Cora MacLean

Cora MacLean is a Principal in Bressler’s Employment Group, where she counsels employers and business leaders on a broad range of employment matters and helps clients navigate complex workplace issues, litigation, and regulatory requirements. With more than 20 years of experience as both in-house and outside counsel, Cora brings a practical, business-focused perspective on employment matters and tailors her advice to each client’s objectives and risk tolerance.

Cora advises clients on employment litigation and arbitration, workplace investigations, employment policies and agreements, wage and hour compliance, executive matters, corporate restructurings, restrictive covenants, and other issues arising throughout the employment relationship. She also has significant experience with FINRA arbitration, U5 matters, and employment issues involving US and UK regulatory regimes.

Prior to joining Bressler, Cora served as Head of Employment Law, Americas at Standard Chartered Bank, where she was the primary US and LATAM employment law advisor to senior business leaders, human resources, employee relations, and diversity and inclusion leadership. In her role, she advised on complex and sensitive cross-border employment matters spanning a global footprint with over 90,000 employees and worked closely with business and legal teams to assess risk and develop practical solutions.

Before going in-house, Cora spent 11 years at McElroy Deutsch where her practice as Of Counsel focused on employment litigation and counseling, largely for financial institutions.  Cora served as First Chair in numerous matters that were adjudicated through a full hearing and award.  Her counseling work consisted of drafting employment agreement and policies, workplace investigations, representing clients in DOL audits across the US, and providing advice to C Suite executives and senior HR/ER personnel on a wide range of employment issues.  Earlier in her career, Cora practiced labor and employment law at several large national firms representing employers in litigation, arbitration, investigations, regulatory matters, and employment counseling.

Cora earned an LL.M. in Labor & Employment from New York University School of Law and her J.D. from Fordham University School of Law. She earned a B.S. in Business Administration from Seton Hall University. She is admitted to practice in New York and New Jersey.

Experience

Reported Decisions

Olsen v. UBS Financial Services Inc., FINRA Case No. 17-01567

Janitell v. Tiaa-Cref Individual & Institutional Services, FINRA Case No. 16-02886

Waters v. TIAA-CREF Individual & Institutional Services, FINRA Case No. 16-03090

Barron v. UBS Financial Services Inc., FINRA Case No. 16-00207

Maxey v. Valic Financial Advisors, Inc., FINRA Case No. 18-01738

Lovick v. TIAA-CREF Individual & Institutional Svs., FINRA Case No. 15-02950

Numair v. Citigroup Global Markets, Inc., FINRA Case No. 13-02035

Jablin v. UBS Financial Services Inc., FINRA Case No. 14-02560

Taalman v. TIAA-CREF Individual & Institutional Services, FINRA Case No. 13-00385

E.E.O.C. v. Preferred Labor LLC, 2009 WL 415429 (D. Mass. Feb. 13. 2009)

Vargas v. Morgan Stanley, 2010 WL 3911494 (S.D.N.Y Sept. 29, 2010)

Jewett v. IDT Corp., 2010 WL 4000618 (D.N.J. Oct 12. 2010)

Vargas v. Morgan Stanley, 2011 WL 4435923 (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 23, 2011)

Get to Know Cora

Cora resides in Central New Jersey with her husband Louis, their children Caesar and Audrey, and their Cane Corso Mo. The family loves to travel, especially to upstate NY, the Pocono Mountains, and the Caribbean.