About
GardnerFrankhouser is a boutique law firm located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, focusing exclusively on the representation of individuals in complex employment matters. Our lawyers have particular expertise in wage-hour law, executive employment contracts and compensation, non-compete agreements, sexual harassment, unlawful retaliation, theft of trade secrets, and wrongful termination.
We advocate for the rights of employees under state and federal wage and hour laws and advise and represent executives, senior managers and professionals on all legal issues arising out of the creation or termination of the employment relationship.
As former management employment lawyers and senior Human Resources executives, we bring a unique perspective to an employment law practice. Our approach is practical and holistic: in attempting to resolve your employment problem, we focus on more than just the legal issues.
Our clients see this approach in every facet of our practice. To provide you the best possible counsel and advocacy, we explore as thoroughly as possible your immediate and long-term career needs, the workplace culture at your company, the quality and sophistication of your employer’s human resources department, and the corporate political realities that will help or hinder a favorable resolution of your issue. In short, achieving the best outcome for a client, whether by way of voluntary agreement, mediation or litigation, requires a prompt and thorough examination of the bigger picture.
Our corporate and management background gives us unique experience and expertise in representing executives and professionals in the negotiation and drafting of employment agreements of all kinds, including executive, change in control, non-compete and non-solicitation agreements in any industry or profession. We can also help you to interpret the language in an agreement you have already signed.
Employment Lawyers With a Practical Approach
Too often, highly paid executives and professionals do not seek the advice of a lawyer before signing an agreement or taking action that might violate their contractual obligations. Other times, they seek advice from the company’s lawyer even though the company’s lawyer is ethically prohibited from giving them advice. Worse yet, these otherwise sophisticated and well-educated individuals rely on cocktail party advice or the helpful suggestions of a lawyer who is a friend of a friend or relative.
We’ve seen it many times, and it is a “penny wise and pound foolish” approach. Seeking the advice of a qualified employment lawyer is worth the investment.
For example, if you have a difference of opinion with your former employer over a non-compete, there are often commonsense business solutions that can and should be pursued early in the process of negotiating a new agreement or well before litigation escalates to the point where positions and feelings have hardened. Companies usually appreciate efforts to seek business solutions in lieu of sometimes unnecessary litigation. Arriving at those solutions requires patience, effective communication with the other side, and good business sense. That’s what we offer.
Likewise, early due diligence is especially important in cases involving harassment and retaliation. The law prohibits unlawful employment practices, but it does not prohibit bad management. In corporate America, there is plenty of both to go around, but it is important to tell the difference between the two as early as possible. Our management experience gives us a unique ability to make that distinction in order to advise clients whether they have a case.
Click HERE to see how we apply this same approach to our other areas of practice, including wage-hour disputes, employment contract negotiation, and whistleblower claims.