Legal Expertise

Christie Del Rey-Cone represents employers in the financial services, technology, entertainment, pharmaceutical, insurance, and transportation industries in a broad range of federal and state court litigation and arbitration, employment counseling, and human resource training. Christie’s litigation experience includes defending clients against complex discrimination, harassment and retaliation suits, and collective wage and hour actions, among other matters. She has extensive experience counseling human resources and legal departments regarding general employment and leave policies, handbooks, terminations, employee classifications, whistleblower issues, restrictive covenants, diversity programs, and benefits and compensation. Christie’s practice also includes conducting investigations and wage/hour and employee classification audits, and leading training programs on conducting internal investigations, proper classification of employees, compliance with reasonable accommodation laws, and programs on anti-harassment, anti-discrimination, and anti-retaliation policies and best practices. Christie serves as a mediator in both private and pro-bono settings.  

Representative Matters

• McElroy v. Sands Casino, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2416 (E.D. Pa. 2014) (granting defendant’s motion to strike plaintiff's opposition to summary judgment motion and granting defendant’s motion for summary  judgment on the merits as to plaintiff's breach of contract and FMLA claims).*
• Wenzel v. NYU Hospitals Center, 10-CV-2462 (RMB)(S.D.N.Y. Dec. 27, 2011) (granting summary judgment dismissing plaintiff’s claims of gender and age discrimination, retaliation and hostile work environment).*
• Reid v. SuperShuttle Int’l, Inc. 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 26831 (E.D.N.Y. 2010) (court compelled arbitration of plaintiffs’ wage and hour claims and enforced class action waiver in arbitration clause).*
• Duviella v. JetBlue Airways Corp., 2009 U.S. App. LEXIS 24895 (2d Cir. 2009) (affirming summary judgment dismissing race and age discriminations claims by plaintiff who was fired for violating nonharassment policy).*
• Weir v. The Guardian Life Ins. Co. of Am., 2009 U.S. App. LEXIS 23941 (2d Cir. 2009) (affirming summary judgment dismissing plaintiff’s breach of contract and reformation claims).*
• Brookhaven Science Assocs., LLC v. Donaldson, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 58793 (S.D.N.Y. 2007) (case of first impression where court granted declaratory judgment holding that NYS Division of Human Rights lacked jurisdiction to enforce NYHRL against Brookhaven).*

Complex Litigation and ERISA Cases: 

• Oakley v. Verizon Communications Inc., 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12975 (S.D.N.Y. 2010) (denying plaintiffs’ motion to certify a class as to their FMLA claims).*
• Kuznetsov, et al. v. XpresSpa, U.S.D.C., E.D.N.Y. (2010-2011) (purported class action alleging national origin discrimination).*
• In re Agway, Inc. 401(k) ERISA Litig., U.S.D.C., N.D.N.Y. (2003-2008) (represented 25 members of board of directors of Agway in two 401(k) “stock drop” cases – one by independent fiduciary and the other by U.S. DOL – alleging that directors breached their ERISA fiduciary duties and engaged in prohibited transactions in connection with 401(k) plan participants’ losses from investments in Agway’s securities; case settled for $11.55m, with named defendants allowed to participate in settlement fund and no injunctive relief against directors).*

Wage and Hour Cases: 

• Kuznetsov, et al. v. XpresSpa, U.S.D.C., E.D.N.Y. (2010-2011) (purported collective/class action alleging denial of minimum wage and overtime pay).*
• Allen, et al. v. amNew York, et al., N.Y.S. Sup. Ct. (2007-2010) (represented amNew York in purported class action by newspaper “hawkers” to recover minimum wages under N.Y. Labor Law).*
• Dorofy, et al. v. American Int’l Group, Inc., U.S.D.C., D. N.J. (2007) (collective action by insurance adjusters seeking overtime pay under FLSA; case voluntarily dismissed during discovery, after court limited discovery to named plaintiffs only).*

*Indicates matters handled prior to joining MSK

Honors & Awards

• The Best Lawyers in America: Litigation - Labor & Employment (2018-2023) 
• New York Metro Super Lawyers (2011-2022) 
• Chambers USA: America's Leading Business Lawyers (2007, 2010-2017) 

Professional, Business and civic Affiliations

Mediation Panels: 

• Mediator, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (January 2021-Present)
• Special Master, New York State Court Appellate Division, First Department (November 2019-Present) 

Other Affiliations: 

• Councilwoman for the Borough of Rutherford, New Jersey (January 2023-Present)
• Commissioner, Rutherford Civil Rights Commission (January 2021-December 2022) 
• Board Member, American Cancer Society Manhattan Board of Advisors (2016-2019)
• President, The PDR Foundation for the Study of Uterine Cancer (2005-2021) 
• Committee Member, American Cancer Society's Hope Lodge NYC Women's Committee of Hope (2012-2015) 

Other Career Experience

• Founding Partner, Cerasia & Del Rey-Cone LLP 
• Partner, Curley, Hessinger & Johnsrud LLP 
• Secondee, Legal Department Employment Law Group, Goldman Sachs & Co.
• Partner, Seyfarth Shaw LLP 
• Associate, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP 
• Associate, Proskauer Rose LLP 
• Judicial Law Clerk, The Honorable Arlene R. Lindsay, U.S. Magistrate Judge, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York 

Headlines

Publications

Client Alerts

Events & Speaking Engagements