Helena Ciechanowski is an AV-rated employment law and employment contract practitioner, who litigates and counsels clients on general employment, restrictive covenants, trade secrets, and risk-avoidance matters. Helena has specialized experience in the securities and health care industries and is experienced in drafting and negotiating employment agreements, offer letters, and team agreements on behalf of employers. She also manages litigation and arbitration matters involving raid claims, non-solicitation agreements, misappropriation, and the Protocol for Broker Recruiting.

Helena’s current practice and approach to employment issues is holistic and client-focused. She recognizes that each client has a unique business model and individual business needs formed by the client’s own history and experiences, as well as industry standards. Helena strives to integrate legal and business goals with every client interaction and to anticipate future business needs and risks before they become a problem. Her legal interests include ongoing developments in the financial industry, health care reform issues, electronic discovery obligations, and the scope of the attorney-client privilege.

Helena’s practice draws upon her past experiences drafting proposed health care tort reform legislation, counseling clients on regulatory issues such as HIPAA, the Peer Review Act, privacy laws, and health care provider reporting requirements, and litigating matters involving health care, medical malpractice, insurance defense, the MCare Act, EMTALA, PPCIGA, housing discrimination, products liability, and pharmaceutical claims. Helena holds a Bachelor’s degree in nursing, and she has clinical training in various health care settings, including acute care, medical-surgical, intensive care, critical care, pediatrics, assisted living, home health, in-patient psychiatric, detention/corrective facilities, private physician offices, and labor and delivery.

AWARDS AND HONORS

• AV® Preeminent™ Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell®

Speaking Engagements

• “To Compete or Not to Compete: Who Can Restrain Me?” Pennsylvania Bar Institute 23rd Annual Employment Law Institute, co-presenter and co-author of written materials (2017)
• “A Declaration of Independence: Drafting an Enforceable Independent Contractor Agreement (and Other Independent Contractor Issues),” Pennsylvania Bar Institute 22nd Annual Employment Law Institute, co-presenter and author of written materials (2016)

Practice Highlights

• Obtained defense award in arbitration on challenge to a non-competition agreement and on claims of tortious interference and breach of contract.
  

  Alford v. Amgen, AAA Case No. 01-18-0003-7476, Nashville, TN (2020)

• Experience in drafting, negotiating, analyzing, and implementing notice policies, employee dispute resolution provisions, and privacy policies.
  
• Experience in analyzing and drafting employee handbooks, compliance and human resource policies, compensation plans, and personnel documents.
  
• Extensive experience in drafting, negotiating, and analyzing employment agreements, offer letters, executive compensation agreements, separation and severance agreements, release documents, and promissory notes for employers and employees.
  
• Advises employers and employees on negotiation strategies, policies and procedures, and facilitation of termination and separation from employment.
  
• Counsels employers on balanced risk management strategies relating to hiring from the competition.