Lecturer Bios
Lewis Tesser, Esq.
Lewis Tesser is a senior partner in the New York law firm of Tesser, Ryan & Rochman, LLP, concentrating his practice in litigation and mediation, representing licensed professionals and professional practices, administrative law and commercial law. Lew Tesser is Vice-President of the New York County Lawyers’ Association and Director of its Ethics Institute.
Prior to private practice, Mr. Tesser was an Assistant United States Attorney in the Eastern District of New York. In that capacity, he represented various agencies of the United States government in litigation in the United States District Court and United States Court of Appeals. Mr. Tesser also served as a Judge Advocate in the United States Army where he prosecuted and defended criminal cases and was the chief legal advisor to the Commanding General of the U.S. Army War College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania. He also has served as an Arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association, New York City Civil Court, a Judge for the Environmental Control Board of the City of New York and a lecturer for various Bar Associations and New York area law schools.
Mr. Tesser, who was admitted to practice in 1971, is a 1970 Honors graduate from the National Law Center, George Washington University, a Masters graduate from the Wharton Business School, University of Pennsylvania (l974) and a graduate of the Harvard Law School Program of Instruction for Lawyers. He is a past President of Congregation Sons of Israel, Nyack, NY.
Kathleen Peratis
KATHLEEN PERATIS is a partner at Outten & Golden LLP. She heads its Sexual
Harassment and Public Interest practice groups. She has represented plaintiffs in
precedent-setting constitutional and employment cases in federal and state courts
across the country. She has been designated "SuperLawyer" in New York's Super
Lawyers - Metro Edition 2008. She has written books and articles and lectured
extensively on many issues of discrimination, civil rights, and human rights and writes a
regular column in The Jewish Daily Forward. She is a member of the National
Employment Lawyers Association (NELA) and its New York affiliate, the Labor and
Employment Section of the American Bar Association, and the Association of the Bar of
the City of New York. She has received awards for distinguished service from Human
Rights watch, the New York Civil Liberties Union, Jewish Fund for Justice, MFY Legal
Services and Veteran Feminists of America. She is a Fellow of the American Bar
Foundation, an emerita member of the board of trustees of Human Rights Watch and
founding Chair of its Women's Rights Division, co-chair of its Middle east and North
Africa division, former director of the Women's Rights Project of the American Civil
Liberties Union, former president of the New York Civil Liberties Union, and former Vice
Chair in North America of the New Israel Fund.
She graduated magna cum laude from the University of Southern California in 1966,
and graduated from U.S.C. law school in 1969, where she was an editor of the Law
Review.
Jane B. Jacobs
JANE B. JACOBS is a partner at Klein Zelman Rothermel LLP. Jane is a litigator both
for the labor and employment and communications law areas of the firm’s practice. In
addition to litigating employment cases, Jane has represented the firm’s clients in
collective bargaining, union organizing campaigns, and other union matters. Jane
represents large Fortune 500 companies as well as smaller companies. She appears
before the NLRB, EEOC, and in federal and state courts and administrative agencies.
Jane’s Internet marketing litigation practice includes appearances before federal and
state courts, the Federal Communications Commission, the Federal Trade Commission,
and the New York State Public Service Commission. Jane teaches seminars on labor
law and the Americans with Disabilities Act in the Extension Program of the New York
State School of Labor and Industrial Relations (Cornell). Jane also has lectured
extensively about internet marketing regulation. Prior to joining the firm in 1984, Jane
worked at the National Labor Relations Board both in New York and Washington, D.C.
Jane received a B.S. degree from Cornell University, Industrial and Labor relations and
a J.D. degree from Antioch School of Law, She is admitted to practice in New York,
before the U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. District Court, Southern, Eastern and Northern
Districts of New York, and the U.S. Court of Appeals, First and Second Circuits.
David Wirtz
David Wirtz is a partner at Littler. He has represented management exclusively for 36 years. His
clients include information technology companies, insurance companies, medical and dental supply
distributors, property managers, food wholesalers, construction firms, hospitality organizations,
municipalities, and school districts. Mr. Wirtz has built his reputation on 24/7 service, pragmatic
advice, and solutions for HR professionals concerning policies, procedures, and decisions regarding
hiring, firing, promotions, compensation, and leaves. Mr. Wirtz's litigation success record includes
multiple defense verdicts and settlements in which plaintiffs pay defendants.
Education
B.A., Johns Hopkins University, with honors
J.D., Cornell Law School
Publications
Mr. Wirtz's articles on topics ranging from the history of restrictive covenants to retaliation claims have
appeared in the New York Law Journal, HR Magazine, and The Municipal Lawyer. His most recent
articles appeared in the New York Law Journal on April 29, 2009, entitled "Pandemic Preparation for
New York Workplaces" and in Employment Law 360 on May 10, 2010, entitled "Annual Evaluation
Systems and Malpractice." He is an editor of Littler Mendelson's Guide to International Employment
and Labor Law and a contributor to the NYS Bar Association's treatise entitled "Public Sector Labor
and Employment Law." He has appeared regularly as an expert commentator on employment-related
issues for local television and radio stations, including WCBS, UPN News, Bloomberg Radio, and
WINS Radio.
Lectures & Presentations
Mr. Wirtz has been an Adjunct Professor at Cardozo Law School since 1992 and a guest lecturer at
the Columbia Business School. He is known as a "lawyer's lawyer" and frequently lectures to other
employment attorneys and in-house counsel. He has spoken on topics ranging from "The Intermittent
Leave Puzzle Under the FMLA" to "Ethical Issues Confronting In-House Counsel in Mediation." Most
recently, he spoke on "Employment Arbitration Agreements and Their Alternatives" for the Association
of Corporate Counsel.
Activities
American Bar Association, Labor and Employment Law Section
New York State Bar Association, Commercial and Federal Litigation Section (Committee on Corporate
Litigation Counsel), and Labor and Employment Law Section (Committee on Ethics and Professional
Responsibility)
New York County Lawyers Association, Committee on Professional Ethics
Empire State Counsel Honoree for Pro Bono Activities
Association of the Bar of the City of New York, Professional Ethics Committee
Cases/Courts/Judges
U.S. Supreme Court
U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit
U.S. District Courts, Southern and Eastern Districts of New York