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Press Releases Contact: David Carew Groundbreaking 'National Employers Counsel Network' (NECN) Launched by M. Lee Smith Publishers LLCNationwide network of employment law attorneys to counsel and represent employers in all 50 states plus Washington, D.C.BRENTWOOD, TN, August 2, 2002 - Now U.S. employers in all 50 states plus Washington, D.C. can turn to a single source to find and retain employment law attorneys in any state to help them comply with the blizzard of new employment laws and regulations affecting the American workplace. The just-created National Employers Counsel Network is comprised of employment law firms from all 50 states, plus the District of Columbia, whose attorneys provide editorial content for M. Lee Smith Publishers' 51 state-specific employment law newsletters. The 51 newsletters are marketed primarily to human resource professionals and in-house counsel at companies. Each of the law firms generally represents management on employment and labor issues and disputes. (A comprehensive list of NECN attorneys and law firms directly follows this press release. Samples of newsletter issues from two states are also attached.) "Never before have so many U.S. companies been so vulnerable to lawsuits and fines related to violations of workplace law," said M. Lee Smith, Chairman & Publisher of M. Lee Smith Publishers LLC. "USA Today recently reported there are over 150,000 wrongful employment practices lawsuits currently filed. Employees who sue companies now win two of three lawsuits that go to trial, with the average damage award being $650,000. So we've created the National Employers Counsel Network to, in part, give businesses in all 50 states a 'one-stop-shopping' way to protect themselves by remaining compliant with state and federal workplace law." Law firms in the network can help employers, for example, by advising on policies and procedures, Family and Medical Leave Act and Americans with Disabilities Act compliance, harassment and discrimination issues, wage and hour claims and many other legal matters. Even if an employer has local counsel, Smith says, the network can connect companies with qualified counsel in other parts of the country "when legal matters cross state lines, as they so often do." "The National Employers Counsel Network represents the next logical evolution of what M. Lee Smith Publishers has been building, step by step, since 1986," said Smith. "Starting with just one state-specific employment law newsletter in Tennessee, our goal was to ultimately publish one in every state, plus Washington, D.C. Now the National Employers Counsel Network takes this nationwide alliance we've created to the next level." Smith said he believes the benefits offered by the National Employers Counsel Network to U.S. business will be extraordinarily helpful. "The existence of the NECN now makes it much easier for any given business, in any given state, to find superior legal counsel and representation whenever they need any type of workplace-related legal assistance," Smith said. "The chief reason our company formed a publishing alliance with these particular 51 firms was their outstanding reputations within their respective states. Their expertise in state and federal employment law matters will be of tremendous value to companies seeking legal assistance. " In addition to the U.S. law firms, the network includes the largest law firm in Canada-McCarthy Tetrault. The firm has law offices in most of the country's provinces, and its attorneys regularly contribute articles to M. Lee Smith Publishers' Employment Law Letters on Canadian employment law issues for U.S. employers. Smith said he expects favorable networking opportunities to arise from the creation of the NECN. "Through their membership in NECN, each law firm will not only have its visibility enhanced within its own state, but also will be able to help businesses in other states deal with in-state employment law issues. The fact that NECN is the only network of its kind with a large national subscriber list is an enormous advantage over other networks."
About M. Lee Smith Publishers LLCFounded in 1975, M. Lee Smith Publishers today is one of America's most influential publishers of newsletters and other information products and services for human resources professionals, business executives, and attorneys. The company offers more than 130 publications, including 50 state-specific employment law newsletters (plus an employment law newsletter for the District of Columbia), as well as videos, software, Internet-based research services, and the popular web site for HR professionals, www.HRHero.com
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