Henig v. Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP
Case Details
- Citation
- 151 F. Supp. 3d 460, 25 Wage & Hour Cas.2d (BNA) 1578, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 172823, 2015 WL 9581780
- Judge(s)
- Abrams
- Status — whether other courts must follow this ruling
- Published
- Procedural Posture — the stage the case had reached
- summary judgment
- State
- New York
- Circuit
- Second Circuit
Related Laws
No specific laws identified for this ruling.
Claim Types
Outcome
The court granted defendant's motion for summary judgment, finding that plaintiff, a licensed attorney performing document review work, was engaged in the practice of law and therefore exempt from FLSA and New York Labor Law overtime requirements under the attorney exemption.
What This Ruling Means
Henig v. Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP
What Happened
An attorney named Henig worked for the law firm Quinn Emanuel performing document review—checking through legal paperwork for cases. Henig sued the firm, claiming the company failed to pay proper overtime wages as required by federal and New York labor laws.
What the Court Decided
The court sided with the law firm. The judge ruled that Henig was exempt from overtime protections because she was a licensed attorney. Under labor laws, certain professional employees—including lawyers—don't qualify for overtime pay, even if their daily work involves routine tasks like document review.
Why This Matters for Workers
This ruling clarifies that attorneys performing document review work cannot use wage theft claims to demand overtime pay, regardless of how repetitive or low-level their assigned tasks seem. The court focused on the worker's professional license and legal status rather than the actual job duties. Workers in other professions should note: having a professional credential can affect whether you're entitled to overtime protections, even if your daily work doesn't feel "professional."
This summary was generated to explain the ruling in plain English and is not legal advice.
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This ruling information is sourced from public court records via CourtListener.com. Case outcomes, claim types, and summaries are extracted using AI analysis and may be incomplete or inaccurate. It is provided for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.
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