Maureen R. Knight

Maureen is an experienced litigator who co-chairs the firm’s Class Action Practice Group. Maureen devotes a very substantial amount of her practice to wage and hour issues, including preventive consultation, internal audits, government investigations, and defense of wage and hour litigation, almost all of which include class- or collective-action claims. Maureen's wage and hour litigation experience includes cases involving state and federal minimum wage and overtime violations, stemming from alleged off-the-clock work, deletion of hours, exemption misclassification and improperly-applied tip credits. She has counseled clients on these and other wage and hour issues, such as white-collar exemptions, tip pooling/sharing, break requirements, child-labor issues, payroll frequency and methods, salary deductions, and compensability of time. Maureen is a regular speaker and author on wage and hour compliance issues to human-resource professionals and in-house counsel.

Maureen also has extensive experience representing clients in discrimination charges before local, state and federal agencies, and significant experience defending employment discrimination cases in both state and federal courts -- from single plaintiff to multiple plaintiffs, and from early settlement to trial by jury.  Maureen’s litigation experience also extends to claims brought under other state and federal employment laws (such as the FMLA), common law (such as negligence claims), and contract issues (such as restrictive covenants and employment agreements).

In addition to national Fortune 100 and 500 clients, Maureen has experience with assisting smaller, but growing, companies with the numerous employment-related issues that arise, including creating an employee handbook, providing advice and counsel regarding personnel actions and decisions, ensuring proper pay practices, and drafting restrictive covenants (such as non-competes).

Maureen is an AV Preeminent® rated attorney who has been recognized in the premier Chambers USA Guide, has been named as a Virginia "Rising Star" in employment law by the annual publication Virginia Super Lawyers, was awarded the Betty Southard Murphy Award in Labor Law, and was the honored recipient of an award, generally reserved for company employees, by a national client’s legal department for her responsiveness and legal experience. Maureen’s clients praise her for her ability to effectively communicate legal issues to non-legal audiences and provide legal advice that always focuses on practical business solutions.

• ALM’s Legal Leaders: Washington D.C. & Baltimore’s Top Rated Lawyers (2015)
• Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America^® for Employment Law – Management and Litigation - Labor and Employment (2017-2022, 2024)
• BTI Consulting Group Client Service All-Star (2019, 2023)
• Chambers USA Guide^®
• Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent® Peer Rated for Highest Level of Professional Excellence
• Rising Star, Virginia Super Lawyers^® (2007, 2009-2011)

• American Bar Association
• Fairfax County Bar Association
• Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM)
• Northern Virginia Society for Human Resource Management (NOVA SHRM)
• Food Pantry Committee, Chairperson, collecting and distributing food to local food bank for people in need (2007-2015)
• Girl Scout Council of the Nation’s Capital, Volunteer (2008-present)
• Girls on the Run of Northern Virginia, Board Member (2013-present)
  • President (2015-2016)
  • Vice President (2014-2015)

Maureen is married to her husband Craig, and they have three wonderful children. She most enjoys spending time with her family (including traveling the country visiting Major League Baseball stadiums) and digging in the dirt of her multiple gardens.

• “Employment Arbitration Agreements,” ACC Tennessee – Eastern Region, December 2015
• “New Wage Hour Changes:  What Federal Contractors Need to Know,” November 2015 
• “Compensable Time:  When Is an Employee Considered ‘On the Clock?’,” US Poultry & Egg Association Human Resources Seminar, April 2014
• “The Tipping Points:  Legal Considerations Regarding Tips that All Restaurant Employers Should Know,”  Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington, May 2010
• "Drafting an Alternative Work Arrangement Policy: The Do's, the Don'ts, and the Maybes," The Woman Advocate, Spring 2008
• "In the Trenches: Preparing for Your First Trial," ABA Section of Litigation Annual Conference, April 2008
• "Money Men" (and Women) Are Winning Big Bucks in Overtime, The Job Description, Winter 2007, published by the DRI Employment Law Committee
• "The History and Future of Class Action Lawsuits," a publication of the Washington Legal Foundation
• "Why Defense Counsel Should Be Aware of the Growing Trend of FLSA Collective Actions," The Job Description, Spring 2004, published by the DRI Employment Law Committee
• "Responding to Discrimination Charges," a presentation to Dallas Area Paralegal Association, June 2005
• "Rainmaking and Other Skills Learned from the 2006 WILL Academy," The Woman Advocate, Fall 2006
• "Are Class Action Waivers in Employment Arbitration Agreements Too Good to Be True for Employers?", Employment & Labor Relations Law (publication of the American Bar Association's Section of Litigation), Winter 2007 (Vol. 5, No. 2), republished in The Job Description, Summer 2007, published by the DRI Employment Law Committee; and Conflict Management (publication of the American Bar Association's Section of Litigation), Summer 2007 (Vol. II, Issue 2)