Profile
Kerry Lin Davidson focuses her practice on labor and employment matters, including employment relations, HR strategies, and traditional labor matters. She has broad experience overseeing legal affairs and complex corporate issues for both public and private organizations.
Kerry has deep experience serving in an executive role as general corporate counsel. Prior to joining Greenberg Traurig, she served as sole leader of both legal and HR/LR functions for a large scrap metal and recycling company, where she provided primary oversight of legal, risk, and compliance matters. In this role, she handled litigation, union negotiations, compliance and training programs, internal investigations, and traditional employee relations matters, including implementation of new policies and incentive programs, as well as ensuring compliance with the labor requirements of U.S. Navy and other long-term customer service contracts. As the chief legal officer, Kerry has often served as a single-point-of-contact and public relations representative, including as primary liaison with U.S. governmental agencies such as EEOC, FEPA, DOL, FBI, NLRB, OSHA, EPA, and their state equivalents. Kerry has also successfully led employer start-up activities and emergency task forces, including in response to ransomware and other privacy threats.
Concentrations
- Litigation
- Alternative dispute resolution (ADR)
- Regulatory compliance
- Corporate governance
- HR/LR strategies
- Policies and training
- Union and labor relations
- Investigations
Capacidades
Experiencia
- Counseled and routinely represented 20 to 30 mid-sized companies in a variety of labor and employment/human resource matters including statutory compliance, management training, wage and hour/compensation issues, employee safety and injury concerns, workforce reductions, performance management, policy and leave administration, employment contracts, restrictive covenants/trade secrets, mergers & acquisitions/traditional labor matters, including ULP and unit election/representation hearings, multi-employer pension fund matters and organizing campaigns.°
- Managed employment law transition activities in a complex global transaction; served as outside counsel single-point-of-contact and facilitated HR teams as regional employment law lead for Asia and the Americas as part of an electronics company spin-off and split of B2B and Home Networks divisions.°
- Served as company advocate and representative in alternative dispute resolution matters including arbitrations, mediations – non-union and union before agencies and in formal litigation matters.°
- Led strategy to defeat attempts to organize non-union condominium units in downtown Chicago.°
- Served as team member responsible for successfully defending hybrid federal and state wage/hour “on call” claims filed by 2600+ union employees due to use of automated call-out system (affirmed by 7th Circuit).°
- Counseled clients in litigation avoidance and management training; reviewed employment policies and memoranda.°
- Performed as “Outside HR” for companies without sufficient employment or labor resources, including IP, trade secrets, restrictive covenants, and executive matters as well as top tier contracts, disputes, and separation agreements.°
- Created and launched employee communications programs, handbooks, policies procedures; updated non-harassment policy, code of conduct, and electronic use of resources (including removable devices); completed annual updates of policy and procedure manuals.°
- Defeated multiple-employer union pension fund ERISA claims against sole proprietor who unknowingly signed a multi-employer plan by becoming a member of a trade organization (affirmed by 7th Circuit, with defense costs and fees).°
°The above representations were handled by Ms. Davidson prior to her joining Greenberg Traurig, LLP.
- Executive Vice President, Human Resources/General Counsel, Scrap Metal Services, LLC., 2013-2021
- Senior Consultant, Employee/Labor Relations, Rush University Medical Center, 2001-2003
- Labor Relations Representative/EEO Specialist, Northern Indiana Public Service Company, 1999-2001
- Judicial Intern, Hon. Julia Jent, Porter Superior Court, 1998
- Government Affairs, United States Consulate, Perth, Western Australia, 1993
Reconocimientos y Liderazgo
- Listed, The Best Lawyers in America, Labor Law - Management, 2024
- Listed, Super Lawyers magazine, “Illinois Super Lawyers Rising Stars,” 2010-2012
- Chair, “Legal Counsel for Counsel,” Institute for Scrap Recycling Industries, 2018-2021
- Future Leaders Council, Junior Board for Chicago Regional YWCA, 2009 to 2011
- Instructor, Rush University, Master’s Program in Health Systems Management, 2003
Credenciales
-
J.D., Valparaiso University School of Law
- Employment and Labor Law Certification
- B.A., English Literature, magna cum laude, Valparaiso University
- B.A., History, magna cum laude, Valparaiso University
- Illinois