NATIONAL - FordHarrison LLP, one of the
country's largest management-side labor and employment law
firms, is pleased to announce that the firm has named new office
managing partners in three offices, effective January 1, 2025,
including:
- Jeffrey A. Lehrer - Spartanburg Office
- Luis A. Santos - Orlando Office
- Jacquelyn (Jacki) L. Thompson - Washington, D.C.
Office
Jeffrey has been practicing labor and employment law exclusively since 1999 and was appointed as the Managing Partner of the firm's Spartanburg office in 2025. Jeffrey grew up in the restaurant business. His father owned a McDonald's franchise for over 25 years, with as many as six stores, and Jeffrey worked closely with his father in this business prior to becoming a lawyer. This experience gave Jeffrey a unique understanding of the legal pressures and concerns facing employers and led to him pursuing a career in labor and employment law. He has extensive experience representing clients in the insurance brokerage, financial services, healthcare, and restaurant industries. Jeffrey has successfully represented employers in cases in state and federal courts throughout the United States, appearing in over 170 federal court cases and numerous state court cases. He is also State appointed Fire Department Commissioner and is a Board Member of the South Carolina School for the Deaf and Blind Foundation. For more on Jeffrey, click here: www.fordharrison.com/JeffreyLehrer
Luis has practiced employment and labor law in
Florida for 14 years and was appointed as the Managing Partner of
the firm's Orlando office in 2025. Luis serves as a co-chair of
FordHarrison's Wage and Hour and Restaurant Practice Groups
with extensive experience addressing the challenges faced by
employers. He has a unique understanding of the administrative and
legal challenges faced by clients in industries like hospitality,
retail, restaurant, and grocery. Additionally, Luis represents
employers in a wide variety of industries beyond hospitality and
grocery, including transportation, healthcare, and insurance;
handling wage and hour disputes, discrimination claims, union
avoidance, regulatory compliance, and all other facets of
employment law. Luis also serves as FordHarrison's Deputy
Diversity Partner and is focused on recruiting and mentoring
diverse attorneys with a particular emphasis on Hispanic outreach.
Luis can fluently speak, read, and write in Spanish. He often uses
his bilingual skills to train and educate Hispanic management and
staff in their native language. For more on Luis, click here:
www.fordharrison.com/LuisSantos
Jacki has practiced employment and labor law in
the District of Columbia for 12 years and was appointed as the
Managing Partner of the Washington D.C. office in 2025. Jacki
represents management in a wide range of employment matters, with
particular expertise in labor relations in the airline and
healthcare industries. As a member of the firm's Airline Group,
she assists both airlines and airline carrier service providers in
grievance resolution matters, including grievance arbitrations and
mediation. Jacki also has a special interest in charter schools and
represents the first unionized charter school in Washington, D.C.
Jacki also defends employers before the Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission, various state agencies, and in state and
federal courts against claims of discrimination, harassment, and
retaliation, among other things. For more on Jacki, click
here:
www.fordharrison.com/JacquelynThompson