Andrew M. Gordon

Andrew Gordon is a litigator who focuses his practice in the representation of management-side labor and employment matters such as defending employers against state and federal discrimination, sex harassment, wage and hour, and retaliation claims, as well as FLSA collective actions, DOL compliance audits, whistleblower claims, and litigating non-compete/trade secret issues. Mr. Gordon has represented large and small employers through all stages of litigation. He also advises employers on a range of human resources policy and compliance issues and conducts on-site management and employee training. Mr. Gordon also has extensive complex business litigation experience in contract disputes, business disputes, aviation security litigation, commercial landlord/tenant disputes, class action litigation, and other various complex business litigation matters. He is involved in all stages of federal and state litigation and arbitration, including drafting motions, memoranda, and briefs, conducting research, and attending depositions, motion hearings, court appearances, and trials. Mr. Gordon serves as the supervisor for the summer associates at Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP who participate in the Anti-Defamation League's Summer Associate Research Program in Florida.

Prior to joining Hinshaw in March 2014, Mr. Gordon was an associate at Fowler White Boggs P.A. He began his legal career at Ruden McClosky P.A.

During law school, Mr. Gordon held a series of clerkships, including with Legal Services of Greater Miami, Inc., the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and Ruden McClosky P.A. While a summer associate at Ruden McClosky, Mr. Gordon was a participant in the Anti-Defamation League's Summer Associate Research Program in Florida.

In addition to his other law school accomplishments, Mr. Gordon was awarded Best Oralist and Best Brief in the 2007 International Moot Court Intramural Competition and Third Best Memorial in the 2008 Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition. Mr. Gordon was a member of the Dean's List and the recipient of a Book Award for Torts II. In addition, he was a senior representative to the American Bar Association.

• Broward County Bar Association

• Appointed by Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean J. Trantalis to serve on 23 member Working Group tasked with developing COVID-19 business reopening plan for the city, 2020
• Recognized on the Rising Stars list by Florida Super Lawyers magazine, 2013 – 2019
• "On the Rise" Professional Excellence Award from the Daily Business Review, 2018
• Finalist, "Up and Comer Award," South Florida Business & Wealth Magazine, 2018
• Recognized as "Florida's Legal Elite Up and Coming" by Florida Trend, 2016

• Secured a summary judgment on behalf of a Florida-based car dealership in a discrimination and retaliation case. The plaintiff, a former employee, claimed the dealership had discriminated against him based on an English-only policy and  also retaliated against him when he complained about the English-only policy.
• Assisted client with DOL investigation into whether an employee's rights were violated, as they alleged, after taking FMLA leave. Ultimately the DOL found that there were no violations.
• Represented a national chain restaurant against FLSA overtime claims which resulted in a full defense verdict at trial based on the administrative exemption.
• Obtained a non-monetary settlement in a retaliation case involving a whistleblower on behalf of our client, a well-known local doctor.
• Represented a non-profit in an FMLA retaliation case, which included claims of racial, sexual, and disability discrimination. Obtained a non-monetary settlement of charging party's claims.
• Defended education management company in wage theft case. Successfully convinced the Broward County Professional Standards Division that employee's claims were false and based on a misunderstanding of employee's own agreed to pay structure as a teacher.
• Successfully convinced former employee's counsel that his client's claims, that he had been terminated in retaliation for blowing the whistle, were frivolous. Suit never filed.
• Obtained dismissal on behalf of an airline facing a stock dispute with terminated employee.
• Secured a dismissal in a retaliation case involving a whistleblower on behalf of our client, a well-known local doctor, based on the argument that Florida's Private Whistleblower Act does not provide for liability against individuals.
• Negotiated and protected interests of an insurance brokerage firm in not having new employee bound by previous non-compete agreement.

• Obtained a no reasonable cause determination from the Florida Commission on Human Relations relating to former employee's claims of race discrimination. Although the former employee had 35 days to appeal to preserve her right to possibly file suit, she did not appeal and a suit was never filed.
• Represented local restaurant against FLSA overtime claims resulting in a full defense verdict at trial based on the administrative exemption.
• Represented a dental practice in a retaliation case involving sexual harassment. We argued that the plaintiff, an employee, resigned prior to allowing the dental practice an opportunity to investigate her claims of sexual harassment. The court agreed and granted summary judgment in favor of our client.
• Obtained summary judgment in a retaliation case involving a whistleblower on behalf of a Florida public charter school. Successfully argued that plaintiffs were public employees and, as such, should have filed their claims for retaliation under Florida's Public Whistleblower Act not Florida's Private Whistleblower Act. Plaintiffs were unable to refile under the appropriate statute because more than 180 days had passed, which is the statute of limitations for Florida's Public Whistleblower Act.

Mr. Gordon's legal analysis of a sexual harassment case and its implications for employers was the subject of a Corporate Counsel article for its In-House Straight series, titled "Policies and Procedures Lower Sex Harassment Liability." Other publications include:

• Co-Author, "Here are some key considerations for employers as the workplace begins to reopen," The Miami Herald, May 15, 2020
• Co-Author, "Work Environments in Medical Marijuana Age: What Employers Can and Cannot Do," Daily Business Review, May 6, 2020
• Co-Author, "CARES Act is a big step forward," The Miami Herald, April 3, 2020
• Co-Author, "Employer Obligation During Closings and Layoffs: Don't Forget the WARN Act," Daily Business Review, March 27, 2020
• Co-Author, "South Florida employers should brace for the potential impact of Covid-19," The Miami Herald, February 14, 2020
• "Beginning next year, Florida's minimum wage is going up," Employment Law Observer, October 26, 2016
• "Supreme Court Backs Whistleblowing Air Marshall," Employment Law Observer, January 23, 2015
• "Court Denies EEOC's Broad Subpoena Requests," Employment Practices Newsletter, December 1, 2014
• "11th Circuit: The EEOC Can't Always Get What It Wants," Employment Law Observer, November 19, 2014
• "Security Guard Terminated After Incident With Psychiatric Patient Cannot Advance Discrimination Claims," Employment Practices Newsletter, October 1, 2014
• "Security Guard Terminated After Incident with Psychiatric Patient Cannot Advance Discrimination Claims," HR Legal Blog, September 29, 2014
• "Fifth Circuit Broadens Definition of "Adverse Employment Action" under Title VII," HR Legal Blog, September 24, 2014
• "Dodd-Frank Act's Whistleblower Protections Do Not Extend to Foreign Tipsters," Employment Practices Newsletter, September 1, 2014
• "Second Circuit: Dodd-Frank Act's Whistleblower Protections Do Not Extend to Foreign Tipsters," HR Legal Blog, August 15, 2014
• "Prevention and Corrective Policies Help Employer to Avoid Sexual Harassment Liability," HR Legal Blog, July 31, 2014
• "Trucking Company Did Not Violate ADA or FMLA When it Fired an Alcoholic Driver," Employment Practices Newsletter, July 1, 2014
• "Eleventh Circuit Finds Employee Fired for Inadequate Skills, Not Race," Employment Practices Newsletter, June 1, 2014

Mr. Gordon is active in his community through a number of civic organizations, including:

• City of Ft. Lauderdale Board of Adjustment, Member
• City of Ft. Lauderdale Civil Service Board, Member
• Greater Ft. Lauderdale Chamber of Commerce, Member, Former Governmental Affairs Committee and Business First Committee
• Riverwalk Ft. Lauderdale, Member, Advisory Board and Master Plan and Projects Committee
• Victoria Park Civic Association, Member, President, Former Vice President, and Former Representative to the Council of Ft. Lauderdale Civic Associations