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RandyOppenheimer

He | Him | His

Partner

"Wise men speak because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something." —Plato

Buffalo
P: 716.858.3780
M: 716.308.3843
Overview

Biography

With 40 years of legal experience, Randy represents clients in complex commercial, labor, employment, and other litigation matters before state and federal courts, administrative and regulatory bodies, and in arbitration and mediation proceedings.

In addition to his role at Barclay Damon, Randy is an appointed member of the US District Court for the Western District of New York Panel of Mediators and is a certified commercial mediator for the NYS Supreme Court Eighth Judicial District, which includes Allegany, Cattaraugus, Erie, Genesee, Niagara, Orleans, and Wyoming counties.

Bar Associations

  • American Bar Association
  • Bar Association of Erie County
  • New York Bar Association

Selected Memberships & Affiliations

  • Buffalo Niagara Human Resource Association
  • Labor and Employment Research Association of WNY
  • Society of Human Resource Managers
Experience

Representative Experience

  • Represented the president of a public company in successful breach-of-contract arbitration, resulting in a $5.2 million award.
  • Represented a health care employer in the successful prosecution of non-competition litigation involving former employees.
  • Represented not-for-profit and for-profit health care organizations in the successful defense of discrimination claims based on age, sex, race, religion, gender, disability, harassment, national origin, and retaliation theories brought by individuals and groups in federal and state court and with the NYS Department of Human Resources and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
  • Represented not-for-profit and for-profit health care organizations in connection with union-organizing efforts, collective bargaining, and in the defense of unfair-labor-practice charges.
  • Represented business clients and governmental agencies in the successful defense of discrimination claims based on age, sex, race, religion, gender, disability, harassment, national origin, and retaliation theories brought by individuals and groups in federal and state court and with the DHR and the EEOC.
  • Represented business clients in connection with union-organizing efforts, collective bargaining, and in defense of unfair-labor-practice charges.
  • Represented towns and governmental agencies in connection with collective bargaining and in defense of unfair-labor-practice charges.
  • Represented clients before the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) with respect to alleged violations of NYS and federal safety regulations.
  • Represented employers before the NYS and federal Departments of Labor with respect to the successful defense of charges and in connection with compliance matters.
  • Mediated cases for the federal and state courts as selectee of the parties and their counsel in matters involving employment, commercial, and intellectual property issues.
  • Represented a B2B technology company defending a race discrimination claim, establishing that a plaintiff alleging discrimination placed her mental condition in controversy sufficient to permit discovery of her medical records and a mental examination under FRCP 35(a) by pleading more than “garden-variety emotional distress.”
  • Represented a Toronto-based designer of products sold in 75 countries to enforce a settlement agreement reached during mediation, barring the manufacture of an infringing design.
  • Represented a condemnee against a condemnor who was deemed to have abandoned the project, resulting in a multi-million settlement payment to the plaintiff.
  • Represented an equipment contractor in a claim from a trustee for benefit contributions to union benefits fund, resolving the claim for substantially less than the claimed damages.
  • Represented a staffing company in a disability discrimination and retaliation case in the US District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.

Prior Experience

  • Damon Morey LLP, Partner
  • Kavinoky Cook, LLP, Partner
  • Kavinoky Cook, LLP, Associate

Selected Community Activities

  • Bar Association of Erie County, Fee Dispute Tribunal Volunteer Arbitrator
  • University at Buffalo School of Law, Adjunct Faculty

Selected Honors

  • The Best Lawyers in America®: Employment Law – Management, Labor Law – Management, and Litigation – Labor & Employment, 2011–2023
  • Selected to Super Lawyers Upstate New York: Employment & Labor, 2007–2022
  • Chambers USA, Upstate New York: Labor & Employment, 2020–2022
  • Daily Record, Power 20 Litigation List, 2021
  • Buffalo Business First: Legal Elite of Western New York List and Who’s Who in Law Awards, 2007–2020

Knowledge

Selected Speaking Engagements

  • New York State Bar Association, “Effective Arbitration & Mediation Advocacy”
  • New York State Bar Association, “Deposition Practice”
  • Bar Association of Erie County, “Arbitrating the Commercial Dispute”
  • US District Court for the Western District of New York, “Mediator Training – Local Practice Component”
  • University at Buffalo School of Law and Erie Institute of Law, “Commercial Mediation Training”

Selected Media

Selected Alerts & Blog Posts

Selected Podcasts

Overview Experience Knowledge

Education

  • Case Western Reserve University School of Law, JD
  • University of Vermont, BA

Practices & Industries

Admitted to Practice

  • New York
  • US District Court for the Northern District of New York
  • US District Court for the Western District of New York
  • US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit

Featured Media

Alerts

Website Accessibility Lawsuits: Several New "Tester" Plaintiffs—Jovan Campbell, Kimberly Miller, Nadreca Reid, and Jahron Black—Targeting Businesses in Recent Flurry of Federal Court Litigation

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About Website Accessibility Lawsuits: Several New "Tester" Plaintiffs—Jovan Campbell, Kimberly Miller, Nadreca Reid, and Jahron Black—Targeting Businesses in Recent Flurry of Federal Court Litigation

Alerts

NYS Public Service Commission Modifies Energy Storage Solicitations

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About NYS Public Service Commission Modifies Energy Storage Solicitations

Alerts

Second Circuit Dismisses Bad Faith Claim as Time-Barred "Loss" Under Property Insurance Policy

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About Second Circuit Dismisses Bad Faith Claim as Time-Barred "Loss" Under Property Insurance Policy

Alerts

New York Executive Law 135-c: Electronic Notarization

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About New York Executive Law 135-c: Electronic Notarization

Alerts

Website Accessibility Lawsuits: Several New "Tester" Plaintiffs—Christopher Walters, Denise Crumwell, Braulio Thorne, and Linda Slade—Targeting Businesses in Recent Flurry of State and Federal Court Litigation

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About Website Accessibility Lawsuits: Several New "Tester" Plaintiffs—Christopher Walters, Denise Crumwell, Braulio Thorne, and Linda Slade—Targeting Businesses in Recent Flurry of State and Federal Court Litigation

Alerts

Rights of a Real Estate Buyer When a Seller Is in Bankruptcy

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About Rights of a Real Estate Buyer When a Seller Is in Bankruptcy
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