Fox News Employment Defense Team Moves Over to Paul Hastings

Four partners in Baker McKenzie’s New York employment practice, including members of Fox News’ employment defense team, started at Paul Hastings last week.

Labor lawyers Paul Evans, Krissy Katzenstein, Blair Robinson, and Jeffrey Sturgeon parted ways with Baker McKenzie earlier this month, leaving the global firm’s New York office short one-third of its employment lawyers, according to a review of the firm’s website on Friday. The four joined Baker McKenzie in March of 2020 from Morgan Lewis & Bockius.

From left: Blair Robinson, Krissy Katzenstein, Paul Evans, Jeffrey Sturgeon

Photos courtesy of Paul Hastings

Members of the team have represented Fox News and affiliated entities in employment disputes in recent years, court records show.

In 2021, Evans, Katzenstein, and Sturgeon stepped in to defend Fox News in a lawsuit filed by former host Britt McHenry, who alleged her co-host Tyrus sent her inappropriate text messages. Currently, Evans and Katzenstein are defending Fox Corporation and its New York broadcast station against an editor’s allegation of exposing her to the COVID-19 virus by forcing her to attend work in person.

In May of 2023, Evans and Katzenstein dropped former Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson as a client in a case in which an ex-producer alleged Carlson and Fox maintained a misogynistic work environment.

In the past two years, Evans and colleagues have also represented CBS Broadcasting, Paramount Global, and restaurant chain Panda Express, court records show. Katzenstein said they represent clients in a variety of industries, including pharmaceuticals and tech.

“When matters are complicated, messy, and first-class counsel is needed, whether at trial or in a regulatory matter, I view our practitioners and those at Paul Hastings to be right in line to service clients in those cases,” Evans said.

Katzenstein said her team’s move to Paul Hastings grew out of working with the firm’s employment lawyers, including global employment chair Elena Baca, as co-counsel to shared clients.

“We’ve already heard from clients who are excited to be represented by Paul Hastings in their matters,” Katzenstein said. “We’re going to see how we can continue to grow Paul Hastings’ client relationships as well.”

Court records show Evans and Katzenstein have continued to represent Fox News Corp. after moving to Paul Hastings in at least one employment case.

In a statement, a representative for Baker McKenzie thanked the four “for their contributions to Baker McKenzie as members of our globally recognized employment and compensation practice.”

Agency Impact

Leaders at Paul Hastings said the hires bolster the firm’s employment practice on the East Coast including in Title VII representation, pay equity, and employment class actions.

“They further enhance our ability to represent clients at the C-suite and board levels on their most sophisticated and complex matters, including high-profile matters across the employment spectrum,” Paul Hastings chair Frank Lopez said in the announcement.

The move comes on the eve of the 2024 presidential election, which Katzenstein and Evans said will determine the regulatory and enforcement priorities of agencies like the National Labor Relations Board and the US Department of Labor.

“Heading into election, we’re eager to know what the outcome is because that could have impact on what claims the NLRB is choosing to pursue,” Katzenstein said. “Any agency has huge shifts depending on administration and those are maybe more volatile than others.”