SAMIA M. KIRMANI is a Partner in the Boston office of Jackson Lewis LLP.  Ms. Kirmani concentrates her practice in employment counseling, training and litigation on behalf of management.  She regularly provides practical legal advice to clients on various employment law issues, including disability management, discrimination, reductions in force, retaliation, whistleblower matters, individual separations, and employee relations issues.  Ms. Kirmani also assists clients with various policy issues and conducts management and employee trainings on topics in employment law, including sexual harassment prevention and best management practices.  Ms. Kirmani appears frequently in state and federal courts in employment-related litigation.  She also defends employers in administrative proceedings at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination. Immediately prior to joining Jackson Lewis, Ms. Kirmani served as in-house counsel at a technology company, focusing on employment law (including employee relations, discrimination, employment disputes and reduction in force issues) and dispute management. Ms. Kirmani is a graduate of Tufts University (B.A., cum laude) and Boston College Law School (J.D., cum laude), where she served as Solicitations Editor for the Boston College International and Comparative Law Review.  Ms. Kirmani serves as Board Member of the North American South Asian Bar Association, for which she co-chairs the Labor and Employment Section.  She also serves on the Advisory Board of the South Asian Bar Association of Greater Boston and the Employment & Labor Law Curriculum Advisory Committee of Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education.  Ms. Kirmani is a member of the Pakistan Association of Greater Boston, the Boston Bar Association, the Massachusetts Bar Association, and the Boston College Law School Alumni Association.  She is proficient in Urdu and Hindi. Samia is also on the Steering Committee for the Labor and Employment Section of the Boston Bar Association. (February 2011)