Jill Kirila represents and counsels companies in all aspects of employment and other service provider relationships. She regularly represents companies in wage and hour collective actions and disputes in federal courts, where she utilizes a creative and aggressive early defense approach. She also has extensive multistate litigation experience before federal and state courts and administrative agencies. Jill has handled covenant not to compete and trade secrets cases for clients in numerous industries including technology, retail, manufacturing, health care, insurance and other financial services businesses. She also regularly defends employers against all types of discrimination claims such as sex and age harassment, as well as wrongful discharge, benefits and breach of contract claims.

Jill advises employers on compliance with state and federal employment and labor laws to assist them in minimizing such litigation. This aspect of her practice includes drafting employment contracts and restrictive covenants, coaching on compliance with wage and hour regulations and investigating complaints of workplace harassment and illegality including Sarbanes-Oxley Act whistleblower claims. Jill regularly works with clients and the firm’s corporate practitioners on labor and employment matters arising in mergers, acquisitions, restructurings and other business transactions including union and plant-closing and mass layoff law issues. She also is a frequent speaker to employer and other business groups on these compliance issues.

Jill is co-chair of the firm’s E-Discovery & Data Management Team, which serves as a resource for lawyers and clients in matters involving the preservation and discovery of electronic documents.

Jill was named a Rising Star in the 2005-2007 and 2012 editions of Ohio Super Lawyers, a distinction that recognizes the top 2.5 percent of Ohio lawyers under the age of 40 or those in practice for 10 years or less. She also appears in The Best Lawyers in America 2012.

Jill is a member of the Georgetown University’s Alumni Admissions Committee, serves on the board of Parenthesis Family Advocates and is a graduate of the Leadership Columbus class of 2007.

Representative Experience

• Obtaining defense jury verdict in a sex harassment case brought against a retail financial services institution.
• Obtaining the dismissal of wage and hour federal lawsuits brought by the US Department of Labor involving back wages claims for more than 600 employees of two national satellite television service providers.
• Obtaining summary judgment on all overtime claims in a company-wide collective action under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) involving more than 1,000 potential plaintiffs.
• Representing a client in pending multidistrict litigation of nationwide class and collective wage and hour actions.
• Obtaining summary judgment in federal court on all Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) claims based on separation pay benefits brought against a national insurance company.
• Obtaining the dismissal of a Sarbanes-Oxley Act whistleblower claim on behalf of a national insurance company. 
• Obtaining the dismissal in federal court of all claims lodged against furniture sales companies and their owners for trade secret misappropriation, tortious interference with contract and related claims.
• Obtaining, on behalf of the parent and affiliates of a metal fabrication company, the dismissal of a case brought by four plaintiffs claiming entailment to separation payments following the sale of the company.
• Obtaining summary judgment in federal court and Sixth Circuit affirmation in an age discrimination suit brought by a former manager of a large parts distributor.
• Obtaining multiple temporary restraining orders and preliminary injunctions to enforce noncompete provisions and trade secret restrictions on behalf of a national manufacturer.
• Counseling multiple clients through company-wide reductions in force.
• Counseling a national company regarding ongoing executive compensation and contract issues.