How to Avoid Mistakes and Oversights When Conducting Investigations

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Featured Presenter: Gavin S. Appleby, Esq. of Littler Mendelson
Employment Law Attorney and popular IAML Instructor

Who Will Benefit:
This intermediate level program is for employment law and human resource professionals, attorneys, managers, and others who investigate employment situations.

About This IAML AudioPro ConferenceSM:
In mid-deposition, you will be asked: "Are you sure you reached the right conclusion?" "Could you have done the investigation differently?" Or, "why did you believe her instead of him?"

You can lose a case due to an error in an investigation or a questionable credibility decision, even if you ultimately made the right decision. So how can we help? By taking you through the key errors that are often made in employment investigations, including:

  • Neglecting to obtain documents, especially electronic documents, you need in order to ask the right questions in the investigation.
  • Not knowing how to ask the hard (or awkward) questions.
  • Missing subtle points that can help you determine credibility in he said/she said situations.
  • Knowing when you're ready to finish the investigation, or whether you need to conduct second or even third interviews of key witnesses.
  • Understanding what evidence, notes and other data to keep and what to discard.
  • Learning how and when to use attorney-client privilege in the context of an investigation.
  • Taking advantage of opportunities to create helpful (and, legitimately self-serving) evidence.
  • Wrapping up the investigation in a way where you create a legally viable tool for litigation.
  • Knowing when to stick to the plan and when to move away from an approach that isn't working.
  • Doing things differently in a union environment.
  • Formulating crucial questions (even without watching The Closer).

You will make your investigations more effective through a program that focuses on real examples and practical analyses, taught by an experienced trial lawyer.

Featured Presenter:
Gavin S. Appleby is a Shareholder with the law firm of Littler Mendelson in Atlanta where he advises and represents employers in a broad course of employment law matters. His focus ranges from defending single plaintiff and class action employment cases to advising on and litigating wage and hour matters and handling OSHA issues. He also has significant experience in union avoidance, defending union campaigns, handling arbitrations and mediations, and conducting investigations. In the course of his career, Mr. Appleby has tried or arbitrated in excess of 150 cases. He has handled over 75 union campaigns, none of which resulted in continuing union representation at any of the facilities in question. Mr. Appleby provides employers with consulting on human resource practices, including establishing ADR processes, developing systems for providing better and more effective advice to managers, and instituting programs aimed at early resolution of employment problems. He is nationally known for his employment law and diversity training, as well as for developing legally-defensible diversity programs. He also is an expert on OFCCP matters and Title IX compliance. Prior to joining Littler Mendelson he was with Powell, Goldstein and was previously Chief Litigation Counsel with Kimberly-Clark Corporation. He received his B.A. degree from West Virginia Wesleyan College, magna cum laude and his J.D. degree from the University of Virginia where he was a member of the national Moot Court Team. Mr. Appleby is a member of the American Bar Association and the State Bar of Georgia. He lectures extensively throughout the country and has written a number of published articles on employment and labor law issues. He is also the co-author of a text on pre-employment testing. He has been consistently rated among IAML's top four instructors over the past 14 years.

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