Ann-Marie Ahern has devoted her entire career to representing people in employment disputes. Ann-Marie, who heads the firm’s Employment practice, is a dedicated, tireless advocate and trusted advisor. Over the past twenty years, she has successfully litigated hundreds of employment disputes on behalf of her clients. As a Certified Specialist in Labor and Employment Law, AnnMarie is knowledgeable of all facets of employment law and represents employees at each stage of the employment relationship. She approaches her practice with the understanding that a career is more than a paycheck, and that the loss of a job can be devastating.
Unfortunately, wrongful terminations of employment relationships are still very common. Ann-Marie has tried cases to juries involving issues of age discrimination, sex discrimination and sexual harassment, race discrimination, disability discrimination/ failure to accommodate, wrongful discharge, and illegal retaliation. She has been at the forefront of the #MeToo and sexual harassment awareness movement and has been a steadfast supporter of victims of all forms of illegal discrimination. During the course of her career, she has obtained verdicts and settlements on behalf of her clients well in excess of $50 million.
Ann-Marie also advocates on behalf of federal and state whistleblowers. She is committed to preventing and correcting fraud against the government. She represents relators in False Claims Act matters and helped her client secure an $11 million reward for his role as a whistleblower in one of the largest False Claims Act recoveries in US History.
Ann-Marie also regularly represents executives and other managers in negotiating employment agreements, severance agreements, and separation packages. She understands the complexities and sensitivities involved when high-level employees transition from one company to another. Ann-Marie is experienced in the change in control agreements, as well as noncompete agreements.
Ann-Marie advises corporate clients as to employment law compliance and human resources practices. When companies receive complaints regarding sexual harassment, they often turn to Ann-Marie to serve as an impartial investigator of those claims.
Ann-Marie is an award-winning advocate and has been named to The Best Lawyers in America by US News and World Report, and an Ohio Super Lawyer. She has also been recognized by Super Lawyers as one of the Top 25 female lawyers in Cleveland and one of the Top 50 female lawyers in Ohio. She has been named a Top 100 Trial Lawyer by The National Trial Lawyers. Ann-Marie is most proud, however, of the testimonials that she has received from the clients that she has helped through their employment crises. To review these comments, visit her Avvo profile.