Cyrus E. Dugger (cd@theduggerlawfirm.com)

Cyrus E. Dugger is the Principal of The Dugger Law Firm, PLLC.  He has represented hundreds of employees in employment discrimination and wage and hour matters, including complex class and collective action litigation against major U.S. corporations and governmental entities including the City of New York.

Mr. Dugger has worked on some of the most cutting-edge cases in the employment field, including a gender discrimination class action against Goldman Sachs (Chen-Oster v. Goldman Sachs), which recently settled for $215 million, a disparate impact gender discrimination class action against the Connecticut Department of Correction challenging its use of a physical agility test (Easterling v. Connecticut Department of Correction), which settled for $3 million and substantial pension benefit relief for the class, and a successful appeal to the Second Circuit by a model challenging her classification as an independent contractor by her modeling agency (Agerbrink v. MSA), after which the matter was settled by the parties on mutually agreeable terms, on an individual basis, for $500,000.

Mr. Dugger’s practice involves all areas of discrimination, retaliation, and wage and hour law, including failure to provide reasonable disability accommodations, protected leaves of absence from work under the ADA, FMLA, NYPFL, NYSHRL, and NYCHRL, harassment, stereotyping, and other forms of discrimination including sex, race, pregnancy, color, and sex-plus discrimination, as well as independent contractor misclassification, unpaid overtime, and wage notice claims. His practice includes substantial experience with the liberal provisions of the New York City Human Rights Law, including NYCHRL claims for verbal harassment, interference with NYCHRL rights, NYCHRL aiding and abetting violations, and NYCHRL retaliation claims.

He additionally assists NYC models with claims against their modeling agencies and NYC consumers affected by unfair and deceptive practices.

Mr. Dugger has also advocated to improve the employment laws available to New York employees, including working on initial drafts of language that would become part of the 2019 amendments to the New York State Human Rights Law, and repeatedly promoting needed improvements to the whistleblower protections of New York Labor Law 740, many of which were ultimately passed into law in 2021.

In addition, Mr. Dugger has an alternative dispute resolution mediation practice focusing on employment disputes. Mr. Dugger is a member of the Southern District of New York, Eastern District of New York, Nassau County Supreme Court, and the NYC Small Claims Court mediation panels. Mr. Dugger is also a graduate of the inaugural classes of the EDNY’s Pilot Mediator Incubator and JAMS Diversity Fellowship program.

Mr. Dugger is also a board member of The Fund for Modern Courts, an independent, statewide court reform organization committed to improving the judicial system for all New Yorkers.

Prior to establishing The Dugger Law Firm, PLLC, Mr. Dugger was a Law Clerk to the Honorable Victoria A. Roberts in the Eastern District of Michigan, an Associate with Outten & Golden, LLP, a Staff Attorney with South Brooklyn Legal Services, and the first Senior Fellow in Civil Justice for the Drum Major Institute for Public Policy.  

Education

  • J.D., New York University School of Law (Arthur Garfield Hays Fellow)

  • B.A., Brown University

Admissions

  • New York State, Southern District of New York, Eastern District of New York, and United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

Speaking Engagements

Publications

 
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Monica Welby (mwelby@theduggerlawfirm.com)

Monica Welby is Counsel of The Dugger Law Firm, PLLC. She represents individuals who face discrimination, retaliation, and other violations of their rights in the workplace.

Prior to joining The Dugger Law Firm, PLLC, Monica was an employment attorney with Goddard Law PLLC and was the Deputy Director of Litigation at the Legal Action Center, a non-profit based in New York City, where she worked for several years representing and advising clients on discrimination and privacy matters relating to criminal records, substance use disorders, and HIV/AIDS. Monica commenced her legal career as an associate with Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP where she worked for a number of years representing companies in a variety of complex litigation matters. She also was a law clerk to the Honorable Barry T. Albin of the Supreme Court of New Jersey. In 2019, Monica was recognized by the Hispanic National Bar Association as Pro Bono Attorney of the Year.

Education

  •  J.D., Rutgers School of Law – Newark

  • A.B., Duke University, cum laude

Admissions

  •  State of New York, U.S. District Courts for Southern District of New York and Eastern District of New York

  • State of New Jersey, U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey

 Speaking Engagements

  • Panelist, Criminal Justice & Police-Community Relations Panel, Second Annual Summit on Latin@s Shaping the Future of New York City, held at Hunter College Silberman School of Social Work, June 1, 2018

  • CLE Panelist, Overcoming Barriers to Employment for Workers with Criminal Records in New York, National Lawyers Guild-NYC, Nov. 14, 2017

  • CLE Co-Presenter, Criminal Records in the Employment Process: What Employers & Applicants Need to Know, myLawCLE, June 20, 2017

  • CLE Co-Presenter, Employment of Individuals with Criminal Records – What Employers and Applicants Need to Know, Lawline, Nov. 3, 2016 

  • Panelist, 1 Year Anniversary of the Fair Chance Act: You Deserve a Fair Chance in Employment, hosted by NYC Commission on Human Rights, Oct. 27, 2016

  • CLE Panelist, Ethical Issues in Employment Law, NYCBA, Oct. 6, 2016 

  • Panelist, Removing Barriers: Knowing, Enforcing, & Protecting Your Civil Rights After Justice System Involvement Panel, Beyond the Bars: Connecting the Struggles Conference, Columbia School of Social Work, Mar. 5, 2016

  • Moderator, Arrest and Conviction Records: What Employers, Lawyers, and Prospective Employees Need to Know, NYCBA Event, June 3, 2015

  • CLE Panelist, Ethical Issues in Employment Law, NYCBA, Oct. 17, 2013

Kate Nuñez (knunez@theduggerlawfirm.com)

Kate Nuñez is Of Counsel at The Dugger Law Firm, PLLC. She represents employees in discrimination, retaliation, and wage‑and‑hour matters and brings more than fifteen years of combined litigation, legal education, and legal‑writing experience to plaintiff‑side employment cases. Her work draws on deep familiarity with Title VII, the ADA, the ADEA, the FMLA, and the FLSA, as well as related New York statutes.

Before joining the firm, Kate was a Legal Writing Coach for Jackson Lewis P.C., where she provided one‑on‑one and group coaching to attorneys on legal writing, legal research, and litigation strategy in the employment‑law context; taught attorneys to identify, research, and analyze claims under Title VII, the ADA, the ADEA, the FMLA, and the FLSA; and designed and delivered more than fifteen web‑based training programs on legal writing, employment discrimination law, and deposition skills.

Previously, Kate served on the law faculty at Nova Southeastern University, where for more than a decade she taught Employment Discrimination, Civil Procedure, and Legal Research & Writing; she also developed and taught advanced courses in a Master of Employment Law program (including Whistleblower Law, Wage and Hour Law, and Federal Employment Statutes and Regulations). She has published multiple law review articles and a book chapter on employment law and judicial decision‑making.

Earlier in her career, Kate practiced in New York for more than a decade, representing both management‑side employers and individual employees in employment matters. Her primary focus was employment discrimination litigation—including harassment, retaliation, and wrongful‑termination cases—under federal, state, and city statutes. She assessed and triaged claims; managed complex cases from intake through discovery and dispositive motion practice; drafted pleadings and EEOC position statements; and prepared clients for mediation and trial.

Education

  • J.D., University of Pennsylvania Law School (Executive Editor, Journal of International Economic Law)

  • B.A., Political Science, cum laude, Tufts University

Admissions

  • New York

  • U.S. District Courts: Southern District of New York; Eastern District of New York

Speaking & Teaching (selected)

  • Designer and presenter of 15+ web‑based trainings for practicing attorneys on legal writing, employment discrimination, and deposition skills

  • Presenter, Eleventh Circuit Scholars Forum; Florida Bar Association Annual Meeting; Southeastern Association of Law Schools Conference; Midwest Political Science Association Annual Conference

Publications (selected)

  • Persuasive or Pipe Dream? The Feminist Judgments Project’s Potential Influence on Judicial Decision Making, British Journal of American Legal Studies (2021)

  • Toxic Cultures Require a Stronger Cure: The Lessons of Fox News for Reforming Sexual Harassment Law, in Women and the Law (2018 ed.); originally in Penn State Law Review (2017)

  • Families are More Popular than Feminism: Exploring the Greater Judicial Success of Family and Medical Leave Laws, Columbia Journal of Gender & Law (2016)

  • It is Political: Using the Models of Judicial Decision‑Making to Explain the Ideological History of Title VII, St. John’s Law Review (2015)

  • Correcting the Supreme Court—Will It Listen? Using the Models of Judicial Decision‑Making to Predict the Future of the ADA Amendments Act, Southern California Interdisciplinary Law Journal (2014)

 

Hanna Abebe (habebe@theduggerlawfirm.com)

Hanna Abebe is the Director of Artificial Intelligence and Product for The Dugger Law Firm. She leads the development and implementation of AI-driven solutions and product strategies, focusing on implementing and improving systems for the firm and its clients.

Prior to joining The Dugger Law Firm, Hanna was the IT Lead Project Manager at LimeLife by Alcone, a subsidiary of the L’Occitane Group, where she managed global cross-functional teams and oversaw the launch of high-impact digital products, including CMS platforms, PIM systems, and mobile applications across international markets. Previously, she worked as a Senior Project Coordinator at PMX Agency, where she managed multiple engineering projects using Agile methodologies.

Education

  • M.B.A., Marketing Management, Wayne State University

  • B.S., Management Information Systems, Wayne State University

  • Artificial Intelligence for Product Certification (AIPC)™, Product School

  • Product Management Certificate, Cornell University

Khadijah Majeed (kmajeed@theduggerlawfirm.com)

Khadijah Majeed is the Director of Operations for The Dugger Law Firm, PLLC

Ms. Majeed is responsible for firm operations including daily logistics and development of long-term operational strategies to enhance the firm’s litigation and client experience. Ms. Majeed excels at document management systems and utilizing software to enhance the firm’s performance with respect to all aspects of its operations.