means for reversing several pro-union precedents, including the bargaining order standard, the captive audience rule, and McLaren Macomb. The speakers also discuss the Supreme Court’s decision in Trump v. Slaughter, its implications for the constitutionality of removal protections applicable to board members, administrative law judges, and regional directors, and how the ruling affects pending constitutional challenges to NLRB proceedings.

This special series of Defensible Decisions, discusses Ogletree’s Talent Risk Assessor dashboard that helps employers integrate data from the full employment lifecycle to give management a birds’ eye view of the legal risks associated with employment decisions. Episode one features shareholders Scott Kelly (Birmingham/Washington) and Chris Near (Columbia), who are are joined by Chrissy Blantz from the firm’s Data Analytics team, to examine how Ogletree’s Talent Risk Assessor evaluates selection and hiring processes for legal risk. Using a continuing hypothetical involving a multi-state employer, the group walks through stage-by-stage funnel analysis and explains why a statistical flag should prompt a legally informed inquiry rather than a conclusion about compliance. Scott, who is chair of the firm’s Workforce Analytics and Compliance Practice Group, also previews the data quality and documentation considerations that will be addressed in the next episode of the series.