Kris D. Meade is co-chair of Crowell & Moring's Labor & Employment Group. He is also a member of the firm's Management Board and Executive Committee. He counsels and represents employers in the full range of employment and traditional labor law matters, including individual and class action lawsuits filed under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, ERISA, and companion state statutes. Kris represents employers in connection with union organizing campaigns, collective bargaining, labor arbitrations, and unfair labor practice litigation. In 2020, Chambers USA recognized Kris as a leading labor and employment lawyer.
Kris also counsels and represents employers in connection with pay equity and affirmative action compliance matters, including the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs' corporate management (or "glass ceiling") reviews and affirmative action compliance audits. Kris has particular experience directing sophisticated statistical analyses in connection with employment class action litigation, compensation audits conducted by the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, and pay equity self-audits conducted by employers to ensure compliance with federal regulations, Title VII, and the Equal Pay Act. He frequently teams with labor economists who serve as consulting or testifying experts in private litigation or government enforcement actions. In addition, Kris has substantial experience in managing and coordinating large-scale discovery in nationwide, serial litigation.
Kris likewise represents and counsels employers in business tort cases, Sarbanes-Oxley whistleblower retaliation matters, matters involving the protection of trade secrets, and litigation over non-competition agreements and other restrictive covenants. He also counsels employers with regard to their use of predictive analytics and AI in the employment and personnel decision-making context.
Kris received a bachelor of arts summa cum laude from the University of Michigan, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He graduated with honors from The George Washington University Law School. Kris is also a member of the Advisory Board to the D.C. Bar Pro Bono Program's Community Economic Development Project