Ariel D.Cudkowicz

Partner

Ariel partners with clients to manage day-to-day workplace challenges and design solutions that align with company business goals and culture. When litigation is necessary, he aggressively defends his clients.


More About Ariel

Employers are facing increasingly complex layers of federal, state, and local employment and wage and hour laws. With a wealth of experience both in and out of courtrooms, Ariel understands the real-life issues that play out in the workplace. He has the wisdom, creativity, and strategic depth to effectively tackle most operational challenges, and provide practical guidance and solutions.

Ariel's practice is focused on wage and hour collective and class actions, complex single-plaintiff employment discrimination litigation, and workplace advice and counseling. He manages a number of national portfolio client relationships, and has particular experience representing clients in the retail and hospitality industries in FLSA collective actions, and in the hospitality industry in class actions challenging the distribution of tips and service charges under state laws. Ariel also provides advice to Fortune 100 and Fortune 500 corporations on compliance with state and federal wage and hour laws and avoidance of litigation under those laws.

Ariel began his career as a commercial litigator before shifting to employment law. This experience provides him with an understanding of the potential impact of workplace and policy implementation decisions that go awry, and with the skills and confidence to advocate for clients faced with adversarial situations. He has defended single and multiplaintiff employment discrimination cases brought under federal and state laws, and employment-related breach of contract and tort claims. His litigation practice covers the full spectrum of litigation services, including litigation management, motion practice, jury trials, and appeals before federal and state courts and administrative agencies. Ariel also has a strong background in alternative dispute resolution proceedings, including arbitration, mediation, and conciliation encompassing most substantive areas of employment law.

Ariel was an early adopter of Lean Six Sigma for client service delivery. He helped develop process maps and technology that greatly enhance the services he provides to clients, along with data transparency to support proactive trend analysis. These processes and tools allow Ariel and clients to deeply analyze workplace trends by business unit, geography, and individual work sites, and to tailor proactive solutions to prevent workplace disputes.

Ariel enjoys being part of a firm that is willing to think creatively about the delivery of legal services, and work with clients on co-creation. Combined with the deep bench of subject matter experts and a collaborative team of legal professionals across the country and around the globe, Ariel is confident that he and his Seyfarth colleagues are unmatched in their ability to deliver what clients want with energy and excellence.

  • JD, Georgetown University Law Center

    Law and Policy in International Business Journal, editor

  • BA, University of Rochester
  • Massachusetts
  • US Court of Appeals, First Circuit
  • US District Court, District of Connecticut
  • US District Court, District of Massachusetts
  • US District Court, Western District of New York