Trina Fairley Barlow

Trina has successfully defended clients in single plaintiff, class, and collective action cases in all phases of litigation. Her experience includes litigating cases before federal and state courts, administrative agencies, and other tribunals in cases arising under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, Americans with Disabilities Act, Family and Medical Leave Act, Equal Pay Act, Fair Labor Standards Act, and a host of other federal and state laws. She has prevailed on behalf of employers in cases involving breach of contract, non-competition agreements, misappropriation of proprietary information claims, and other business torts. In addition to being a zealous advocate in the courtroom, Trina always has her client’s business objectives top of mind and seeks to find solutions through collaboration and agreed upon strategy, evaluating at every step the risk-reward equation.  

Trina’s extensive investigations experience includes leading large internal investigations of alleged discrimination, sexual harassment, hostile work environment, retaliation, wage and hour, whistleblower, and ethics complaints that frequently involve senior leadership and claims of systemic discrimination and retaliation. Where necessary, Trina also collaborates with clients to investigate and respond to governmental inquiries. Trina’s investigations practice includes helping clients implement corrective actions and strategies in response to workplace complaints and conducting privileged analyses of companies’ complaint and investigations procedures in order to help clients better understand their legal exposure and identify best practices.  

Trina’s experience advising federal government contractors on essential employment and compliance issues includes advising them on the requirements of the Service Contract Act and the Davis-Bacon Act, and representing clients in investigations and litigation before the Department of Labor. She has also successfully defended and advised clients in whistleblower retaliation cases arising under the False Claims Act, National Defense Authorization Act, the Defense Contract Whistleblower Protection Act, and various state whistleblower protection laws.

Trina is co-chair of Crowell’s Labor and Employment practice group, a member of the Government Contracts Group, and a member of the firm’s Management Board. She is also a Chambers USA-ranked attorney, and a 2023 Lawyers of Color Wonderful Women honoree.