Meredith Jeffries is a Member of Alexander Ricks PLLC. Meredith has almost three decades decades of experience in the area of labor and employment law, and offers Alexander Ricks’ clients comprehensive transactional, counseling, training, and litigation services with respect to all aspects of the employer/employee relationship.
Meredith also has an active mediation practice with Miles Mediation and Arbitration, and is certified to conduct mediated settlement conferences by the Dispute Resolution Commission for the state of North Carolina.
Prior to joining Alexander Ricks in 2015, Meredith practiced in the area of labor and employment law at Alston & Bird LLP and Moore & Van Allen, and taught employment law and civil litigation courses on the faculty of a North Carolina law school.
Education
The University of Virginia School of Law (J.D., 1994)
College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Virginia (B.A., 1990, with honors)
Admissions
All North Carolina state courts
United States District Courts for the Eastern, Middle, and Western Districts of North Carolina
United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
Professional Awards and Service
- Multi-year recognition in Business North Carolina magazine as one of the North Carolina Legal Elite in the area of Employment Law; inducted into the Legal Elite Hall of Fame in 2022 for receiving the most votes in the state in the area of Employment Law. Legal Elite 2022: Employment - Business North Carolina (businessnc.com)
- Council for Children’s Rights, Custody Advocate
- Society for Human Resources Management of Charlotte, Board of Directors
- Mecklenburg County Bar Board of Directors (2008-2011), Chair of MCB Social and Networking Committee (2012-2014), Frequent program planner and speaker for continuing legal education programs
Meredith and her husband John have three children. She enjoys traveling, musical theater, spending time at Bald Head Island, and is an avid fan of UVA sports and her son's baseball teams. She is a member of Dilworth Church and serves on its leadership team. Meredith is also an active volunteer in numerous charitable and civic organizations, and has served in leadership positions with numerous Charlotte schools and non-profits, including Loaves and Fishes/Friendship Trays, Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools, The Charlotte Society for Human Resources Management, Theatre Charlotte, National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Charlotte, The Relatives, The Lunch Project, Charlotte Children's Choir, Community Culinary School of Charlotte, Providence Day School, and Avondale Children's Center.
Employment and Human Resources Counseling and Advice
- At Alexander Ricks, Meredith works with a significant number of small to mid-size companies who do not have in-house employment counsel and rely on her for day-to-day counsel with respect to employment and human resources strategies; hiring and disciplinary decisions; wage and wage classification matters; internal training, investigations and complaints.
- Drafting and negotiating employment contracts, policies, personnel handbooks, separation agreements, and restrictive covenants to protect institutional confidential information, customer relationships, and other intellectual property and human capital.
- Advising clients with respect to employee hiring, medical leaves, accommodations, discipline, and termination, including reductions in force and severance agreements.
- Performing wage classification audits and assisting clients with proper designation of exempt employees, non-exempt employees and independent contractors; representing clients in Department of Labor investigations and audits.
Employment Law Charges and Litigation
- Representation of clients nationwide in litigation matters and administrative claims involving employment discrimination, wrongful discharge, sexual harassment, retaliation, wage and hour disputes, restrictive covenants, and labor issues, with significant success in achieving favorable settlements and in securing dismissals and summary judgment without the risk and expense of trial.
- Served as primary outside litigation counsel on North Carolina employment law matters for world’s largest parcel delivery company.
Mediation
- Has been successfully mediating employment disputes and other disputed matters as a certified mediator since 2016.
Mergers, Acquisitions and Other Transactional Personnel Issues
- Advising clients and drafting transaction documents to address a wide range of domestic and international personnel issues in outsourcing transactions, mergers, acquisitions, asset sales and reductions in force, including negotiating and drafting all agreements and provisions.
Training, Speaking Engagements, Media and Publications
- Preparing and presenting seminars and training materials for corporate management and human resources personnel on employment law issues, strategies and best practices.
- Frequent speaker and course planner at continuing education seminars for Mecklenburg County Bar, the Society for Human Resources Management, and other forums on numerous topics in the field of labor and employment law.
- Numerous interviews in television, radio, and print media on labor and employment related topics.
