2026-27 Online Legal Summit Series: The Legal Brief - Timely Issues for School Leaders

Erin Gibson Allen combines her diverse professional background with a passion for problem-solving to deliver strategic legal guidance to employers. With expertise spanning labor and employment law, workplace investigations, and non-profit governance, Erin is a trusted advisor who helps organizations navigate complex challenges while protecting their reputations and fostering strong leadership.

With extensive leadership experience on non-profit boards, Erin’s practice includes advising non-profit and tax-exempt organizations on general employment issues, board governance, organizational management, executive search, and leadership oversight. She has served in multiple board chair and committee roles across the performing arts, higher education, healthcare, and human services sectors.

Drawing on her background as a journalist, Erin leverages her investigative skills to design and execute thorough workplace investigations. She has handled complex cases involving senior leadership complaints, employee theft, workplace safety concerns, and allegations of harassment and discrimination. Erin frequently speaks on best practices for effective workplace investigations.

Her media experience also makes Erin a key member of the firm’s Reputation and Crisis Management team. She helps employers protect and defend their public image, understanding the critical importance of a strong reputation.

Additionally, Erin advises employers on reductions in force, providing strategic guidance to ensure smooth transitions while minimizing legal risks and maintaining workforce morale.

In the labor space, Erin has represented employers in representation elections, collective bargaining, union grievances, strike contingency planning, and defense of unfair labor practice charges.

Before joining Fisher Phillips, she also represented employers in antitrust matters and complex litigation.  Erin also worked as a law clerk in the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania after earning her law degree from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, where she served as president of the Pitt Law Women’s Association.

Erin is a sought-after speaker on career development, leadership cultivation, and board service. She has been interviewed by The New York Times and BBC News and has spoken at professional events and on various podcasts. In 2011, Erin collaborated with the Pittsburgh legal community to create “Back to the Bar,” an initiative offering education, training, and resources for attorneys re-entering the profession after a career break. She also serves as an adjunct professor and regularly speaks at law schools to help students successfully transition into the legal profession.

Melissa Dials approaches each day by asking two simple questions: who have I helped and what have I learned? She strives to serve each client by first listening to their needs and learning their business and culture. This thoughtful approach enables Melissa to provide legal counsel that not only mitigates legal risk but also reflects her clients' values.

Melissa's practice is multifaceted. She counsels employers on a wide variety of day-to-day employment and labor issues, including wage and hour law, employee leave issues, reasonable accommodations, workplace harassment, and reductions-in-force. She assists employers in developing proactive employee relations programs, including developing employee handbooks and conducting supervisory training. Melissa also defends employers responding to charges before administrative agencies like the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Ohio Civil Rights Commission.

In addition, Melissa regularly represents clients in connection with mergers and acquisitions, representing both buyers and sellers, and provides advice on the many employment concerns related to these transactions. She also assists employers with a broad variety of executive compensation matters, including the drafting and negotiation of employment agreements, separation agreements, non-competition and confidentiality agreements, and commission and incentive compensation plans.

Melissa's passion for service is reflected in her non-profit practice. Melissa rountinely advises health care organizations, educational institutions, museums, advocacy groups, and other non-profit organizations with respect to the employment and board governance issues they navigate daily.

Prior to joining Fisher Phillips, Melissa was Corporate Counsel and Compliance & Ethics Officer for a global, publicly-traded company. In this role, Melissa developed significant experience advising management on complex international employment and compliance matters. Accordingly, Melissa's unique perspective helps businesses "connect the dots" between their Human Resource and Compliance functions. Whether it is helping corporations develop effective anti-bribery and anti-corruption policies and due diligence procedures that also comply with seemingly conflicting employment laws, or designing corporate codes of conduct, Melissa's past experience provides firsthand understanding of the challenges facing today's employer.

Passionate about helping children reach their full potential, Melissa volunteers in the Cleveland public schools and has served as a director for non-profits serving vulnerable children.