Chris Mills is a partner in the New Jersey office. For more than 30 years he has assisted clients in navigating through the maze of labor and employment laws. Chris has a wide range of experience in employment litigation, employment discrimination, workforce reduction, employment-at-will and wrongful termination, traditional labor relations law, affirmative action plans and OFCCP, and employee pension and benefit plans. He has been selected to represent major corporations in class actions under ERISA and collective claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act. He is currently lead counsel defending AT&T against a class action challenging the conversion of its Management Pension Plan to a cash balance formula, and he serves as chief collective bargaining negotiator for a number of employers. Chris joined Fisher & Phillips after 12 years heading what was considered the premier labor and employment boutique law firm in New Jersey, which he joined in 1989. Previously, he had worked as in-house counsel at AT&T for 12 years, where he held a number of labor law positions, completing his service as the company's labor and employment law counsel for its corporate headquarters. Chris has been recognized in Who's Who Legal USA, and he has been elected a Fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers. He is "AV" Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell and has been included on the New Jersey Super Lawyers list since 2005. Chris has also been listed in The Best Lawyers in America since 2007.
Representative Work
Federal Appeals Court Hands Major Victory to Fisher & Phillips Attorneys
Bar Admissions
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Colorado
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District of Columbia
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Florida
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Maryland
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New Jersey
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New York
Court Admissions
U.S. Supreme Court
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut
U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland
U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
Reported Cases
Engers v. AT&T Corp. & AT&T Management Pension Plan, 428 F. Supp. 2d 213 (D.N.J. 2006)
Hunter v. Sprint Corp., 346 F. Supp. 2d 113 (D.D.C. 2004)
Zubi v. AT&T Corp., 219 3d 220 (3d Cir. 2000)
Samaroo v. Samaroo, 193 F.3d 185 (3d Cir. 1999), cert. denied, 529 U.S. 1062 (2000)
Sundor Brands Inc. v. NLRB, 168 F.3d 515 (D.C. Cir. 1999), on remand, 334 NLRB 755 (2001), enforcement denied, 2002 U.S. App. LEXIS 22482 (D.C. Cir. 2002)
McDermott v. Chilton Co., 938 F. Supp. 240 (D.N.J. 1995)
Chaffee v. Kraft General Foods, Inc., 886 F. Supp. 1164 (D.N.J. 1995)
Stires v. Sprint Corp., 1995 WL 632077 (D.N.J. 1995)
Bergfeld v. Muralo Co., Inc. 1993 WL 266799 (D.N.J. 1993)
Ponzoni v. Kraft General Foods, Inc., 774 F. Supp. 299 (D.N.J. 1991), affd, 958 F.2d 14 (3d Cir. 1992)
Professional Activities
Chris speaks frequently at human resources training conferences and continuing legal education seminars for attorneys throughout the country, such as the ALI-ABA program "Employment Discrimination and Civil Rights Actions in Federal and State Courts," and the mid-year meeting of the American Bar Association's Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity Law. He has authored numerous professional articles. While an in-house counsel, he was elected to the Board of Directors of the Equal Employment Advisory Council, a national employers' association.
Recognition
Seven Fisher & Phillips Attorneys Listed in Who's Who Legal
September 10, 2009