Daniel F. Thornton represents employers in workplace law matters, including preventive counseling and litigation avoidance. He has defended a wide range of employment law claims, including harassment, discrimination, retaliation, whistleblower, and wage-and-hour actions, and has first-chair deposition and trial experience.
Dan recognizes that each client has particularized needs that vary based on their regulatory environment, business requirements, and stakeholders involved. He strives to become an extension of his client’s team and anticipate needs before they arise. Dan’s experience includes counseling clients, drafting policies and employee handbooks, conducting internal investigations, managing discovery, taking and defending depositions, and arguing motions and appeals.
In past practice, Dan assisted a medical facility in obtaining dismissal of a nurse’s harassment claims and helped a large professional-services employer obtain summary judgment against all claims raised in an age- and race-discrimination action.
Prior to entering private practice, Dan spent several years as a deputy attorney general with the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General, where he dove head-first into employment law and never looked back. In this role, he represented New Jersey in litigation involving discrimination, retaliation, employee benefits, and a putative breach-of-contract class action, among other matters, and briefed numerous appeals before the New Jersey Appellate Division and Supreme Court. During the 2014-2015 court term, Dan clerked for the Honorable Carmen H. Alvarez, Presiding Judge of the New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division.
