Richard C. Van Nostrand

• Duke University School of Law JD (1980)
• Binghamton University BA (1977)

• Obtained a million dollar plus jury verdict on behalf of a manufacturer in the United States District Court in a breach of contract claim against its former joint venturer
• Obtained substantial award in private arbitration in favor of minority shareholder for breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duties by majority shareholders
• Obtained substantial award in private arbitration in favor of travel industry plaintiff for breach of contract by joint venturer
• Obtained defense jury verdicts in favor of world-renowned university against breach of contract claims in the Worcester Superior Court
• Obtained dismissal of claims against a businesswoman by a private lender seeking to hold her liable for developer spouse’s debt in the Worcester Superior Court; successfully defended dismissal in the Massachusetts Appeals Court
• Secured preliminary and permanent injunctions in the Business Litigation Session of Suffolk Superior Court on behalf of a nanotechnology business against its former chief chemist for trade secret misappropriation
• Successfully defended packaging supplier in the Business Litigation Session of Suffolk Superior Court against efforts to restrain its competitive activities
• Obtained verdict in favor of lighting distributor against former customer; successfully defended verdict in the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court

Representative Matters – Employment Litigation

• Obtained jury verdict in favor of a municipality, its Board of Selectmen and its chief professional officer against claims of sexual harassment and retaliation in the United States District Court
• Obtained jury verdict in defense of gender and pregnancy discrimination claims against professional services firm in the Worcester Superior Court
• Obtained jury verdict in defense of office solutions company in the United States District Court against a race discrimination claim brought by a regional sales manager
• Successfully defended a higher education institution against jury claim of breach of contract and gender discrimination by its former dean in the Worcester Superior Court
• Obtained dismissal of gender discrimination and other statutory and common law claims on summary judgment against aerospace manufacturer in the Worcester Superior Court; successfully defended dismissal in the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
• Obtained dismissal of disability discrimination claims against professional services firm in the United States District Court; successfully defended dismissal in the United States First Circuit Court of Appeals
• Obtained jury verdict in defense of age discrimination claims by salesman against automobile dealership in the Middlesex Superior Court
• Obtained jury verdict in defense of discrimination claims against warehouse and bulk supplier in the United States District Court
• Obtained dismissal of wrongful termination and wrongful death claims against plastics executive in the Middlesex Superior Court

Publications/Presentations

Topic: Restrictive Covenants, Noncompetition Agreements and Trade Secrets

• Author, The Times They Keep A-Changing: The New Illinois Restrictions On The Use Of Non-Compete And Non-Solicit Agreements (2022); The District of Columbia’s Aggressive Ban on Non-Compete Agreements Likely To Take Effect in 2022 (2022); A Trap for the Unwary: A Furlough May Compromise Your Non-Compete Agreement (2020); More News on Restrictive Covenants: SJC Speaks on Anti-Raiding Clauses and Equitable Remedies (2020); The Summer of Noncompete Reform: Three Other New England States Get In On the Act – Part 1, “Off-The-Clock” (2019); The Summer of Noncompete Reform: Three Other New England States Get In On the Act – Part 2 (2019); More News On the Noncompete Front: Employers Should Still Expect Strict Scrutiny Of Their Restrictive Covenant Agreements (2019); The Noncompetition Agreements Act and Garden Leave: Another Open Question Answered (2019), “Off-The-Clock” Mirick O’Connell Employment Blog
• Presenter, Proposed National Ban on Noncompetes: What Employers Need to Know, Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Webinar (2021)
• Author, The Era of Noncompete Reform in New England, Worcester County Bar Association, Legal Lines (2020)
• Podcast, Non-Competition Agreements Act of Massachusetts, On Air with Mirick O’Connell (2020)
• Presenter, The Massachusetts Noncompetition Act - 15 Months Later, Worcester County Bar Association (2020)
• Panelist, “1st Look” at Massachusetts’ New Noncompete & Trade Secret Laws, MCLE (2018)
• Panelist, Protecting Customer Goodwill and Confidential Information With Non-Competition Agreements: Are They Worth The Paper They’re Printed On? Massachusetts Bar Association (2008)
• Panelist, Making and Breaking Non-Compete Agreements: Enforcement Strategies, Massachusetts Bar Association (2008)

Topic: Employment Law

• Author, A Rebalancing for Wage Act Claims and Class Actions? (2019); WARN Act Violations ≠ Wage Act Violations (2019); “Off-The-Clock” Mirick O’Connell Employment Blog
• Moderator, Recruitment and Retention of Medical Personnel in a Volatile Landscape, Iandoli, Desai and Cronin and Mirick O’Connell Client Seminar (2016)
• Moderator, Pay Equity Audits: To Audit or Not To Audit, That Is The Question? (2018); Words Matter Or Do They: Dealing with Micro-Aggressions (And Micro-Aggressors) in the Workplace (2016); Fifty Shades of Gray: Coping with Employment Records and Personnel Files (2014); The Highs and Lows of the HR World (Workplace Violence and Medical Marijuana Law) (2013) Are You Serious?! That’s a Real Claim (Associational Discrimination, Cat’s Paw Liability and Subconscious Bias) (2012); Challenges Presented to Employers by the Widening World of Social Media (2011); Independent Contractors; Family Responsibilities Discrimination and Management Do’s and Don’t’s (2010); Managing the Challenging / Challenged Employee (2009); Human Resources Management Association Seminars
• Panelist, The Massachusetts Equal Pay Act and Pay Equity Audits: Why and How? (2018); The Wheel of Misfortune: Reasonable Accommodation Under the ADA (2016); Top Areas to Focus On To Ensure Your HR House Is In Order (2013); Advanced Topics for the Human Resources Professional (2012); Avoiding Legal Pitfalls When Managing FMLA and Disability-related Leaves of Absence (2011); Advanced Topics Under the Americans with Disabilities Act: Walking the Fine Line With the Addicted Employee (2007); Mirick O’Connell Annual Labor, Employment and Employee Benefits Seminars

Topic: Trial Practice

• Contributor, Selected Case Investigation Techniques: Conducting Client Interviews, Obtaining Witness Statements, and Using Investigators, Houlihan, J., editor, MASSACHUSETTS DISCOVERY PRACTICE (MCLE, 2002, original publication date, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2021 supplements)
• Panelist, Attorney Conducted Voir Dire, Worcester County Bar Association (2016, 2015)
• Moderator, Voir Dire: Watch & Learn, MCLE (2016)

Topic: Legal Profession and the Practice of Law

• Author, FinCEN and ABA Resolution 100 – BOLO “Red Flags” (2024); The “No Contact” Rule and “Reply All”; How Far Is Too Far; So Your Unhappy Client Has Played the BBO Card; The Right Way to Get Engaged; A General Counsel’s Worst Nightmare; Referral Fees Revisited; In the Age of FinCEN, What You Don’t Know May Hurt You(r Client); ‘Tis the Season .. to Ethically Collect Your Receivables (2023); No Good Deed Goes Unpunished (or at least unadmonished by the BBO), What To Do If You Are the Subject of a Negative Online Review? (2022); General Counsel Corner (internal newsletter)
• Panelist, Optimizing Your Fee Agreement, Worcester County Bar Association (2022)
• Panelist, Practicing with Professionalism (2015, 2014), MCLE, Inc., (2015) Massachusetts Bar Association
• Panelist, More Then Billable Hours: Public Interest, Community Participation and Scholarship (2013); Outside the Office: Community Leadership from Busy Lawyers (2011); Duke University School of Law, Business Law Society
• Panelist, Managing Divisive Issues – Entering the Fray and Living to Tell About It (2004); American Bar Association, National Association of Bar Executives

Topic: Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging

• Panelist, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Forum, Worcester Business Journal, November 16, 2023
• “Diversity and Inclusion in Law Firms,” On Air with Mirick O’Connell legal podcast, April 15, 2020

Professional / Community Affiliations

• Board of Bar Overseers, Member by appointment of the Supreme Judicial Court
• MCLE, Inc., Emeritus Trustee
• Massachusetts Bar Association, past president
• New England Bar Association, past president
• Worcester County Bar Association, past president
• American Bar Association, former Delegate from Massachusetts
• Judicial Nominating Commission, former Commissioner by appointment of the Governor
• Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation, former Director by appointment of the Supreme Judicial Court

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