About

Practice Area

Kurker Law focuses exclusively on employment and human resources law.  The firm represents clients throughout Greater Boston in a variety of industries, such as health care, pharmaceuticals, education, universities, real-estate, retail, financial services, environmental services and non-profits. Clients rely on the firm to understand their concerns and to provide solution-oriented advice that balances business and legal objectives. As a boutique firm, Kurker Law provides great value to its clients, that frequently note — and appreciate — the individual attention the firm provides.

Prior to founding Kurker Law, Allyson Kurker worked for five years at Bingham McCutchen in Boston, where she was a member of that firm’s Labor & Employment group.

Allyson lives in Concord, Massachusetts with her husband and two children.

Awards

Allyson Kurker has been recognized by a number of organizations for her work as an employment attorney, including:

• Top Women Attorneys In Massachusetts, Rising Stars (Boston Magazine, 2013)
• New England’s Top Rated Lawyers (The American Lawyer, Corporate Counsel and the National Law Review, 2013).
• Women Leaders in the Law (The American Lawyer, Corporate Counsel and the National Law Review, 2013).
• Awarded an AV Preeminent rating by Martindale Hubbard (4.9 out of 5).  An AV Preeminent rating “is a testament to the fact that a lawyer’s peers rank him or her at the highest level of professional excellence.” (2012)
• Massachusetts Super Lawyers & Rising Stars as one of the top up-and-coming attorneys in the state for 2011 and 2012. Each year, no more than 2.5 percent of the lawyers in the state receive this honor.  This list is compiled and published each year in Boston Magazine.
• Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly and the Massachusetts Bar Associations “Up and Coming Lawyers“.  Awarded annually to 20 attorneys who have been practicing 10 years or less but have already distinguished themselves in their field. (2011)
• Featured in the Boston Business Journal article, “Lawyers Shine Their First Year Out” (2005)
• National Organization for Women “Woman of Courage” Award (1996)

Representative Clients include:

• McGeough Lamaccia Realty
• Associated Environmental Systems
• Law Office of Hillary Dorner
• Home Care Alliance
• Family Nurturing Center
• Retail Association of Massachusetts
• A large Boston university
• A technical college
• A web-design company
• A financial services company
• A Massachusetts restaurant chain
• A non-profit health and human services agency
• A real estate company
• A property management company
• An IT services company
• A jeweler
• A bakery
• A retail store
• A home health care agency
• A mortgage company
• A law firm

In addition to representing businesses, Allyson represents employees in negotiating contracts to join and separate from their employers.

Articles

• Office Romances Gone Awry
• Temporary Workers, Permanent Obligations
• Managing the Haze of the Medical Marijuana Law
• SJC Refuses to Enforce General Release of Wage Act
• State Announces Increased Efforts to Crack Down on Illegal Use of Independent Contractors
• Retaliation Claims that Cost Big
• On the Road: Determining Whether Travel Time Must Be Compensated
• Back to School: Debunking the Unpaid Intern Myth
• First Circuit Advises Re Employment Applications
• Round 2 of CORI Reform
• Massachusetts Extends Protection to Transgendered Employees
• MA High Court Rules on Whether Employee Who Accepted Incentive-Based Lay Off Is Entitled to Unemployment
• How Employers Can Host a Summer Party Without Getting Burned
• MA High Court Extends Retaliation Protection: Rules Company Retaliated Against Former Employee 2 Years Post-Employment
• EEOC Issues Final Regulations Implementing the ADAAA
• 1st Circuit Rules Employer Took Adequate Steps to Stop Harassment
• Supreme Court Rules Employer Search of Racy Texts Did Not Violate Employees’ Privacy
• Give Her A Break: Reasonable Break Time Afforded Nursing Mothers
• Personnel Records Amendment Places Increased Burden on Employers
• A Winter Wonderland Is Predicted: Do You Have A Plan?
• MCAD Issues Fact Sheet: Provides CORI Interpretation and Guidance
• Co-author, “Employers Bear the Burden Regarding Layoff Criteria,” Bingham.com (June 24, 2008)

Speaking Engagements

• Employment Law Landmines in Social Media, Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education (June 2013)
• Facebook vs. Handbook: Handling Terminations that Involve Social Media, NEHRA Small Business Committee (April 2013)
• What’s Around the Corner? Agency Initiatives for the Coming Year (NEHRA, April 2013)
• Why Involuntary Terminations Go Wrong, Human Resources Directors’ Group, OI Partners (March 2013)
• Human Resources Considerations for Entrepreneurs, Center for Women & Enterprise (Dec. 2012)
• Moderator of the FMLA panel presentation to the NorthEast Contact Center Forum (Sept. 2012)
• Wage & Hour Program for the Health Care Alliance (Chicopee and Boston – May 2012)
• Lecturer at Northeastern University School of Law (March 2012)
• What Employers Need to Know about Massachusetts Wage and Hour Laws (Sept. 2011)
• Don’t Let a Day at the Beach Land You in Hot Water: Understanding Employer Responsibility and Liability at Off-Site Social Functions (NEHRA Webinar, June 2011)
• Your Employment Law Toolkit: What Employers Need To Know About Massachusetts Employment Law (Assabet Valley Chamber of Commerce, February 2011)
• Work-Life Balance Seminar for Law Students (Women’s Bar Association, December 2010)
• Your Employment Law Toolkit: What Employers Need To Know About Massachusetts Employment Law (Visiting Angels of New England, October 2010)
• Sexual Harassment Awareness & Prevention (MPR Associates, Alexandria, Virginia, October 2010)
• Boston Bar Association panel “How to find a job in a down economy” (October 2010, Boston College Law School)
• Employment Law for Business, Small (and Not So Small): Landmines and Checklists (New England Human Resources Association, September 2010)
• “Life is a Balancing Act” (MassMutual Financial Group, April 2010)
• Litigating a Case at the MCAD (August 2008, Bingham McCutchen)

Activities and Admissions

• Featured in Skirting the Barriers: The Unfinished Story of Women Lawyers and Judges in Massachusetts
• Committee Member to redraft the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination’s Maternity (Parental) Leave Regulations
• Volunteer Consultant to the Center for Women and Enterprise, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping women start and grow their own business
• Member, Northeast Human Resources Association (NEHRA) Legal and Legislative Committee
• Co-Chair, Women’s Bar Association’s “Mothers’ Forum”
• Member, Middlesex West Chamber of Commerce
• American Bar Association
• Massachusetts Bar Association Labor & Employment Section
• Admitted to practice in Massachusetts; U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts; U.S. Court of Appeals, First Circuit; United States Supreme Court.

Education

• Northeastern University School of Law, Juris Doctor
• Connecticut College, Bachelor of Arts, Economics

Clerkships

• Bingham McCutchen LLP
• United States Attorneys’ Office, Boston, Massachusetts
• Sherin & Logden LLP, Boston, Massachusetts
• Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights, Boston, Massachusetts