Charla Bizios Stevens
Associate
Charla joined McLane in 2001 after having practiced law in New Hampshire since 1984. In her practice at McLane she represents individuals and small business clients regarding litigated and non-litigated matters and provides consultation to these clients in a variety of areas, including negotiation of contracts and leases and dealing with employment issues such as sexual harassment, personnel policy manuals, wage and hour issues, labor audits, discrimination claims and termination and discipline of employees. She is also available to conduct in-house management and sexual harassment training as well as self-audits for companies who want to evaluate their personnel practices. She has extensive background and experience representing professionals such as attorneys and mental health professionals before licensing and disciplinary boards and in malpractice litigation. She also handles domestic relations matters to include divorce, custody and adoption. She has tried numerous contested cases to conclusion in the state courts of New Hampshire and is a strong advocate of mediation as a means of resolving disputes. Her litigation background includes practice in state and federal courts and before numerous administrative agencies such as the Department of Labor, the New Hampshire Commission for Human Rights, and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
Department
Litigation
Areas of Practice
- Defense of Discrimination Claims in State and Federal Courts and Agencies
- Defense of Professional Malpractice Claim
- Defense of Casualty Claims
- Wage and Hour
- Employee Handbooks and Other Workplace Policies
- Employment Agreements
- Severance Agreements and Other Termination Issues
- Workplace Privacy Issues
- Non-Disclosure, Non-Competition and Other Restrictive Covenants
- Workplace Investigations
- Employment Risk Management and Training
- Licensing and Professional Malpractice
- Divorce and Parenting
- Prenuptial Agreements
- Mediation
- Small Business Consultation
Representative Clients & Work
Charla has worked successfully with companies in a variety of industries to include manufacturing, health care, pharmacy, nonprofit, schools, health clubs, hospitality and service and sales in addressing their personnel and other business needs. She is often called upon to represent these businesses in preparing for and responding to state and federal wage and hour audits and in conducting workplace investigations. She has also achieved successful results on behalf of numerous individuals in contested and negotiated parenting and family law matters. She is a trained mediator and enjoys assisting litigants in alternative dispute resolution.
Admissions
New Hampshire; United States District Court of New Hampshire; First Circuit Court of Appeals
Professional & Association Memberships
- American Bar Association (Labor and Employment, Family Law, Tort Trial and Insurance Practice, and Litigation sections)
- New Hampshire Bar Association (Labor and Employment and Family Law sections)
- Member, New Hampshire Bar Association's Lawyers' Assistance Committee
- Manchester Bar Association
- New Hampshire Women's Bar Association - Hillsborough County Representative North
- New Hampshire Association for Justice
- Former Executive Editor, New Hampshire Bar Journal
- Government Relations Director of N.H. State Council of Society for Human Resource Managemen
Recognition
- BV rated in Martindale Hubbell.
Community Involvement
Secretary of Board of Directors, New Hampshire Partners in Education; former Chair of the Boards of the Manchester Community Health Center and Child Health Services.
Career
- J.D., cum laude, Boston College Law School, 1984
- B.S., cum laude, Merrimack College, 1981
Recent Publications and Lectures
- Teens Hit The Workforce: Are You Ready For The Summer Influx of Young Workers? (published in the New Hampshire Business Review, July 18, 2008)
- Landmark Genetic Non-Descrimination Legislation Becomes Law (originally published on June 20 in the NH Business Review)
- Where Does the Physician's Duty to Warn End?, March 2008
- "Legislative Update" NHWBA – 2007 Developments in Family Law, (January 2008 – Present)
- Advanced Issues in Payroll: Problem Solving and Beyond Lorman Education Services, (December 2007)
- Creating and Managing a Diverse Team of Employees
in New Hampshire Business Review, (December 2007)
- 6th Annual HealthCare Review, Portland ME, (September 2007)
- Update on Legislation Changes in New Hampshire in New Hampshire Business Review, (July 2007)
- Stevens and Rich, "Employer's Guide to Civil Unions" in New Hampshire Business Magazine, (June 2007)
- Employee Handbooks: Equal Employment Opportunity and Harassment Policies Lorman Education Services, (May 2007)
- New Race Discrimination Case Potentially Imposes New Obligations On Human Resource Professionals, May 2007
- Charitable And Educational Organizations Take Notice: New Hampshire's Law Against Discrimination May Now Apply To You, September 2006
- Stevens, "Effective Risk Management: Properly Responding to Internal Complaints of Sexual Harassment" in Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce Newsletter (March, 2006)
- Stevens, "Today's Top Ten List: Ways to Avoid Human Resource Claims" in New Hampshire Business Review (March, 2006)
- Simple Ways to Prevent Avoidable Human Resource Claims, National Business Institute (February, 2006)
- The Parental Rights and Responsibilities Act: New and Proposed Changes in Family Law, McLane Law Firm Litigation Department (January, 2006)
- Stevens and Vaughn, "Employers Beware: Rights of Undocumented Workers to Damages Upheld by New Hampshire Supreme Court" in New Hampshire Business Review (June 2005)
- Legal Issues in Child Care Management, New Hampshire Association for the Education of Young Children (2003, 2004, 2005)
- Stevens, "Effective Risk Management: Properly Responding to Internal Complaints of Sexual Harassment" in New Hampshire Business Review (April 2004)
- Complex Divorce Issues for the New Hampshire Paralegal, Institute for Paralegal Education, (2004)
- Family Law in New Hampshire, New Hampshire Business Institute, (2003)
- Evidence for the Litigation Paralegal in New Hampshire, Institute for Paralegal Education (2002)
- Advanced Issues in New Hampshire Employment Law, National Business Institute (2002)
- How to Litigate Your First Civil Trial in New Hampshire, National Business Institute (2001)
- Advanced Discovery Issues for the New Hampshire Civil Litigator, National Business Institute (2000)
- New Hampshire Law May Give Age Discrimination Protection For The Young Where Recent Federal Case Falls Short
- Representation of Clients in Same Sex Parenting Disputes in ABA Family Law Litigation News Letter
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