Lee C. Durivage

Vice Chair, Employment Law
Vice Chair, School Leaders' Liability
Shareholder

    Lee is a shareholder and the Vice Chair of the Employment Law Practice Group, where he represents employers in the full spectrum of discrimination, harassment and retaliation claims, including claims pursuant to Title VII, the ADA public accommodation, the ADEA, the FMLA, whistleblower, housing discrimination and related tort claims. He is experienced in handling wage and hour lawsuits, including class and collective actions, pursuant to the FLSA, the Pennsylvania Minimum Wage Act and the Pennsylvania Wage Payment and Collection Law. Additionally, Lee serves as the Vice Chair of the firm's School Leaders' Liability Practice Group. He routinely defends school districts, charter schools and other academic institutions in civil rights litigation, as well as in special education due process matters alleging violations of the IDEA and related federal and state statutes.

    Lee serves as lead counsel for clients from a wide range of industries, including construction, manufacturing, restaurant and hospitality, education, real estate development, health care and non-profit organizations. He has served as lead counsel in a number of employment litigation matters in federal court and state court, as well as before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations. Additionally, Lee advises clients on how to avoid employment disputes altogether by counseling them on compliance with federal, state and local laws with respect to hiring, discipline, medical leave and terminations, as well as conducting workplace investigations and creating and updating employment policies and procedures to proactively manage employee relations. In 2004, Lee graduated from Syracuse University with a double major in Communications & Rhetorical Studies and Political Science. Following graduation, he attended Widener University School of Law, receiving his juris doctor, cum laude, in 2007 and was awarded a Business Organization Law Certificate, with honors.

    During his time in law school, Lee served as an administrative board member of the Delaware Journal of Corporate Law and as a member of the Moe Levine Trial Advocacy Honor Society. He joined Marshall Dennehey Warner Coleman & Goggin as a summer associate in May 2006 and continued to work with the firm during his final year of law school. Following graduation, Lee returned to the firm as an associate in August 2007.

    In addition to his employment practice, Lee has experience litigating environmental, toxic tort and professional liability matters. He has been recognized as a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer: Rising Star by Philadelphia Magazine in the area of Employment Litigation: Defense in from 2012 through 2021. Rising Stars are chosen by their peers as being among the top-up-and-coming lawyers in Pennsylvania. Only 2.5 percent of Pennsylvania attorneys receive this honor each year.

    Classes/Seminars Taught

    EPL – You Have Headaches, We Have Solutions, Public Risk Management Association Conference, Long Beach, CA, June 2023

    Best Practices in Handling Employment Issues, Motor Carrier Insurance Education Foundation, November 2015

    EPL Training, Berkley Mid-Atlantic Group, co-presenter, June 26, 2014

    Social Media & Cyber Breaches: the Internet's Impact on Your Business, The Graham Company, co-presenter, May 2014

    Publications

    "The State of Class Action Waivers in Arbitration Agreements," Pennsylvania Law Weekly, November 22, 2016

    "EEOC’s Proposed Guidance Expands the Scope of Retaliation," Legal Updates for Employment Law, February 2016

    "Avoiding Penalties When Classifying Independent Contractors," The Legal Intelligencer, Employment Law Supplement, June 30, 2015

    "Pennsylvania Employment Law Update," Counterpoint, newsletter of the Pennsylvania Defense Institute, 2008-present

    "Avoiding Age Discrimination Claims in Succession Planning," The Legal Intelligencer, June 11, 2013

    "When Does Striving for a Health Workforce Violate the Law?," The Legal Intelligencer, June 12, 2012

    "The Continued Expansion of the ADA: The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's Updated Regulations In Light of the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act," Counterpoint, newsletter of the Pennsylvania Defense Institute, Oct. 2011

    "Undue Hardship: the Employer's Burden Under the ADAAA," The Legal Intelligencer, June 15, 2011

    Case Law Alerts, regular contributor, 2008-2018

    Admissions
    Pennsylvania
    2007
    U.S. District Court Eastern District of Pennsylvania
    2007
    U.S. District Court Middle District of Pennsylvania
    2014
    Education
    Widener University School of Law (J.D., cum laude, 2007)
    Syracuse University (B.S., 2004)
    Honors & awards
    Pennsylvania Super Lawyers Rising Star
    2012-2022
    Associations & memberships
    American Bar Association
    Pennsylvania Bar Association
    Philadelphia Bar Association
    Year joined
    2006