Ratner Law
Expertly Navigating Employment Mobility

Ratner Law, founded by Todd Ratner, is a two-lawyer firm specializing in securities industry services, special education, and employment law. It represents broker-dealers and investment advisers of all sizes—from national wirehouses to one- and two-person operations—and individuals associated with business models across the entire spectrum of the industry. The firm assists employers across a variety of industries in employment-related disputes. Ratner Law focuses on providing high-quality legal services at efficient and affordable rates to instill confidence in its clients to compete against the largest players in the marketplace.

In an interview with Manage HR magazine, Sarah and Todd Ratner, attorneys of Ratner Law, speak about how they translate their extensive experience in employment law and related practices into successfully helping clients with legal counsel and helping them resolve or avoid disputes.

An overview of the firm

Todd: Prior to establishing Ratner Law, I worked at one of the largest broker-dealers in the country, and my wife Sarah was part of the Labor and Employment team at the biggest law firm in Richmond. Right out of law school, our experience working for two different federal judges gave us significant experience with Title VII, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and Age Discrimination in Employment Act, among others. As our paths diverged, we continued to gain experience in Am Law 100 firms and ultimately reunited at Ratner Law to practice together.

We rebranded from Todd Ratner PLC to Ratner Law and expanded our offerings beyond financial services providers. I specialize in employment-related work in the financial services industry, including handling disputes with employees over promissory notes and other issues. Sarah has worked with a much broader array of industries and aspects of labor and employment law.

Sarah: My m any years at a n Am Law 100 firm afforded me invaluable experience across all areas of employment law and at every level of complexity. My experience ran the gamut from collective and class actions – and even Civil RICO cases in the labor context – to preparing simple employment policies and everything in between. This experience allows me to provide the same degree of care, thought, and complexity of analysis to employers of all sizes and to solving problems large and small.

Addressing major challenges that clients struggle with

Sarah: I have learned o ver m any years practicing employment law that attempting to isolate and address “hot button” issues without broader context is a mistake and will have unintended negative consequences down the road. A maze of different laws potentially apply to the same factual situation, and sometimes, these laws and the policies underlying them are in tension with each other. Careful balance is required.

A major challenge our clients are currently facing is the increased velocity of material changes in the law - particularly at the state and local level. Employment law has always been comparatively dynamic. But changes over the past five years have been particular dramatic in speed and scope. An obvious example is the evolving concepts of workplace equity and protected traits. Any lawyer in this space must be vigilant and remain up-to-date on all of these developments.

The Pandemic-triggered shift to remote work is a specific issue our clients are still struggling to manage The remote workforce has been a welcome change for some clients and many employees, but it presents a host of legal compliance challenges that are often unknown and unseen by the public at large.

Todd: It’s been interesting to watch the changes in how employee mobility issues are litigated in the financial services industry. When the Protocol for Broker Recruiting was first introduced in 2004, it noticeably decreased the litigation over restrictive covenants for departing advisors. In 2017, as some of the largest firms withdrew from the Protocol, it caused a massive resurgence of litigation around that issue.

Whenever these changes take place, we help our employers and employee clients understand the new rules of the road.

A case study to highlight Ratner Law’s expertise

Todd: A particular case on employee mobility comes to mind. Our client, a boutique financial services firm, had hired an advisor from the largest investment advisory firm in the country. The losing firm was threatening litigation. They hired a well-known litigator from an Am Law 100 firm, possibly in an attempt to intimidate and discourage fair competition. I enjoy trying cases and our extensive trial experience gave us an upper hand. As our opponents filed motion after motion in court, we successfully moved the case to arbitration before the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, where the overwhelming majority of my clients’ cases are litigated.

After an arduous trial, the claimant lost its claims for breach of contract and violations of the restrictive covenants. My clients also prevailed on their counterclaims for bad faith litigation, receiving a six-figure award. It felt great to be able to defend the firm and its new employee so successfully against a very aggressive competitor and opposing counsel.

The journey so far with clients

Sarah: Effective communication with clients is essential. I take the time to listen and learn from every client interaction and apply that knowledge to every case that comes after. Todd and I both bring personal qualities of curiosity and empathy to the table.

I enjoy the human interaction involved in counseling our clients on day-to-day employment issues. Issues are often personal and emotional and require careful thought and response. Employees are our clients’ most important asset. That fundamental belief guides the advice we provide.

Todd: Sarah and I have very complementary skill sets. Our ability to efficiently work together has benefited clients and helped us learn from each other. Sarah is excellent at issue spotting, counseling, anticipating potential issues, and thinking about the best way to respond to them. As a litigator, I clean up whenever problems arise. The groundwork is laid with great care for every case, and our legal positions are strong.

Factors that drive the competitive edge for Ratner Law

Todd: We care about our clients and want to make sure we’re doing the best for them. Having a skilled and smart partner and colleague in Sarah enables us to give clients thorough and well-thought-out advice that covers a lot of different perspectives.

Also, we come with our big firm experience and background with small firm affordability and accessibility. We provide high-quality representation at affordable rates, but the biggest differentiator is the way we work together and collaborate