Maria Papasevastos

Maria Papasevastos is an associate in the New York office of Seyfarth Shaw LLP. A member of the Labor & Employment department, she represents employers in all areas of employment law, including discrimination, harassment, retaliation, and wage and hour matters, and has experience working on both single plaintiff and class action litigation. Ms. Papasevastos also counsels clients on employee policy and procedure development, as well as federal, state and local employment law compliance.

Ms. Papasevastos is an experienced trial attorney, and has successfully litigated trials to verdict on claims including discrimination, hostile work environment, and retaliation.  Recently, after a four-day jury trial in the Eastern District of New York, she won a complete defense victory for a national retailer in a pregnancy discrimination case.

In addition to her employment law practice, Ms. Papasevastos has significant experience representing developers, institutions and non-profit organizations in a variety of New York City land use and zoning matters, including variances, special permits, designations and alterations of landmarked buildings, and air rights transactions. Her work in this area also includes representing clients in proceedings before the New York City Planning Commission, Board of Standards and Appeals and Landmarks Preservation Commission.

Ms. Papasevastos joined the firm initially as part of the Labor & Employment Department’s Fellowship program, an innovative training-focused program for law students with an affinity for labor and employment law. While in law school, Ms. Papasevastos also served as a legal intern for the Honorable Joanna Seybert, United States District Judge for the Eastern District of New York, and at the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York.

Education:

• J.D., St. John’s University School of Law (2012)
  • Articles Editor, Journal of Civil Rights and Economic Development
  • Frank S. Polestino Trial Advocacy Institute
• B.A., Binghamton University, summa cum laude (2009)