Susan has more than 35 years of experience representing employers in all aspects of employment matters and is widely recognized as one of the leading employment law attorneys in Florida.
Susan is a Certified Circuit Mediator and Arbitrator with the American Arbitration Association and has worked as a neutral for over 20 years. In that time, she has mediated or arbitrated hundreds of matters. She is very well respected by all constituencies. She brings her extensive experience in employment law to every matter she mediates or arbitrates. Susan is also widely known for her experience mediating and arbitrating wage and hour collective and class actions and was an author of the premiere treatise titled The Fair Labor Standards Act from 2000 until 2015. She regularly mediates and arbitrates restrictive covenant matters.
In addition to her mediation practice, Susan has extensive jury and non-jury trial experience involving sex, race, religion, age, and disability harassment and discrimination issues, and wage-and-hour claims. She also litigates noncompete and confidentiality issues, as well as accessibility issues under the Americans with Disabilities Act. She regularly handles single plaintiff as well as class-action litigation.
Susan also advises clients on employment law compliance, discipline, terminations, reductions-in-force, and wage-and-hour audits. She has extensive experience in conducting workplace investigations, including those involving high-level executives. She prepares workplace policies and procedure manuals, employment contracts, noncompete and confidentiality agreements, and separation agreements. Susan also conducts informative and entertaining in-house training on employment issues.
Susan is Florida Bar Board Certified in Labor and Employment Law and has been a Fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers since 2007. Susan was recognized as one of the top 20 women lawyers in South Florida in 2014 and was recognized in 2019 as an Influential Business Woman by the South Florida Business Journal. In 2020 and 2023 she was named a "Lawyer of the Year" for labor & employment litigation by Best Lawyers. She is consistently recognized by Chambers USA for both labor and employment and labor and employment: mediators, and has also been recognized by Chambers Global.
Susan previously served as the office managing partner of Cozen O'Connor's Miami office and chaired the Shareholder Nominating Committee, and previously sat on the Shareholder Compensation Committee and Management Committee. She is currently serving a three-year term on Cozen O’Connor’s Board of Directors. She is a frequent lecturer, author, and bar association leader. She regularly writes and speaks on employment issues for the American Bar Association, Practicing Law Institute, and American Conference Institute. Susan is the former chair of the American Bar Association’s Federal Labor Standards Legislation Committee, president of the Academy of Florida Management Attorneys, and founding member and president of the Wage and Hour Defense Institute. Susan is a member of the International Women's Forum and the former management co-chair of the American Bar Association Labor and Employment Section Conference Planning Committee.
Susan earned her Bachelor of Science from the University of Michigan and her law degree from the University of Miami where she was a member of Law Review and president of the Moot Court Board. Before practicing law, Susan was licensed and worked as a pharmacist in Michigan and Florida.