Goodman, Carol M.
Goodman, Carol M.
Carol Goodman is a partner of the firm, and the co-chair of the firm’s Litigation Department.
Carol focuses on complex commercial litigation and employment law for public and private companies, domestic and international financial institutions and real estate companies. Her current client relationships include Allianz Real Estate of America, Bank Hapoalim, B.M. (BHI), 21stCentury Fox, Israel Aerospace Industries, Neue Galerie New York and Olshan Properties.
Carol has consistently been rated by Thomson Reuters’ Super Lawyers (2013-2019), and by Martindale-Hubbell, which rates her AV preeminent – their highest level of professional excellence.
Complex Commercial Litigation
Carol advises public and private companies, including domestic and international banks, financial institutions and broker-dealers in all aspects of complex commercial disputes. Her experience includes cross-border disputes and litigation, dissolution proceedings, securities litigations and employment litigation involving trade secrets, compensation, bonuses and commissions, restrictive covenants and employee raiding. Carol's representation of financial institutions and banks goes beyond commercial litigation and includes workouts and internal investigations. Carol also represents owners, members, developers and operators of large commercial real estate portfolios in disputes requiring deft but delicate handling – including divisive partnership or membership disputes.
Employment Counseling and Litigation
Carol also represents public and private employers in all aspects of employment law, including compliance, internal investigations and crisis management. She also represents employers and senior executives in creating executive compensation arrangements including employment contracts, commission agreements and bonus programs. On the preventative side, she helps clients manage risk by advising on employee classification issues, hirings, firings and workforce restructurings, severance agreements, exit incentive plans, FLSA, and matters involving FMLA and disability leaves.
When litigation is necessary, Carol advises clients in the full range of employment concerns, including allegations of wrongful discharge, sexual harassment and discrimination. She regularly litigates before federal and state courts, arbitration venues, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the New York State Division of Human Rights, the New York City Commission on Human Rights, Joint Commission on Public Ethics (JCOP) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). Carol's practice extends to the employment aspect of mergers and acquisitions, consolidations and corporate restructurings, where she advises during the due diligence and closing phases on issues such as WARN.
Anti-Harassment Training and Internal Investigations
Carol’s anti-harassment training is designed to stop harassment, discrimination and retaliation in the workplace. By understanding how her clients’ businesses work, and issues that have arisen in the past, she is able to tailor her training to their particular needs. Carol’s training programs educate employees about illegal conduct (i.e., discrimination) and work place issues (i.e., a manager creating a stressful environment); where to report illegal conduct and to whom; and what to expect once a complaint is reported. Carol’s management training includes issue spotting and effective ways to handle illegal conduct in the workplace. Carol also educates HR professionals on recent developments in the law, effective investigations and appropriate corrective action.
With decades of experience litigating employment matters, Carol adds an element of reality to her in-person training sessions by describing real life examples that often generate questions and discussion. Carol’s training programs comply with applicable state laws, including recent laws and regulations enacted by New York State and New York City.
Clients also call on Carol to play a variety of roles in internal investigations, ranging from guidance and advice, to conducting an investigation and providing a final report.
