Overview
When large global financial services, accounting, and consulting companies need to investigate claims of discrimination, retaliation, harassment, bullying, or other forms of alleged misconduct, they turn to attorney John Fullerton.
John conducts fast, yet thorough, internal investigations of a quality that a company’s human resources or employee relations professionals can rarely match. John is adept at summarizing complex factual investigations and findings and drawing a clear, supportable conclusion about whether the law or a policy has been violated.
An attorney with more than 25 years of employment law experience, John’s practice now focuses almost entirely on internal employee relations investigations. Clients have engaged John to lead virtually all of their internal investigations because he can conduct them more comprehensively and efficiently than an attorney who is trying simultaneously to litigate cases. John’s investigations can be protected by the attorney-client privilege.
Additionally, employers rely on John’s advice regarding Sarbanes-Oxley Act and Dodd-Frank Act whistleblower issues. He advises on whistleblower retaliation charges that have been filed with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which has the authority to investigate whistleblower claims under dozens of statutes, including the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. John also provides counsel on whistleblower compliance issues, assists in developing internal whistleblower policies, and investigates whistleblower claims.
From 2004 to 2015, John was an adjunct professor of law at Pace University School of Law, where he taught classes in labor law and advanced appellate advocacy and served as the faculty advisor to the law school's National Moot Court team. A frequent lecturer, John has authored numerous articles on labor and employment topics for various publications, including The National Law Journal, The New York Law Journal, The Labor Lawyer, Employment Law360, Real Estate Weekly, Corporate Counsel, and Dispute Resolution Journal. He has also authored the book Employment Separation Agreements Line by Line: A Detailed Look at Employment Separation Agreements and How to Change Them to Meet Your Clients' Needs, published by Thomson West in 2011.
In law school, John was editor-in-chief of the Moot Court Casebook and a recipient of the New York Council of Defense Lawyers’ Norman Ostrow Scholarship. Following graduation, he clerked for the Honorable Allyne R. Ross of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.
Read less
Focus Areas
Experience
Recognition
- The Best Lawyers in America©, Employment Law - Management, Labor Law - Management, and Litigation - Labor and Employment (2007 to 2024)
- The Legal 500 United States, Labor and Employment Disputes (Including Collective Actions): Defense (2017 to 2019)
- New York Metro Super Lawyers, Employment & Labor and Employment Litigation: Defense (2007 to 2023)
Credentials
Education
- New York University School of Law (J.D., 1994)
- Brown University (B.A., magna cum laude, 1988)
Bar Admissions
- Massachusetts
- New York
Court Admissions
- Supreme Court of the United States
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
- U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York
- U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York
Professional & Community Involvement
- American Bar Association, Labor and Employment Law Section
- New York State Bar Association, Labor and Employment Law Section
Media
Events
Past Events
Insights
Insights
- Firm Announcements
Twenty-One Attorneys Named to the 2023 New York Super Lawyers and Rising Stars Lists
12 minute read - Firm Announcements
Epstein Becker Green Attorneys Recognized by 2024 Best Lawyers for Excellence in the Legal Profession
12 minute read - Firm Announcements
Seventeen Attorneys Named to the 2022 New York Super Lawyers and Rising Stars Lists
8 minute read - Firm Announcements
Epstein Becker Green Attorneys Recognized by 2023 Best Lawyers for Excellence in the Legal Profession
11 minute read - Media CoverageJohn Fullerton Quoted in “When and How to Do an Internal Investigation”2 minute read
- Firm Announcements
Fifteen Epstein Becker Green Attorneys Named to 2021 New York Super Lawyers List
8 minute read - Firm AnnouncementsFifty-Eight Epstein Becker Green Attorneys Recognized for Professional Excellence–Three Attorneys Distinguished as ...7 minute read
- Firm Announcements
Seventeen Attorneys Named to 2020 New York Super Lawyers List
8 minute read - Firm AnnouncementsFifty-Five Epstein Becker Green Attorneys Recognized for Professional Excellence–Two Attorneys Distinguished as ...7 minute read
- PublicationsFive Developing Trends Financial Services Employers Need to Know11 minute read
- Firm Announcements
Nineteen Attorneys Named to 2019 New York Super Lawyers and Rising Stars Lists
8 minute read - Firm Announcements
Forty-Seven Epstein Becker Green Attorneys Named by The Best Lawyers in America 2020, One Attorney Distinguished as "Lawyer ...
5 minute read - Media CoverageJohn Fullerton Quoted in "Citi Gets Only Part of Ex-Employee's Suit Sent to Arbitration"2 minute read
- Firm Announcements
Epstein Becker Green Recognized as Top-Tier Law Firm by The Legal 500 United States, Receives Additional High Rankings ...
4 minute read - Firm Announcements
Twenty-One Attorneys Named to 2018 New York Super Lawyers and Rising Stars Lists
8 minute read - Firm Announcements
Epstein Becker Green Attorneys Selected for The Best Lawyers in America 2019 and Four Attorneys Named "Lawyer of the Year ...
5 minute read - Firm AnnouncementsLegal 500 United States Recognizes Epstein Becker Green as Top-Tier Recommended Law Firm, Awards Additional High Rankings ...4 minute read
- BlogsPresident Trump Revives Protections for Administrative Agency Whistleblowers by Passing the Whistleblower Protection ...2 minute read
- BlogsKey Employment Laws for Financial Services Employees Published with Thomson Reuters Practical Law1 minute read
- PublicationsKey Employment Law Issues for Financial Services Employers1 minute read
- BlogsSEC Issues Largest Dodd-Frank Whistleblower “Bounty” Awards Ever2 minute read
- BlogsU.S. Supreme Court Settles Circuit Split: Dodd-Frank’s Anti-Whistleblower Retaliation Protections Do Not Extend To ...3 minute read
- Media CoverageJohn Fullerton Quoted in "The Top 5 Employment Cases of 2017"2 minute read
- Firm Announcements
Twenty-Two Attorneys Named to 2017 New York Metro Super Lawyers and Rising Stars Lists
8 minute read - PublicationsEEOC’s Pay Data Collection Requirement Suspended4 minute read
- Firm Announcements
38 Epstein Becker Green Attorneys Selected for The Best Lawyers in America 2018, One Honored as "Lawyer of the Year ...
5 minute read - Firm Announcements
Epstein Becker Green Receives Top Rankings in The Legal 500 United States for 2017
3 minute read - BlogsSEC Continues Aggressive Oversight of Separation and Confidentiality Agreements8 minute read
- PublicationsFive Employment Issues Under the New Administration That Financial Services Employers Should Monitor33 minute read
- Firm Announcements
Five Epstein Becker Green Attorneys in Boston and Stamford Named to 2016 Super Lawyers and Rising Stars Lists ...
8 minute read - BlogsSEC Finds Certain Separation Agreement Provisions Unlawful Under Dodd-Frank Whistleblower Rule2 minute read
- PublicationsSEC Finds Certain Separation Agreement Provisions Unlawful Under Dodd-Frank Whistleblower Rule12 minute read
- Firm Announcements
35 Epstein Becker Green Attorneys Selected for The Best Lawyers in America 2017, One Honored as "Lawyer of the Year ...
5 minute read - Publications
Chapter 3, "SOX Whistleblower Process and Practical Advice," in Understanding SOX Whistleblower Protections
1 minute read - BlogsSEC Makes Cybersecurity an Examination Priority for 20164 minute read
- Media CoverageValerie Butera and John Fullerton's Analysis Cited in "Auto Rule Underscores OSHA Push to Bolster Whistleblower ...2 minute read
- BlogsRelaxed Legal Standards That Favor SOX Whistleblowers Do Not Leave Employers Defenseless5 minute read
- BlogsProposed “Whistleblower Augmented Reward and Nonretaliation Act” Aims to Increase Protections for Financial ...4 minute read
- PublicationsFive Employment Law Compliance Topics of Interest to Financial Services Industry Employers26 minute read
- Media CoverageClient Advisory by Valerie Butera and John Fullerton Quoted in "New OSHA Whistleblower Guidance Favors Employees" ...2 minute read
- PublicationsOSHA's New Whistleblower Investigations Manual Lowers Pleading Standards8 minute read
- Media CoverageEmployment Law This Week Recognized in “What’s Hot, What’s Not: National and Global Practice Trends 2016” ...1 minute read
- BlogsWhistleblowers Under Sarbanes-Oxley and Dodd-Frank – Employment Law This Week1 minute read
- Firm Announcements
58 Epstein Becker Green Attorneys Named to 2015 Super Lawyers and Rising Stars Lists
7 minute read - Blogs2nd Circuit Expands Dodd-Frank Anti-retaliation Protection To Cover Internal Whistleblowing4 minute read
- Firm Announcements
32 Epstein Becker Green Attorneys Selected for The Best Lawyers in America 2016
5 minute read - BlogsSEC Issues Interpretation of its Regulations on Definition of Dodd-Frank Whistleblower2 minute read
- BlogsRegulators Issue Final Dodd-Frank Standards for Assessing Diversity Policies and Practices of Covered Entities in the ...1 minute read
- BlogsHow Should Employers Revise Confidentiality Agreements to Comply with SEC Rule 21F-17(a)? (Video)2 minute read
- BlogsScope of Dodd-Frank Whistleblower Anti-Retaliation Provision Remains Critical, Open Question (Video)1 minute read