Constantine W Papas

Constantine (“Dean”) W. Papas has over 20 years of legal experience.  He is a Viet Nam veteran, a former teacher, and an aggressive advocate for his clients.  He has handled hundreds of cases for individuals and companies both large and small.  He practiced in New York City for twelve years before moving to Florida in 1997 where he continued his practice.

Dean’s particular focus in Orlando is on employment issues that arise between employers and employees.  Dean has represented both corporations and individuals in a wide variety of employment disputes and where possible tries to find a solution for his clients that allows them to continue with their businesses and careers without the disruption and cost of lengthy time consuming litigation.  However, if that is not possible Dean has the experience and training to try cases in State and Federal Courts before a judge or a jury.  For example, Dean recently was successful in persuading a federal jury to award his client damages for retaliating against her for complaining about how she was treated. He has also been successful in obtaining settlements for Orlando area clients under the Equal Pay Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, Title VII and the Florida Civil Rights Act.  Similarly, on behalf of private companies, Dean has been successful in having claims of sexual harassment and age discrimination dismissed by the courts.

Dean has years of experience guiding clients though the complex world that is called “Labor and Employment Law”.  He works with clients pre-litigation to try to resolve employment disputes and shepherds them through the filing of discrimination charges before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Florida Commission on Human Relations (FCHR).  He has litigated hundreds of cases in Federal and State courts and private arbitrations and participated in hundreds of mediations.  While these cases are too numerous to list they typically concern wage and hour disputes, sex, disability, age and religious discrimination, retaliation claims, employment contract disputes, Whistle-blower claims and non-compete disputes.

Dean also represents small to mid-size businesses in a broad range of commercial matters ranging from contract disputes to non-compete claims to commercial collections.

Dean was born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts and attended Oberlin College, the University of Chicago and Brooklyn Law School where he received an American Jurisprudence Award in Insurance Law and was selected to intern with the Department of Justice, Torts Division.

Dean is actively involved in his homeowner’s association having served as President for three years and a member of the Hillsborough County Bar Association, the American Bar Association and authorized to appear in all the State and Federal courts in the State of Florida.