Overview
With more than three decades of experience as a trial lawyer, Christopher R. O'Hara counsels clients with equal skill and expertise in the courtroom and at the negotiating table. A Founding Partner of the firm, Mr. O’Hara is a member of the firm’s employment litigation and complex commercial litigation group.
Mr. O'Hara, who joined Todd & Weld in 1993 in the firm’s first year of existence, has successfully represented employers and employees in several industries. He has litigated over 100 noncompetition, non-solicitation, and non-disclosure/confidentiality cases in the Massachusetts Superior Court Business Litigation Session, in numerous state and federal courts, and in arbitrations and mediations. Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly and other media have featured Mr. O’Hara’s successful results, and he is a frequent speaker on employment law topics, including non-competition agreements, and separation/severance agreements.
In the employment law context, executives and companies frequently turn to Mr. O'Hara for advice on offer letters, employment agreements, and separation agreements. He has extensive experience negotiating executive employment agreements, as well as separation and severance agreements for C-suite and other senior executives in numerous industries, including biotechnology/life sciences, finance, information technology, banking, and insurance.
He advises companies on a wide range of matters, including hiring and termination decisions; noncompetition, non-solicitation, confidentiality, and non-disclosure agreements; protection of trade secrets; counseling on investigations; wage and hour issues, including Massachusetts Wage Act cases; independent contractor classification issues; and state and federal employment law issues.
Mr. O’Hara has tried numerous commission disputes under the Massachusetts Wage Act in Massachusetts state and federal courts and in arbitrations. He has represented individuals and defended companies in all types of discrimination claims, including sexual harassment, age, race, national origin, gender, and handicap/disability discrimination, as well as retaliation claims before the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and in state and federal courts.
Mr. O'Hara’s employment law expertise includes being involved in several qui tam/whistleblower cases under the Federal False Claims Act and the Massachusetts False Claims Act.
In the business litigation context, Mr. O'Hara has tried many complex commercial matters, including bet-the-company cases; closely held family business disputes; breach of fiduciary duty and officer, director, and shareholder disputes; business torts; trade secrets; Lanham Act issues; and corporate governance matters in publicly held and privately owned corporations. He represents businesses and individuals in investigations by state and federal authorities, including the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission, FINRA, Massachusetts Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Department of Labor, OSHA, and Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination.
Mr. O'Hara represents various health care professionals, including physicians before the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Medicine, and other health care professionals before the Massachusetts Office of Professional Licensure. He has also represented lawyers in disputes involving attorneys' fees and defended lawyers in legal malpractice actions.