Skoler, Abbott & Presser, P.C.

Focus and who the firm works for

Labor relations and employment law have been the whole of this firm's work since 1964. Skoler, Abbott & Presser, P.C. works for management and employers, and it does so exclusively. The firm runs a main office in Springfield and a second office in Worcester. Springfield sits in the western part of the state and Worcester in central Massachusetts.

That narrow focus tells you something useful. Every matter the firm takes on sits on the employer's side of the workplace. In my opinion, a firm that has stayed within one area of law for six decades has had time to learn how that area behaves day to day.

The employment matters the firm handles

The core work covers advice, counseling, and compliance for employers. The firm defends discrimination and harassment claims. It handles wage and hour disputes, whistleblower and retaliation claims, and employment litigation that reaches the courts.

The firm also does broad advisory and compliance work. Skoler Abbott prepares affirmative action plans and handles OFCCP compliance. It drafts handbooks and personnel policies, runs employment practices audits, and advises on hiring and separation. The firm also works on leave and disability accommodation, privacy and data security, and workplace safety under OSHA.

Defending claims at agencies and in court

When a claim moves to a government agency, the firm defends it there. That work includes actions before the EEOC, the MCAD, the CHRO, the Department of Labor, and state attorneys general. Class actions and complex litigation sit within the same practice areas.

A charge before an agency like the EEOC or the MCAD tends to run a set path. It starts with a filed complaint, moves through an investigation and a written position statement from the employer, and ends in a finding, a settlement, or a case that continues in court. Counsel on the management side usually handles each of those stages for the employer.

Wage and hour questions make up another steady part of employer-side work. They turn on how employees are classified, how overtime is counted, and how hours get recorded. A mistake in any of those can grow into a class matter, which is one reason the firm pairs its wage and hour counseling with class action and complex litigation.

Compliance, investigations and immigration

Two services sit close to the compliance work. Internal investigations look into a complaint inside a company before it becomes a formal claim. Employment practices audits review policies and records against current law. The firm names both among its offerings, and both are the kind of preventive step an employer takes to lower risk.

Immigration also appears on the firm's list. For employers, that side of the work usually means employment-based visas, work authorization checks, and the paperwork that keeps a hire eligible to work. The firm handles it alongside its other counseling, which keeps one team across an employer's staffing questions.

The firm also handles mediation and alternate dispute resolution. That gives an employer a way to resolve a matter through a neutral third party and a negotiated agreement, which can settle a dispute before it reaches a full hearing. It fits the same employer-side counseling found across the firm's work.

Labor relations and workplace training

The labor side of the firm covers matters under the National Labor Relations Act. Skoler Abbott represents public and private sector employers in representation elections and collective bargaining. The firm also runs training for supervisors, employees, and HR professionals across its practice areas.

A representation election is the process by which employees vote on union representation, and collective bargaining is the negotiation that can follow. Both run under federal rules and set timelines, and an employer usually works with counsel through each step. As a reviewer, I read the training work as a sign of a firm that gets involved early, in the room where workplace rules get set.

How the team is put together

The site names eight attorneys and one Of Counsel. Five hold the title of partner: Marylou Fabbo, Timothy F. Murphy, John S. Gannon, Amelia J. Holstrom, and Erica E. Flores. Maureen James, Meaghan E. Murphy, and Kayla E. Snider complete the attorney roster.

Two of the partners carry outside recognition. Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly named Marylou V. Fabbo among its Women of Law honorees. A national peer-review listing recognized Timothy F. Murphy for 2026 in three categories: employment law on the management side, labor law on the management side, and litigation in labor and employment.

Wendy L. Grabel is Of Counsel to the firm. She advises on employee benefits and works in ERISA-related areas, which supports the firm's benefits work for employers. ERISA governs private-sector retirement and health plans, so that work touches the benefits side of the employment law the firm already covers.

What the record shows

The picture that emerges is a settled, single-focus firm. Skoler, Abbott & Presser has kept to labor and employment law for management since 1964, and it staffs that work with eight attorneys, five of them partners, plus one Of Counsel.

Its published record rests on facts a reader can check: a founding year, two Massachusetts offices, a named practice-area list, and outside recognition for two of its partners. The firm handles employer-side questions across policy drafting, workplace audits, agency defense, and litigation.

Trade secrets and noncompete work

The firm's published services include trade secret disputes and noncompete agreements. This part of the practice concerns the restrictions and obligations that may continue after a worker leaves. It also reaches disputes over information that an employer considers confidential. The record places these matters within the firm's employer-side labor and employment practice rather than under a separate commercial practice.

I find that placement useful because restrictive agreements often arise at two different points in the employment relationship. An employer may seek advice when preparing an agreement, or it may need litigation counsel after a dispute develops. Skoler Abbott includes both trade secrets and noncompete agreements in its stated work, while civil litigation appears among the practice areas attached to its directory record.

The service also connects with the firm's work on employee departures. Separation advice can address the documents and obligations involved when employment ends. Trade secret and noncompete matters can concern what happens afterward. The published practice list therefore identifies counsel for the underlying employment documents and for related disputes, although it does not describe particular cases or results.

The Springfield address and contact details

The firm's listed Springfield address is One Monarch Place. The record supplies two telephone numbers, (413) 737-4753 and (508) 757-5335. The 413 number uses the area code associated with the Springfield part of Massachusetts, while the 508 number corresponds with the part of the state that includes Worcester. The record does not separately label the numbers by office, so a caller should confirm the intended location when making contact.

For a directory user, those details make the firm's Massachusetts presence more concrete. One Monarch Place identifies the street address for the Springfield office, and the separate telephone lines provide direct contact routes. The firm's website is also listed at https://www.skoler-abbott.com. No languages beyond English appear in the supplied record, and the directory information does not identify individual court admissions or a separate roster of courts.