Erika Collins is a partner in the Paul Hastings Employment Law Department and chairs the firm’s International Employment practice. Ms. Collins provides strategic advice and counseling to multinational employers on a wide range of global employment law and human resources matters. She leads a team of employment lawyers in the firm’s U.S. and non-U.S. offices and has developed a network of international employment counsel to provide assistance worldwide. She represents public and private companies and advises on cross-border employment matters spanning Europe, Asia, Africa, North and South America.

Ms. Collins assists employers with global employment issues and advises companies when they are expanding or downsizing around the world. She has handled office openings and workforce expansions; employment terminations, including mass layoffs and office closures; executive hirings and terminations and the attendant negotiations; and has prepared employment, separation, expatriate and consulting agreements in dozens of countries. She conducts multi-country audits of employment laws and practices, and provides strategic compliance advice regarding a wide range of issues, including data privacy, fixed-term contracts, outsourcing, and working time and leave regulations.

Ms. Collins frequently counsels clients on preparing non-U.S. employment packages and agreements that are competitive and compliant with local laws. She has advised employers on sexual harassment and other misconduct allegations in numerous international jurisdictions and has assisted with payroll, benefits, and vacation questions. She has significant experience in cross-border M&A transactions and has conducted employment-related due diligence on international subsidiaries and provided advice regarding local business transfer laws and employee transition issues. Ms. Collins also provides strategic advice to multi-national companies opening non-U.S. offices and undergoing global restructuring.

Ms. Collins is a frequent speaker at IBA, ABA and state bar meetings and has spoken and written on myriad topics including: “Cross-Border Transfers of Executives,” “Global Mobility Issues for Multi-Nationals,” “Employment Issues in Cross-Border M&A Transactions,” “The Landscape of Issues in International Employment Law,” and “The Intersection of EU Privacy and Anti-Discrimination Laws.”

Ms. Collins received a law degree from the University of California, Davis School of Law in 1994, where she received the “American Jurisprudence Award” in Corporations and was a member of the Moot Court Board. Ms. Collins received an A.B. in English and American Literature from Brown University in 1988, and was captain of the nationally ranked crew team.

Ms. Collins is a member of the American Bar Association’s Section of International Law (“SIL”), a former chair of the International Employment Law Committee and currently is an Officer of the Employment Law Committee of the International Bar Association. She is currently one of SIL’s Liaisons to the Section of Labor and Employment Law. Ms. Collins has been named in the The International Who’s Who of Management, Labour & Employment Lawyers 2007-2009. She is recognized as “A Leading New York Employment Defense Lawyer” in the 2007-2009 Chambers USA America’s Leading Lawyers for Business and was selected for inclusion in the 2007-2010 New York Super Lawyers Magazine, the March 2009 issue of Super Lawyers, Corporate Counsel Edition and The International Who’s Who of Business Lawyers, 2009. She has also been listed in PLC Which Lawyer? Yearbook 2007-2009 and is recognized as a Leading lawyer in the United States for International Labour and Employment Law. Ms. Collins has been selected by her peers for inclusion in the 2010 and 2011 editions of The Best Lawyers in America for Labor and Employment Law. Ms. Collins sits on the Board of Directors of Housing + Solutions, a non-profit organization that assists women released from prison with securing employment and housing in order to reunite with their children.