Legal Analysis
Employment Tip of the Month – September 2025
September 2025
Christina Heischmidt focuses her practice on employment and labor law, and notably serves as a representative for Wilson Elser’s Women Attorneys Valued & Empowered (WAVE) initiative. She has significant experience handling complex employment and wage-related litigation and counseling matters for a range of local, national and multinational employers in the areas of higher education, transportation, technology, retail, hospitality, government contracting and nonprofits. She regularly represents large multi-unit property owners and management in fair housing matters.
Christina has represented clients successfully before agencies and courts at the local, state and federal level. Her work has involved discrimination related to the protected classes of race, color, sex (including gender, sexual harassment and discrimination based on pregnancy, childbirth, etc.), national origin, age, religion, marital status, personal appearance, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, family and caregiving responsibilities, and disability. Christina also regularly conducts internal investigations for clients on workplace claims.
In addition to litigation, Christina regularly provides advice and counseling to a number of clients on employment and fair housing matters and assists employers in developing employee handbooks and other employment- and fair housing–related policies and procedures. She regularly provides presentations and training for employers on a wide range of EEO and fair housing issues. Christina provides counsel to employers and management to mitigate the risk of potential lawsuits and avoid significant costs.
Prior to joining Wilson Elser, Christina represented small businesses and government contractors in an advisory role, and handled complex litigation before state and federal courts and regulatory bodies. She also has experience in general business litigation matters and government contracts.
Areas of Focus
Employment & Labor Practice
Christina focuses on representing management and employers in employment cases. She has represented clients in a wide range of matters brought under federal, District of Columbia, Virginia and other states’ antidiscrimination statutes, including Title VII, FMLA, ADA, ADEA, and 42 U.S.C. 1981 claims and their state counterparts, at both the trial and appellate levels. Christina also has significant experience handling matters in arbitrations before the American Arbitration Association and administrative agencies such as the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and state counterparts. Christina also provides advice and counsel, as well as formal trainings, to employers to establish best practices and mitigate risk in resolving issues before they result in litigation.
In the area of wage-and-hour regulations, Christina regularly represents clients in FLSA and state counterpart claims in court, including collective actions. She also has assisted clients in navigating and resolving audits before the United States Department of Labor. Christina regularly provides advice and counsel regarding wage-and-hour compliance.
In the labor realm, Christina has represented employers in matters related to unfair labor practice charges before the National Labor Relations Board and unionization efforts.
Fair Housing Practice
Christina also focuses her practice on fair housing litigation and counseling matters. She regularly defends residential property owners and management companies in agency investigations and lawsuits at the local, state and federal levels. She has successfully defended, as well as achieved favorable settlements for, a number of clients before the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and various state agencies and courts.
- Pennsylvania State University, The Dickinson School of Law (J.D., 2010)
- managing editor, Penn State Environmental Law Review; Miller Center for Public Interest Advocacy Certificate
- University of Virginia (B.A., 2007)
- Université Lumière Lyon (, 2006)
- Virginia
- District of Columbia
- U.S. Court of Federal Claims
- U.S. Tax Court
- Supreme Court of Virginia
- U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Columbia
- U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Eastern District of Virginia
- U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Western District of Virginia
- U.S. District Court, District of Columbia
- U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Virginia
- U.S. District Court, Western District of Virginia
- Fairfax Bar Association
- National Association of College and University Attorneys (NACUA)
- Selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® Ones to Watch™, 2026
- Selected to the Super Lawyers Rising Stars List for Virginia, 2015−2020
- Selected to the Super Lawyers Rising Stars List for the District of Columbia, 2015−2020
- Selected to list of "Legal Elite" by Virginia Business Magazine, 2012
- French