Sterling Employment Law

Employment law work across Michigan

Sterling Employment Law is based in Bloomfield Hills and represents clients throughout Michigan. The firm says it has handled matters in federal and state courts across the Detroit metropolitan area and southeast Michigan. Its work centers on workplace disputes, employment agreements, and advice for employees and employers.

Representing both sides of the employment relationship shapes the firm's stated scope. Employees can seek help with claims against an employer, while businesses can obtain advice about policies, contracts, and disputes. In my opinion, this dual focus is one of the most useful facts for a prospective client because it explains the range of issues the attorneys handle.

Claims involving termination and workplace conduct

The employee work includes wrongful termination, discrimination, hostile work environment, harassment, and sexual harassment claims. The firm also handles retaliation and whistleblower protection matters. These areas often overlap when an employee reports conduct, requests protection, or alleges that an employer took an adverse action.

Wage and hour claims form another stated part of the firm's employment work. The website does not limit that category to one type of pay dispute. It also identifies wage and hour disputes among the matters handled for employers.

The site presents litigation as a regular part of the firm's work. Several attorneys have backgrounds in employment litigation, trial work, civil rights, or business disputes. The firm also provides counseling on workplace concerns that may arise before or during a lawsuit.

Contracts, severance, and employer advice

Sterling Employment Law advises on employment agreements and severance agreements. That work includes noncompetition and nonsolicitation terms. The firm also handles executive and C-level contracts, which places senior employment arrangements within its stated focus.

Brian J. Farrar has counseled clients on non-compete agreements, severance packages, and settlement negotiations. Raymond J. Sterling's work includes employment contracts and executive compensation. Their stated backgrounds connect contract advice with the firm's litigation and counseling work.

For employers, the firm handles business litigation, employee handbooks, leave policies, and wage and hour disputes. These services cover written workplace rules as well as conflicts that reach court. Katherine F. Cser's work in employment and labor matters and business litigation also fits this part of the firm's profile.

How the attorney team is built

Current roster

The firm's current roster names Brian J. Farrar, Edmund S. Aronowitz, James C. Baker, Katherine F. Cser, Jyarland Q. Daniels, Carol A. Laughbaum, Raymond J. Sterling, Jennifer L. Lord, and Noah Peltier. The website lists Gerald "Jerry" D. Wahl separately in memoriam, with the years 1948 to 2024. He is not included among the current attorneys.

The named lawyers bring experience in several areas tied to workplace disputes. The available descriptions identify trial work, civil rights, employment and labor law, contract matters, and business litigation. Some attorneys also handle legal issues outside the firm's main employment focus.

Trial and civil rights backgrounds

Brian J. Farrar is identified as a trial and civil rights attorney and an associate. He has represented plaintiffs and defendants in employment discrimination, wage and hour, breach of contract, and police misconduct matters. His counseling work includes restrictive agreements, severance packages, and settlement negotiations.

James C. Baker is a trial attorney. During law school, he clerked for former Michigan Supreme Court Justice Michael F. Cavanagh and the Michigan Attorney General. He also worked as a three-term Law Review editor and competed in national trial advocacy and moot court competitions.

Carol A. Laughbaum is an associate whose work includes civil rights and labor and employment law. She earned her J.D. from Wayne State University Law School and her B.A. from the University of Michigan. Her listed fields align with the firm's employment and civil rights work.

Employment litigation and counseling

Raymond J. Sterling focuses on employment litigation and counseling. His listed matters include employment discrimination, retaliatory discharge, whistleblower claims, employment contracts, and executive compensation. He earned his J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School in 1982.

Jennifer L. Lord handles employment litigation for plaintiffs and defendants. Her stated work also includes civil rights, divorce, family law, and Social Security disability matters. She studied at Wayne State University Law School and graduated in 1992.

Katherine F. Cser focuses on employment and labor matters and business litigation. The roster also includes Edmund S. Aronowitz, Jyarland Q. Daniels, and Noah Peltier. Together, the listed attorneys give the firm a team that covers employee claims, employer disputes, contract advice, and courtroom work.

What the website record shows

The firm's own materials identify a defined set of employment law services. Wrongful termination, discrimination, harassment, retaliation, whistleblower protection, wage disputes, and employment contracts receive direct mention. Employer services also receive clear treatment through business litigation, handbooks, leave policies, and pay disputes.

The strongest point in the record is the connection between the listed services and the backgrounds provided for several attorneys. Trial experience appears alongside counseling on contracts and workplace policies. The firm describes work for employees and employers, which gives prospective clients a direct way to compare their issue with the matters the team says it handles.