Denise Schulman

Denise Schulman joined Joseph & Kirschenbaum in 2009 and became a partner in 2017. Currently, she assists with overall firm management while also maintaining an active docket.

Denise represents clients with all types of employment claims, including wage and hour, discrimination, retaliation, and harassment. Denise has won several arbitrations, including obtaining an award of more than $900,000 for an attorney who was not paid all wages due and an award of over $300,000 for three restaurant employees with wage theft and tip theft claims.

She has also been instrumental in several of Joseph & Kirschenbaum appellate victories, such as the reversal of the dismissal of a case in which delivery drivers who were classified as independent contractors sued for unpaid overtime compensation and a Second Circuit decision establishing that workers may pursue FLSA collective claims and state law wage and hour class claims in the same action. A federal judge has recognized Denise, along with Maimon Kirschenbaum, as being the “best in breed” of wage and hour attorneys.

Denise has served as a panelist on a variety of employment law topics, including litigating wage and hour cases, arbitration issues, and independent contractors. She was selected by Super Lawyers as a Rising Star from 2015 to 2019 and as a Super Lawyer from 2020 to 2024.

Notable Results

• $16 million settlement for a class of bankers that asserted claims for unpaid overtime
• $8.5 million settlement for a class of banquet servers with claims for unpaid service charge
• $5.25 million settlement for a class of tipped employees of a New York restaurant group with wage theft and tip theft claims
• $1.4 million settlement for class of restaurant workers with wage and hour claims
• $425,000 settlement of gender and race discrimination and retaliation claims against a law firm
• $310,000 settlement for an employee of a financial services company with sexual harassment and retaliation claims