Jesse S. Weinstein

Jesse S. Weinstein is a nationally recognized New York employment lawyer and trial attorney representing employees, executives, whistleblowers, and professionals in high-stakes workplace disputes throughout New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. His practice focuses on employment discrimination, sexual harassment, workplace retaliation, whistleblower litigation, executive severance disputes, hostile work environment claims, disability discrimination, pregnancy discrimination, FMLA retaliation, and wrongful termination matters.

Throughout his career, Jesse has led over a dozen trials to verdict.  He and his team have also helped recover nearly $50 million in settlements on behalf of employees and whistleblowers. His work includes claims involving quid pro quo sexual harassment, unlawful retaliation against employees who reported misconduct, discriminatory termination of executives and professionals, executive compensation disputes, and workplace misconduct involving prominent individuals and organizations.

Jesse is known for handling complex and sensitive employment cases involving executives, attorneys, financial professionals, healthcare employees, media figures, and other public-facing professionals confronting workplace misconduct, unlawful retaliation, reputational harm, and discrimination by powerful employers and institutions. He regularly represents clients in litigation involving the New York City Human Rights Law, New York State Human Rights Law, New York City Gender Motivated Violence Act, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Equal Pay Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, whistleblower statutes, and executive employment agreements.

Known for his aggressive investigative approach and trial-driven litigation strategy, Jesse has secured substantial settlements and verdicts on behalf of employees and whistleblowers in matters involving workplace discrimination, retaliation, sexual misconduct, and executive compensation disputes.

Representative results include:

• $5.25 million settlement in a high-profile employment and misconduct matter involving allegations of workplace retaliation, reputational harm, and executive-level disputes.
• Jury verdict exceeding $1.8 million, including punitive damages, in a race discrimination and workplace retaliation action against major institutional defendants.
• $1.3 million settlement for a human resources executive who alleged retaliation after reporting discriminatory hiring practices.
• $338,000 recovery for a managing director at a major financial institution terminated shortly after returning from paternity leave.
• $335,000 settlement for an HR executive who reported unlawful hiring and workplace practices.
• $250,000 recovery for a senior scientist who alleged retaliation after raising concerns regarding unethical scientific data reporting practices.
• Representation of employees, executives, attorneys, and public-facing professionals in matters involving sexual harassment, whistleblower retaliation, hostile work environments, reputational harm, and discriminatory termination claims.
• Litigation and counseling involving executive separation agreements, restrictive covenants, confidentiality disputes, workplace investigations, and negotiated severance agreements across multiple industries.

Before entering private practice, Jesse served as an Assistant District Attorney in the Bronx County District Attorney’s Office, where he handled criminal investigations, evidentiary hearings, grand jury presentations, witness examinations, and jury trials as first-chair counsel. His prosecutorial background continues to shape his litigation style, particularly in cross-examination, factual development, strategic case building, and trial advocacy.

Jesse’s path to becoming an attorney was unconventional. After leaving high school, he enlisted in the United States Navy, where he served as an Operations Specialist. Following his military service, he returned to school and earned his undergraduate degree from Pace University before obtaining his Juris Doctor from American University Washington College of Law.

In addition to litigation, Jesse regularly writes and speaks on employment law, workplace culture, whistleblower protections, executive employment disputes, retaliation, discrimination, and emerging issues affecting modern workplaces. His legal commentary and case work have been featured in national and international media outlets including ABC, NBC, CNN, Rolling Stone, BBC, The Wall Street Journal, People Magazine, and other major publications.

Jesse is also committed to mentoring younger attorneys and developing trial advocacy skills within the next generation of litigators. Outside the office, he is a husband and father of two and remains passionate about advocating for fairness, accountability, and dignity in the workplace.