Practice Expertise

  • Litigation
  • Alternative Dispute Resolution
  • Complex Commercial Actions
  • Employment Law
  • Employment Litigation, Workplace ...
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Areas of Practice

  • Alternative Dispute Resolution
  • Complex Commercial Actions
  • Employment Law
  • Employment Litigation, Workplace ...
  • Litigation
  • Art and Museum Law
  • Family Offices
  • View More

Profile

Ryan Kurtz is an Associate in the firm's Employment group.  His practice focuses on employment counseling and litigation, as well as student and faculty conduct matters in higher education and at private schools. Working closely with colleagues in the firm’s Tax-Exempt Organizations, Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation, and Tax groups, Mr. Kurtz is experienced in comprehensively addressing clients’ workplace and campus needs.

Employment Counseling

Mr. Kurtz’s employment counseling practice centers on risk management and prompt intervention, from recruiting to employment termination. 

Recruiting and Hiring

Mr. Kurtz regularly drafts employment contracts and offer letters, including (where appropriate) provisions designed to safeguard valuable employer confidential information, trade secrets, and other intellectual property.  He also advises clients in navigating issues such as:

  • hiring employees subject to non-compete and non-solicit agreements with previous employers
  • lawfully promoting diversity
  • following “ban the box” laws and background check regulations, including the Fair Credit Reporting Act
  • correctly classifying individuals as employees or independent contractors and exempt/non-exempt (from minimum wage and overtime rules)
  • onboarding and training new hires

More recently, he has begun counseling clients on compliance with New York City’s requirement that covered employers include salary ranges in job postings. 

Employer Policies and Active Employee Matters

Mr. Kurtz has significant experience drafting effective and practical workplace policies that comply with an ever-expanding web of federal, state, and local law, while also providing clear guidance to employees.  He also counsels employers on: 

  • application of policies to particular employees and situations, including leave requests that implicate a number of applicable federal, state, and local laws
  • wage and hour matters, including compensable time, overtime, and mandatory employee breaks
  • COVID-19-related issues, including vaccine mandates and other safety protocols, as well as employee accommodation requests
  • workplace accommodations requests (such as disability and religious-based requests), including assisting employers in developing practical solutions that meet employer and employee needs in a cost-effective manner
  • employee complaints, including conducting workplace investigations into allegations of harassment and retaliation
  • counseling high net worth individuals on employment issues concerning family offices and domestic employees

Recently, he has helped clients develop and implement effective hybrid and remote work policies, including addressing regulatory issues when remote work crosses state lines. 

End of Employment

Mr. Kurtz regularly drafts and negotiates separation and settlement agreements—navigating requirements related to confidentiality and non-disparagement agreement.  He also has specific experience:

  • advising Boards in connection with termination of high-level executives
  • counseling employers on lawfully executing group terminations (or reductions in force)  
  • enforcing non-competition, non-solicitation, and confidentiality obligations of departing employees

He also regularly negotiates private settlements with opposing counsel, including through mediation.

Litigation

When allegations cannot be resolved outside of court, Mr. Kurtz represents clients in litigation.  He is an experienced litigator and a former public defender, having tried a number of cases before a jury as lead or solo counsel, and argued numerous pre-trial motions.  He argued before the New Jersey Supreme Court as amicus curiae on behalf of a trade association in a matter of great significance in the products liability space.  Additionally, Mr. Kurtz has represented former corporate executives in connection with ERISA litigation in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, and a building owner in administrative proceedings before the New York City Commission on Human Rights related to disability access and structural accommodations.

Higher Education and Private Schools

In addition to his employment practice, he advises private school, colleges, and universities regarding Title IX compliance and student and faculty conduct and employment matters.  Mr. Kurtz has experience drafting university policies and procedures, including amending and adopting polices in faculty handbooks.  He is well-versed in the current Title IX regulations, and has drafted Title IX policies and trained the President of a major international university on his role in the Title IX adjudication process.  He also regularly advises academic institutions on investigating and adjudicating faculty and student misconduct allegations in accordance with their own policies and applicable law.

Other Professional Activities and Experience

Mr. Kurtz shares in the Firm’s commitment to pro bono service, and maintains an active pro bono practice. He is representing a client on death row in Alabama in federal habeas corpus proceedings before the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama, as well as a social security claimant before an Administrative Law Judge (having successfully received a remand from the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York).  Mr. Kurtz previously represented a tenant in non-payment proceedings in housing court, achieving a favorable settlement.

Mr. Kurtz is also an experienced public speaker.  He frequently presents at Continuing Legal Education events and is a regular guest speaker to law school clinic students. 

From 2017 to 2018, Mr. Kurtz served as a law clerk to the Hon. Christopher F. Droney of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. From 2014 to 2017, Mr. Kurtz worked as an attorney at the New Jersey Office of the Public Defender.

Bar Admissions

  • U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit
  • U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey
  • U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York
  • New York
  • New Jersey

Education

  • Harvard Law School (J.D., cum laude, 2014)
    • General Board Member, Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review
  • Georgetown University (B.A., cum laude, 2010)

Areas of Practice

  • Alternative Dispute Resolution
  • Complex Commercial Actions
  • Employment Law
  • Employment Litigation, Workplace Investigations, and Compliance
  • Litigation
  • Art and Museum Law
  • Family Offices

Blogs

Antitrust Update

Antitrust Update Blog is a source of insights, information and analysis on criminal and civil antitrust and competition-related issues. Patterson Belknap’s antitrust lawyers represent clients in antitrust litigation and counseling matters, including those related to pricing, marketing, distribution, franchising, and joint ventures and other strategic alliances. We have significant experience with government civil and criminal/cartel investigations, providing the unique perspectives of former...

Data Security Law Blog

DataSecurityLaw.com is the firm’s resource for the latest news, analysis, and thought leadership in the critical area of privacy and cybersecurity law. Patterson Belknap’s Privacy and Data Security practice provides public and private enterprises, their leadership teams and boards with comprehensive services in this critical area. Our team of experienced litigators, corporate advisors and former federal and state prosecutors advises on a broad range of privacy and data protection matters...

Misbranded

Misbranded is Patterson Belknap’s blog covering false advertising litigation—both consumer class actions and competitor suits—with a particular focus on FDA-regulated products (foods/beverages, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and dietary supplements).

New York Commercial Division Decisions

The blog is a source for insights and developments related to practice in the Commercial Division of the New York State Supreme Court. This blog reviews key developments in the Commercial Division, including important decisions handed down by the Commercial Division and appellate court decisions reviewing Commercial Division decisions. The blog also covers changes and proposed changes to Commercial Division rules and practice, including revisions to the rules since January 2015. The...

Second Circuit Criminal Law Blog

The Second Circuit Criminal Law Blog is your place to follow the criminal law decisions rendered by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. With a rich 225-year history of legendary judges like Learned Hand and Henry Friendly, the Second Circuit has long been known for writing important and thoughtful opinions on many subjects, including the criminal law. We review every published criminal law opinion handed down by the Second Circuit in order to provide you with a summary of the hol

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