Alex S.Drummond

Alex has represented employers in class and collective actions and multiplaintiff claims involving discrimination/harassment on the basis of age, race, national origin, and other protected classifications. He has leveraged this experience with the talents of others operating in high impact class-action teams to secure dismissal of substantial multi-plaintiff claims. In addition, when it has advantaged the employer, Alex has structured complex case-resolution strategies for the efficient disposition of otherwise costly actions.

Among his various cases, Alex has been instrumental in representing Sterling Jewelers in the largest current pending EEOC discrimination lawsuit in the country entitled EEOC v. Sterling Jewelers Inc. In that case, which involved claims of systemic gender discrimination in pay and promotions, the Seyfarth team recently fractured the case by defeating the EEOC’s “punitive damages bifurcation” theory, which is reported at EEOC v. Sterling Jewelers Inc., 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 44255 (W.D. NY April 25, 2011). This is the first ruling that ever defeated this tactic of the EEOC.

Alex’s class experience also includes a significant understanding of emerging discovery and electronic discovery issues. He has managed large scale discovery in class actions and in EEOC-initiated lawsuits, and has helped secure ground-breaking discovery decisions in such cases, including in EEOC v. Kaplan Higher Education Corporation, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 57829 (N.D. OH May 27, 2011), where the Court compelled the EEOC to produce a Rule 30(b)(6) witness to testify about the Commission’s own hiring practices. This is the first ruling that ever held that the EEOC’s own employment practices are relevant to show a business necessity in disparate impact cases.

Alex also has extensive experience litigating against the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, both at the early charge stage, administrative subpoena enforcement actions, and in large-scale EEOC pattern-and-practice litigation. When the EEOC has resorted to litigation, Alex has defended our clients against these often high-profile systemic cases, working with any number of class action teams to achieve efficient and effective case resolution.

Beyond this complex litigation experience, Alex also serves as the firm’s Atlanta office coordinator for the Single-Plaintiff Litigation practice group. As a member of this practice group, he has defended employers ranging from Fortune 100 companies to small businesses against the full spectrum of cases involving allegations of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation, as well as employment related breach of contract and tort claims. In addition, he represents parties in non-competition, non-solicitation, and other restrictive covenant claims. Alex has argued before federal appellate courts and has obtained successful results for our clients, including a favorable decision for a large national retailer in a complex disability case that was featured in prominent employment law publications.

Alex has served as chapter co-chair and assistant associate editor for the 2002 Supplement to the Lindemann & Grossman’s Employment Discrimination Law treatise. He has given numerous speeches and presentations on employment law issues, including on best practices in litigating collective actions under the ADEA, and has authored various postings in the firm’s Class Action Blog at www.workplaceclassaction.com.

Alex is dedicated to serving his community through his pro bono efforts. In 2016, he was named the firm’s Pro Bono Partner of the Year for this dedication, including work with organizations like the Pro Bono Partnership of Atlanta. Alex has worked closely with the Pro Bono Partnership of Atlanta to coordinate and participate in the Rapid Remedy clinic, an annual event in the firm’s Atlanta office for the past three years that offers attorneys the opportunity to serve the community and share employment expertise during a half-day legal clinic. In total since the start of the clinic, 23 nonprofits have been served.

In 2019, Alex joined the board of directors for Georgia Asylum and Immigration Network (GAIN), an organization whose mission is to provide free immigration legal services to victims of crime and persecution. In this role,  Alex coordinates a training for attorneys and paralegals in the Atlanta office. Participants learn how to engage with the Victims of Violence Program, which helps immigrant victims of human trafficking, domestic violence, and sexual abuse receive access to quality legal representation for their immigration matters. This effort includes utilizing Seyfarth’s large immigration team as support resource for volunteers outside of the law firm.