Ryan N. Parsons offers clients a rare blend of proven in-house advisory experience and a demonstrated successful track record as an experienced litigator representing and counseling employers in all aspects of the employment relationship.
Ryan’s practice focuses on management-side labor relations, complex employee benefit litigation, and appellate matters. His extensive experience includes providing practical, thoughtful counsel to employers on a variety of labor and employment matters, including collective bargaining and labor arbitrations, performance management, discipline and discharge, ADA and FMLA compliance, wage-and-hour, and workplace safety. Ryan is also well-versed in leading targeted trainings for HR and people leaders, as well as reviewing and revising HR policies and processes, to mitigate employment law risk.
He returned to Foley following several years as associate general counsel and interim general counsel for Kohler Co. During his tenure with the Wisconsin-based manufacturer, Ryan advised company stakeholders on a wide range of complex labor and employment issues, including workplace investigations, litigation strategy, wage-and-hour compliance, union negotiations, and restrictive covenants. He managed the company’s employment litigation portfolio and led the employment workstream for its mergers and acquisition’s function, including in its multibillion-dollar divestiture of one of its global divisions. Ryan played a central role in developing company-wide policies on performance management, crisis response, and workplace safety, counseling across functions to deliver proactive, practical guidance across Kohler’s global footprint.
Ryan previously worked for over a decade as an attorney in Foley’s Milwaukee office, rising to senior counsel before beginning his in-house role. Before Foley, Ryan was a law clerk for the Hon. Diane S. Sykes of the U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals and a judicial intern to the Hon. David T. Prosser, Jr. of the Wisconsin Supreme Court and the Hon. Lynn S. Adelman of the U.S. District Court.
Representative Experience
- Provided risk-calibrated advice and counsel to stakeholders across global manufacturer on all manner of labor and employment issues.*
- Proactively mitigated employment law risk through a combination of written communications to HR community, targeted training, and recurring review and revision of policies and processes.*
- Managed global manufacturer’s employment litigation portfolio.*
- Defended global manufacturer against discrimination charges before the EEOC and state agencies.*
- Conducted and managed internal investigations of potential violations of employment laws and company policies.*
- Led employment workstream within global manufacturer’s M&A function.*
- Developed and directed manufacturer’s global labor relations strategy.*
- Represented manufacturing, aviation, and financial services employers regarding the full scope of labor issues, including negotiation of collective bargaining agreements, labor arbitrations, and proceedings under the National Labor Relations Act and Railway Labor Act.
- Represented employers in benefits litigation under Employee Retirement Income Security Act, including both individual benefits claims and retiree class action litigation.
- Represented food industry employer regarding issue of constitutional first impression before federal court of appeals.
*Certain matters handled prior to rejoining Foley.
Community Involvement
- Board Member – Curative Care Network, a community resource that provides high quality services to children and adults with disabilities or limiting conditions.
Ryan Parsons Featured on Labor Considerations for U.S. Manufacturing Operations
From the White House to the Workplace: Employment Law in the Second Trump Era
Where Should You Build? Labor Considerations in Siting and Expanding U.S. Operations
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