Paul Berkowitz is a trial lawyer who defends employers in high-stakes class actions, collective actions and single-plaintiff disputes. He focuses on wage and hour litigation, discrimination and harassment claims, and complex compensation challenges. Paul secured a precedent-setting appellate victory that strengthened employers’ ability to remove class actions to federal court, helping shape jurisdictional standards under the Class Action Fairness Act.
Representing employers in complex wage and hour class and collective actions in federal and state courts nationwide, Paul’s cases span allegations involving meal and rest periods, off-the-clock work, time rounding practices, controlled standby, expense reimbursement, commission calculations, regular rate issues and misclassification claims.
Paul’s practice also includes nationwide and multi-state challenges to compensation structures, including disputes over commission plans, bonus inclusion, salary-basis compliance and alleged unlawful deductions. Paul understands how compensation systems function operationally and partners with clients to align litigation strategy with business realities.
In single-plaintiff matters, Paul tries cases to verdict and arbitration award. He has secured several unanimous defense verdicts in jury trials in both state and federal court involving discrimination and wrongful termination claims and obtained complete defense rulings in multi-plaintiff harassment and termination arbitrations.
Paul approaches every case with an eye toward early resolution where appropriate, while preparing each matter as if it will be tried. Clients rely on him for steady judgment, strategic clarity, consistent responsiveness and results in matters carrying significant financial, operational and reputational risk.