Andrew L. Houlding

Attorney Andrew Houlding focuses extensively on employment law and litigation on Native American law, also known as "Indian Law."

Mr. Houlding began his career in law after working as an investigative journalist in Connecticut.  As a journalist he was on the air with WTNH, Channel 8 TV-News, and for several newspapers including the Connecticut Law Tribune, the New Haven Advocate and the New Haven Journal-Courier, where he broke major stories about the New Haven Police Department's illegal wiretapping operation.

Since he joined Rome McGuigan in 1992, Mr. Houlding has handled dozens of employment matters, primarily representing employers in defense against wrongful discharge and discrimination claims.  He has tried multiple employment cases to verdict in state and federal courts in tribal court.

He has also litigated extensively on the subject of state court jurisdiction over matters arising on the reservation of a federally-recognized Indian tribe.  Reported cases in this area include: Kizis V. Morse Diesel, et als. 260 Conn. 46 (2002); Davidson v. MTGA, 97 Conn. App. 146 (2006), cert. denied 280 Conn. 941 and Beecher v. Mohegan Tribe of Indians of Connecticut, 282 Conn. 130 (2007).  Mr. Houlding has been a member of the Connecticut Bar Association's Indian Law Section since 1998, and has chaired that Section for the past several years.  In that capacity he has annually organized Continuing Legal Education programs on subjects of interest to Indian Law practitioners, including courses on practice and procedure in tribal courts and in gaming law on Indian reservations.  Mr. Houlding is admitted to practice in the Mohegan Tribal Court and Mohegan Gaming Disputes Court, as well as Connecticut state and federal courts and the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.

While Mr. Houlding has primarily represented employers in connection with workplace disputes, he also represents employees in selected cases.  He notes that clients sometimes switch from employer to employee - when, for example, an entrepreneur sells her business to another company and goes to work for the new entity - and from employee to employer - when an employee sets out on his own to begin a new venture.  In each instance, the client requires clear and informed advice and representation about the issues that arise from the transition, including potential claims of unfair competition and breach of the duty of confidentiality.

Mr. Houlding emphasizes that employment litigation is always risky and time-consuming, and often expensive, so that it is almost always in the best interest of his client to find an alternative to formal litigation.  He is experienced in negotiating severance and separation agreements that resolve all claims between employer and employee, allowing both parties to eliminate the costs and distractions of litigation.  But, he points out, his demonstrated ability to take a case through a jury trial, if necessary, is extremely important in negotiating a favorable outcome for his clients.

In this regard, Mr. Houlding has handled cases before a variety of administrative agencies, including the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities (CHRO) and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunities Commission (EEOC), the U.S. Department of Labor and its Connecticut counterpart; the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and the state Board of Mediation and Arbitration; and in the Connecticut Superior Court and in the United States District Court.

"Many employment cases are emotionally, as well as financially, driven" he says.  "It is often most important that the employee's voice be heard and addressed.  When that has occurred, workplace disputes are frequently resolved."

Mr. Houlding lives in Hamden, CT., just outside New Haven.  His wife, Sybil, is a psychoanalyst and psychotherapist in private practice in New Haven.  They have two adult children and two grandsons.