Chrys A. Martin

Partner

I help employers stay out of HR trouble and, if they get into trouble, I get them out with as little pain as possible.

Chrys helps clients stay out of trouble by providing daily advice and counseling on employment law and employee-benefits issues based on prior hands-on management and human resources experience. Clients know she can get them out of trouble creatively and efficiently with more than 35 years of handling complex employment and ERISA litigation, including class actions. That depth of knowledge is applied to counseling employers and creating unique training programs for employees and supervisors in HR best practices, including respectful workplaces and #MeToo issues. Clients say they appreciate her practical approach to problem-solving. To keep her work exciting, she serves employers of all sizes - from startups to multinational corporations - in all industries across the country.

Clients team with Chrys on sexual harassment prevention; employee handbooks; new pay equity, paid leave and predictive scheduling laws; emerging issues such as COVID-19; workplace implicit bias and racism, NLRB issues; wage-and-hour laws; union negotiations and arbitrations; early incentive retirement/RIF programs; OFCCP, EEOC, DOL, and BOLI complaints and audits; and Service Contract Act matters. She is regularly asked to perform or direct complex personnel investigations. Chrys developed a unique manager training series and an employment practices audit to help clients proactively identify problem areas and implement HR best practices. Chrys also serves as an AAA arbitrator and is a frequent local and national speaker, which also keeps her skills sharp on new HR developments.

Practice Highlights

Strategic counseling

Consulting with employers on strategic implementation of pay equity and #MeToo issues.

Employment and benefits litigation

Obtained defense jury verdicts on harassment and discrimination cases with sex and age claims; multiple jury, court trial and directed verdicts; summary judgments in ERISA and non-ERISA benefits cases. Obtained summary judgment in wage-and-hour class action and co-led litigation team in then-largest investment-manager fraud case in U.S. history in a case involving ERISA and fiduciary liability.

Pre-litigation and agency charges

Prevented wage-and-hour class-action prelitigation and obtained scores of no-cause findings for employers in administrative actions including BOLI, EEOC, OFCCP, and DOL.

Admitted to Practice

Oregon, 1981
U.S. District Court District of Oregon, 1981

Education

J.D., Lewis & Clark Law School, 1981, cum laude
- Cornelius Honor Society
B.A., Oregon State University, 1975, with honors
- Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society

Memberships & Affiliations

- Portland Human Resources Management Association, Member, 2003-present; prior General Counsel
- American College of Employee Benefits Counsel, Fellow, 2001-present
- Defense Research Institute, Former Chair, Employment Law Committee, Board of Directors, 1997-2000; Chair, Law Institute Committee, 2006-2008
- Oregon State Bar Association, Former Chair, Civil Rights Section; Former Chair, Affirmative Action Committee
- Oregon Association of Defense Counsel, Board of Directors, 1994-1999; past President; Member, 1981-present
- Portland Center Stage, Board of Directors, 2008-2014; Executive Committee, 2012-2014
- Riverside Golf & Country Club, Board of Directors, 2012-2014; President, 2014
- Cascade AIDS Project, Inc., Board of Directors, 2005-2008

Professional Recognition

- Named one of "America's Leading Lawyers for Business" in Labor & Employment (Oregon) by Chambers USA, 2005-2020
- Louis B. Potter Lifetime Professional Achievement Award, DRI, 2012
- Awarded AV rating by the Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory since 1994
- Named one of the "Best Lawyers in America" in Labor and Employment Law by Best Lawyers since 2007
- Selected to "Oregon Super Lawyers" in Employment Law, Thomson Reuters, 2006-2020
- Selected to "Oregon's Top 25 Women Super Lawyers," Thomson Reuters, 2008-2017

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