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Phillips & Associates Litigator Melissa Berouty has been named a 2026 Law360 Rising Star in Employment. Law360 recognized Melissa among employment lawyers under 40 after she helped achieve significant results in cases involving quid pro quo sexual harassment, sexual assault, whistleblower retaliation and discriminatory employment practices.
Melissa is not being recognized merely for her potential. She is being recognized for the results she has already helped employees achieve.
Key Takeaways
- Melissa Berouty was selected as a 2026 Law360 Rising Star in Employment.
- Law360 highlighted her work on a $5.25 million BigLaw employment settlement and a $2.1 million whistleblower-retaliation settlement.
- Melissa represents employees in high-stakes, career-impacting disputes against powerful employers and decision-makers.
- Her work includes sexual harassment, workplace relationship harassment, discrimination, whistleblower retaliation, parental leave retaliation and retaliation involving medical leave or accommodation requests.
- Melissa works within dedicated Phillips & Associates litigation teams led by partners and senior employment litigators.
- Every Phillips & Associates attorney and staff member receives trauma-informed training.
Employment-Law Results Behind Melissa Berouty’s Recognition
Who you hire matters when your career is on the line.
In its Rising Star profile of Melissa Berouty, Law360 highlighted Melissa’s work on litigation teams that helped secure a $5.25 million settlement for a BigLaw equity partner and a $2.1 million whistleblower-retaliation settlement.
Melissa’s representative employment-law matters include:
- A $5.25 million settlement for a BigLaw equity partner in a matter involving claims of quid pro quo sexual harassment, sexual assault, whistleblower retaliation and tortious interference
- A $2.1 million whistleblower-retaliation settlement for a financial executive who was terminated after reporting alleged misrepresentations to the federal government
- A $1.3 million retaliation settlement for an HR executive who was terminated after reporting discriminatory hiring practices
These were not routine workplace disagreements. They were career-impacting employment cases involving senior professionals, powerful institutions, sophisticated management-side defense firms and serious allegations of workplace misconduct.
Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
High-Stakes Employment Cases and Workplace Power Dynamics
Melissa represents employees in high-stakes, career-impacting disputes, including law firm partners, financial executives, HR leaders and other professionals confronting powerful employers.
Her work includes matters involving workplace sexual harassment, quid pro quo harassment, workplace relationship harassment, employment discrimination, workplace retaliation, whistleblower retaliation and wrongful termination.
Workplace power dynamics are frequently central to these cases. A supervisor, executive, business owner, law firm partner or other powerful decision-maker may control an employee’s compensation, assignments, advancement, professional reputation or continued employment.
That imbalance can affect whether an employee feels able to reject an advance, end a workplace relationship, report misconduct, request leave or seek a medical accommodation without jeopardizing a career.
Workplace relationship harassment may arise when someone with authority pressures an employee to begin or continue a sexual or romantic relationship, or retaliates after the employee rejects an advance, sets a boundary or ends the relationship. A relationship that initially appeared consensual can still raise serious employment-law issues when one person controls the other person’s job or career.
Melissa’s work also includes retaliation involving pregnancy, maternity leave, paternity leave and other forms of parental leave. Employees may experience reduced responsibilities, lost opportunities, unfavorable evaluations, demotion or termination after announcing a pregnancy or requesting protected leave.
Medical-condition retaliation can arise when an employee is punished after disclosing a medical condition, requesting medical leave or seeking a reasonable accommodation. Depending on the circumstances, these cases may involve the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, the New York State Human Rights Law, the New York City Human Rights Law or other applicable protections.
Melissa is admitted to practice in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and the District of Columbia. She is also a member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum and Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum.
Phillips & Associates Is Built for Career-Impacting Employment Cases
Phillips & Associates is a Chambers-ranked employee-side employment litigation firm. The firm practices employment law exclusively, represents employees only and has never represented an employer.
Melissa works within dedicated litigation teams led by partners and senior litigators and supported by 38 full-time, in-house attorneys. The firm combines the resources and litigation capacity of a substantial employee-side employment practice with partner-led, boutique-style representation.
Every accepted matter is assigned to a dedicated team that develops the facts, preserves evidence, evaluates damages, identifies witnesses and prepares the negotiation and litigation strategy. The same team remains responsible through resolution, with important decisions concerning valuation, mediation, settlement and trial preparation receiving senior-level review.
Trauma-Informed Employment Lawyers and Staff
Every Phillips & Associates attorney and staff member receives trauma-informed training.
That training is particularly important in matters involving sexual harassment, sexual assault, coercion, workplace relationship harassment, retaliation and abuse of authority. Employees may need to describe deeply personal events, explain why reporting was delayed or discuss the professional and financial pressure created by someone with power over their career.
Employees facing pregnancy discrimination, parental leave retaliation or retaliation involving a medical condition may also be dealing with significant health, family and financial concerns while trying to protect their jobs.
Trauma-informed representation does not mean avoiding difficult facts or compromising litigation strategy. It means obtaining the information needed to evaluate and develop a serious employment case without unnecessarily adding to the pressure the employee is already experiencing.
Melissa and the firm’s litigation teams combine trauma-informed communication with disciplined evidence development, damages analysis, negotiation strategy and trial preparation.
Litigation Experience That Can Create Leverage
Firmwide, Phillips & Associates has litigated approximately 2,000 employment cases and faced more than 550 distinct management-side defense firms.
That experience matters even when an employee hopes to avoid a public lawsuit.
Employers, insurers and defense counsel evaluate whether an employee’s lawyers are prepared to conduct discovery, take depositions, oppose dispositive motions, retain appropriate experts and proceed through trial and appeal.
Phillips & Associates’ litigation record can create meaningful leverage in negotiations, including matters resolved confidentially and before a public complaint is filed.
Congratulations to Melissa Berouty
Melissa Berouty’s selection as a 2026 Law360 Rising Star recognizes the results she has already helped achieve for employees confronting powerful employers and serious workplace misconduct.
Phillips & Associates congratulates Melissa on this earned and well-deserved recognition.
Employees facing sexual harassment, workplace relationship harassment, employment discrimination, workplace retaliation, whistleblower retaliation, parental leave retaliation or retaliation after requesting medical leave or an accommodation can contact Phillips & Associates for a free and confidential consultation.
The firm practices employment law exclusively and represents employees only, never employers.