Anne B. Sekel

Partner

Anne Sekel is a zealous advocate for her clients — whether the task at hand is identifying and mitigating employment-related litigation risk or aggressively defending an employer’s most challenging discrimination or other employment and complex commercial claims.

A partner and litigation lawyer with Foley & Lardner LLP, Anne is the managing partner of the firm’s New York office.

Anne views herself as an extension of employers’ human resources and in-house legal departments. She steeps herself in her clients’ businesses to ensure that she provides the most tailored and practical advice possible. Anne assists clients with a broad range of complex commercial and employment litigation matters, including employment discrimination and retaliation, trade secrets/non-competes, commercial and financial fraud, breach of contract, and insurance broker professional liability claims. She is a member of the firm’s Business Litigation & Dispute Resolution and Labor & Employment Practices, and has successfully represented clients in all phases of commercial disputes, ranging from pre-litigation dispute resolution through trial or arbitration.

Anne has served in leadership roles within the firm throughout her career, including as the representative of the New York office on the firm’s Associates Committee and then as the committee’s national chair. She also has served on the firm’s Women’s Network and as the Litigation Department’s training partner and the New York Office’s Litigation Department chair.

Representative Experience

  • Successfully negotiated favorable settlements of professional liability claims asserted against global provider of risk management, insurance and reinsurance brokerage, and human resources solutions and outsourcing services.
  • Has significant trial experience in the Supreme Court of the State of New York and the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
  • Regularly represents clients in the Superior Court of New Jersey.

Awards and Recognition

  • New York Super Lawyers® (2017-2022)
  • New York Business Journal’s Woman of Influence (2022)
  • New York Super Lawyers – Rising Stars® (2013-2016)
  • Foley & Lardner “Carl Hitchner Mentor of the Year” Award (2016)

Community Involvement

  • Chair, New York State Bar Association, Commercial and Federal Litigation Section.
  • Member, Board of Trustees, Loyola School, a co-ed, Jesuit, independent school in Manhattan.

Pro Bono

  • For more than 15 years, represents Nest Inc., a nonprofit organization that has been a leading advocate for the responsible growth and creative engagement of the artisan and maker economy globally.
  • Represented a death row inmate in his post-conviction efforts to have his death sentence vacated.

Presentations and Publications

  • Author, “What’s Old is New Again: The DOL’s ‘New’ Proposed Rule on Independent Contractors Returns to a Pre-Trump Test for Worker Classification,” Labor & Employment Law Perspectives, Oct. 17, 2022
  • Author, “New Jersey’s ‘Ban’ Against Mandatory Arbitration Provisions Suffers Another Setback,” Labor & Employment Law Perspectives, March 21, 2022
  • Author, “ICYMI: New York City Amended Its Fair Chance Act, and the Changes are Significant,” Labor & Employment Law Perspectives, Oct. 4, 2021
  • Author, “New York Enacts COVID-19 Vaccination Leave Law,” Labor & Employment Law Perspectives, March 22, 2021
  • Author, “DOL Proposes Changes to Financial Reporting Requirements for the Largest and Most Prominent Unions,” Labor & Employment Law Perspectives, Oct. 5, 2020
  • Author, “The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (‘CARES Act’): Understanding How its Paycheck Protection Program Incentivizes Employers to Retain or Rehire Employees,” Labor & Employment Law Perspectives, March 30, 2020
  • Author, “No Summer Break for New York State’s and New York City’s Anti-Sexual Harassment Protections,” Labor & Employment Law Perspectives, July 16, 2018
  • Author, “New York City Mandates Cooperative Dialogue for Accommodation Requests,” Labor & Employment Law Perspectives, April 23, 2018
  • Author, “Off-Duty Emails May Be Compensable (or Not),” Labor & Employment Law Perspectives, August 14, 2017
01 July 2024 Labor & Employment Law Perspectives

Choosing Substance Over Form: New Jersey Supreme Court Declares That Non-Disclosure Clauses Masquerading as Non-Disparagement Provisions Are Banned

Since certain amendments in 2019, it has been widely recognized that Section 10:5-12.8 of New Jersey’s Law Against Discrimination (N.J.S.A. 10:5-12.8) prohibits non-disclosure provisions in employment agreements or employee settlement agreements if those provisions “ha[ve] the purpose or effect of concealing the details relating to a claim of discrimination, retaliation, or harassment” that could be disclosed by the current or former employee. 
26 February 2024 In the News

Anne Sekel Comments on New York’s Pay Transparency Measures Against Third Parties

Foley & Lardner LLP partner Anne Sekel is quoted in the Bloomberg Law article, “Career Websites Face Emerging Role as Salary Transparency Cops.”
04 December 2023 Labor & Employment Law Perspectives

New York “Denies Access” to Employers Seeking Login Credentials for Employee’s Social Media Accounts

New York employers should take note: 2024 will bring significant changes in the state’s labor law, restricting the ability to seek login credentials for the private social media accounts of employees and job candidates.
22 September 2023 Honors and Awards

Foley Attorneys Named to 2023 New York Metro Super Lawyers and Rising Stars Lists

Foley & Lardner LLP is pleased to announce that 13 of its attorneys were selected for inclusion in the 2023 New York Metro Super Lawyers and Rising Stars lists.
28 June 2023 In the News

Anne Sekel Discusses Labor Department’s Upcoming Worker Classification Rule

Foley & Lardner LLP partner Anne Sekel is quoted in the Reuters article, “Legal Experts Weigh-in on Labor Department's Upcoming Worker Classification Rule.”
01 May 2023 Blogs

New York City Employers Beware: The Big Apple has Issued Its Final Rule Regulating AI Tools Used to Vet Job Applicants (Other Cities are Sure to Follow)

At this point in the evolution of AI technology, while there is endless debate about nothing less lofty than AI’s broad implications for humanity as a whole, it seems we can all agree on one small point. The use of AI models in the workplace to evaluate individuals for hiring, firing, and other employment decisions in between can be — to put it mildly — fraught.