Patricia M. Prezioso is Chair of the Sills Cummis & Gross Employment and Labor Practice Group. She is an active litigator and counselor and takes great pride partnering with her clients to address employee issues. Ms. Prezioso’s practice focuses on assisting businesses with reducing risk, addressing employee claims and disputes against their employers in federal and state courts, as well as administrative agencies, assessing and protecting trade secrets and confidential information, and defending or prosecuting claims relating to employee misappropriation and restrictive covenant violations.
Ms. Prezioso understands that businesses need not only excellent legal services, but attention to both billing efficiency and minimizing business disruption. With litigation matters, this means strategizing to position the company for the best achievable result while considering both cost and business impact. For those matters where a trial is necessary, she uses her broad and notable trial experience to make sure her client’s voice is clearly heard in the courtroom.
Ms. Prezioso’s practice focuses on management-side employment litigation and counseling, including litigating disputes concerning trade secrets, restrictive covenant enforcement, discrimination, sexual harassment, retaliation, employee theft, and wage and hour issues. She counsels on reducing risk, trade secret protection strategies, restrictive covenant use and enforcement, practices to prevent unfair competition, human resource support, employment infrastructure (policies, agreements, on- and off-boarding protocols and procedures, employee classification, reporting, discipline, and record keeping), employee misconduct and theft, and compliance with the law and government regulations. Additionally, she conducts internal investigations and supports her clients through government/administrative agency investigations and audits.
Ms. Prezioso also assists businesses and entities with internal investigations, responding to government subpoenas and defending of criminal allegations. She has extensive experience in matters involving government or administrative agency investigations, including before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the New York State Division of Human Rights and the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights, and defending businesses and entities from liability claims relating to alleged intentional acts of its employees or agents.
Ms. Prezioso serves local, national, and international businesses of all sizes, with clients ranging from the Fortune 100 to start-ups, in numerous industries, including pharmaceutical, manufacturing, logistics, technology, fashion, luxury goods and furnishings, e-commerce, and service providers.
Ms. Prezioso’s experience in the public sector has provided her with unique investigative insight, which she applies to assist her clients. Before entering private practice, she was an Assistant Attorney General in the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office where she was the lead prosecutor in State v. McGuire, one of New Jersey’s most infamous murder trials. She also served as an Assistant District Attorney at the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, where she was a designated homicide assistant and a member of the Sex Crimes Unit. She was honored by the State of New Jersey and the New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety with “Professional Achievement” awards and received the “Innovation in Government” award from the National Council of State Governments.
Ms. Prezioso frequently speaks on trade secret and restrictive covenant issues and strategies, discovery and investigations, and trial advocacy.