Emily Cuneo DeSmedt

In addition to her litigation practice, Emily also provides strategic employment counseling to in-house counsel, HR, and business leaders on complex issues such as leaves of absence, disability, pregnancy, and religious accommodation requests, sexual harassment allegations, and executive-level performance management. She is a go-to resource for time-sensitive and common-sense employment counsel, particularly, at the moment, for employers creating and implementing return-to-work and COVID-19 vaccination policies. Emily is also a key member of the firm’s workplace culture consulting (WCC) team, and regularly helps employers design and implement comprehensive diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs. She also helps support the DEI needs of investment funds, foundations, and non-profits who are considering or implementing race-conscious investment or grantmaking strategies. Emily represents clients in several industries, including retail, sports, pharmaceutical, healthcare, and nonprofit foundations.

Prior to joining Morgan Lewis, Emily gained experience as an associate in the New Jersey office of a large national firm, where she focused on employment litigation and represented employers, particularly large healthcare institutions, in employment matters before state and federal courts and agencies. A Levy Scholar at the University of Pennsylvania, Emily previously served as executive editor of the Journal of Law and Social Change.