Barbara Jean D’Aquila

Partner

Minneapolis

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Office phone612.216.2743

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Overview

Barbara D’Aquila handles major business matters for employers, including class and significant multiple or single plaintiff litigation, counseling, corporate investigations, C-Suite employment issues, and other high-profile concerns. Known for trying cases, Barbara has litigated in federal and state courts and arbitrations throughout the U.S. and has obtained favorable verdicts, arbitration awards, and agency determinations, numerous successful summary judgments, precedent-setting appellate decisions, and highly beneficial settlements.

Barbara is the Secretary and a Board Member of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers, the most distinguished body of the nation’s leading labor and employment lawyers, and the Chair of the Board of the American Employment Law Council, the nation’s top invitation-only organization of in-house and private practice management lawyers. She is a former Section Council Member of the American Bar Association (ABA) Section of Labor and Employment Law and a former Co-chair of the ABA’s Equal Employment Opportunity Committee. She has served on many panels with the top leaders in the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and has attended numerous meetings at least annually with the leaders of the EEOC, the DOL, the Department of Justice, and/or the National Labor Relations Board. On behalf of employers, Barbara regularly interacts with top government officials at various agencies on contested matters and has handled high-profile cases with the DOL and the EEOC. She excels at helping companies manage crises, including disputes with government agencies.

Barbara started her career as a law clerk for the Minnesota Supreme Court and has worked in the labor and employment field for decades, including serving as a partner in one of the world’s largest global law firms before joining Fisher Phillips. She has extensive labor and employment and litigation experience, including federal court jury trials in Minnesota, Texas, and Iowa, state jury trials and arbitrations in Minnesota, and motion and appellate practice in federal courts and state courts in numerous states. Her keen knowledge of labor and employment law, tremendous forensic skills, strong business background, and experience in disputes involving other business law areas (e.g., intellectual property, tax, banking, product liability, trade secrets, criminal, and antitrust law) make her a tremendously valuable asset to corporate America.

Barbara has been repeatedly recognized by numerous groups, including Chambers USA, Best Lawyers, Benchmark Litigation, and Lawdragon/Human Resources Executive. She is a 2018 Corporate Employment Lawyers Hall of Fame recipient, an honor reserved for “legends” in the “corporate employment bar whose contributions to the field as well as their firms are unparalleled” and who have achieved “consistent recognition for all-around excellence in counseling clients, contributing to the bar and serving as a visionary to improve workplaces.” Chambers USA has previously described Barbara as a Band One lawyer who is “very practical, gets to the point quickly and is very knowledgeable” and is viewed by peers as “a go-to for complex matters.” She is known for being an “extremely intelligent and skilled litigator” with a “strong record for handling complex matters with success,” an “excellent brief writer, and a “good negotiator” whose “accounting background is also highly valued” and someone whom clients regard as “extremely responsive, technically knowledgeable and creative about practical solutions” and peers regard as “a bright and practical litigator” and “a much-valued member of the community.”

Successful order for petrochemical companies following two-day, Article III standing Minnesota federal bench trial
Successful result for major health system following five-day, Texas federal court jury Title VII trial (beneficial pre-verdict settlement where jury indicated it would have found for alleged “joint employer”)
Seventh Circuit affirmance for major retailer following successful Wisconsin federal court dismissal of employment claims due to plaintiff’s discovery abuses; petition before U.S. Supreme Court for writ of certiorari, denied
Successful Utah federal court merits-dismissal for major grocery chain involving threatened ERISA class action
Successful Minnesota federal court summary judgment for major railroad franchise involving nationally-significant preemption ruling on state law drug testing claim
Successful settlement for large ready-mix concrete producer in Iowa federal court anti-trust class action
Successful resolutions for aviation service solutions company in all Massachusetts and Pennsylvania federal court matters and arbitration involving class and representative wage and hour, tip, and tort claims and in related Massachusetts federal court indemnification case
Successful disability discrimination case results involving two legally-significant Minnesota Supreme Court “employee” and “applicant” rulings, including Minnesota state court five-week trial defense win for national bank in “employee” disability, reasonable accommodation, and retaliation case and successful Minnesota Supreme Court summary-judgment affirmance for civil contractor in first “applicant” discrimination case after legislation change
Successful Minnesota federal court decertification ruling for major food distributor involving age discrimination class and representative action
Defense verdict in Minnesota federal court two-week age discrimination jury trial for country’s largest funeral company
Counseling includes multiple high-profile matters involving C-Suite executive issues, major investigations throughout the U.S. involving harassment, discrimination, and other alleged statutory violations, and extensive work for years advising global and national companies on diversity and inclusion initiatives

Professional Activities

Leadership in professional associations over the years includes the following:

American Employment Law Council, Board Chair (2017-present); Board Member (2015- present); Member (1995-present)
College of Labor and Employment Lawyers, Board Member (2019-present); Chair, Board Regional Activities Committee (2020-present); Fellow (2001-present)
Federal Bar Association, Minnesota Chapter, various leadership positions over the years, including Board President (1998-1999), Board Member/Board Member Emeritus and Chapter Member (1994-present)
University of Minnesota Law School, Board Member (2018-present and 1991-1998); Board Chair-Elect (2021-2022); Development Chair (2021-present); Annual Fund Chair (2019-2020); National Chair of the Partners in Excellence Committee (2002-2003)
American Bar Association, Lifetime Fellow (1995-present)
American Bar Association, Section of Labor and Employment Law, various leadership positions over the years, including Section Liaison, ABA Center for Human Rights (2018-present); Section Liaison, Commission on Women in the Profession (2017-2018); Section Council Member (2008-2015); EEO Committee Member (including Management Chair) (2004-2006) and Conference Planning Committee Member (2004-present)
Minnesota State Bar Association, Chair, Multi-jurisdictional Task Force (2004-2006); Co-Chair, Legal Education and Bar Admissions Committee (1993-2003); Governing Council Member of the Labor and Employment Section (1989-1993), Member (1981-present)
Minnesota Supreme Court, Advisory Committee on the Rules of Civil Procedure (1998-2000)
Minnesota Supreme Court Board of Law Examiners, Board Member (2009-2017); Ad Hoc Member, Character & Fitness Committee (2018-present); Bar Admissions Advisory Council to the Board of Law Examiners (1998-2009)
Minnesota Supreme Court Lawyers’ Trust Account Board, Board Chair (1998-2000), Board Member (1993-2000)
S. District Court, D. Minnesota, Federal Practice Committee, Member (1985-1990)

Barbara has also been a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Minnesota Society of Certified Public Accountants

Community Activities

Power of 100 Twin Cities Women Who Care, Co-Founder/Board Member, (2012 - present)
Girl Scouts of Minnesota & Wisconsin River Valleys (and predecessor council), various leadership positions, including Board Member (2005-2014)
Regions Hospital Wine Auction, various leadership positions including Steering Committee Member (2009-2011) and Silent Auction Committee Member (2006-2008)
Domestic Abuse Project, Board Member (1993-1999)
American Heart Association, Minnesota Affiliate, various leadership positions over two decades, including Board Chair (1987-1988)