KIRSTEN
SCHEURER BRANIGAN
Managing Partner
Kirsten.Branigan@ksbraniganlaw.com
Attorney-at-Law
Investigator
Arbitrator
Mediator
Trainer
EXPERIENCE
Kirsten Scheuer Branigan is the founder and Managing Partner of KSBranigan Law P.C., a boutique law firm providing legal and neutral services, primarily in the areas of employment law and alternative dispute resolution (ADR)
Kirsten is a seasoned professional who serves in a variety of neutral roles, including as an arbitrator, mediator, investigator, trainer, and expert witness. Ms. Branigan assists organizations in preventing and resolving workplace conflicts, fostering positive environments, mitigating bias, and minimizing legal risk through a comprehensive range of training programs, investigations, compliance audits, and culture assessments.
Kirsten has exclusively practiced employment law for 30 years. She brings a unique dual perspective gained from past employment litigation experience where she had handled mattes for both employers and employees. This experience has informed and strengthened her current ADR practice, as well as other neutral-based services, including, training, investigations, and expert witness testimony.
Kirsten has decades of experience in:
- Conducting and managing independent workplace investigations involving a broad range of complaints under employment laws and workplace policies pertaining to harassment, discrimination, and retaliation.
- Drafting and advising clients on workplace policies, including those regarding the prevention of harassment, discrimination, and retaliation.
- Conducting training on a wide variety of workplace topics, including harassment, discrimination, and retaliation prevention, as well as training on workplace investigations through her signature workshop “HR on Trial: Conducting Effective Investigations.”
Kirsten is passionate about helping employers foster civility and build cohesive teams. One of the training workshops that Kirsten conducts is entitled, “Managing Multigenerational Workforces,” which assists organizations in navigating intergenerational conflict and bridging differences.
Kirsten has also been an arbitrator and mediator for approximately 18 years. She currently serves as an arbitrator on the Employment Panel of the American Arbitration Association (AAA) and as a mediator on both the AAA’s Mediation Panel and the New Jersey Courts’ Civil Roster of Mediators.
Kirsten has been committed to the advancement and retention of women in the legal profession throughout her career. Kirsten helped to launch the only two NJ-specific studies on women in the law including a first-of-its-kind study focused on solutions to the advancement and retention challenges faced by women in the New Jersey legal profession through the International Human Rights Clinic, Rutgers Law School-Newark. In 2006, she led efforts to revitalize the then-defunct New Jersey Women Lawyers Association (NJWLA), an organization that currently has thousands of members. She served as NJWLA President from 2006-2008 and continues to serve on its Board of Directors as Co-Chair of the Reproductive Rights Committee. She helped create the inaugural Women’s Initiative & Leaders in Law (WILL) Gala, now a major annual event attended by hundreds and at which the Kirsten Scheurer Branigan Presidential Award created in her name is bestowed by NJWLA.
Kirsten is also an advocate for improved management and visibility about the growing mental health crisis in the legal profession. In 2021, Kirsten was appointed by the New Jersey Supreme Court to the Board of Trustees of the New Jersey Lawyers Assistance Program, where she focused on efforts to remove stigmas associated with mental health and substance abuse and encourage lawyers to seek treatment.
Prior to launching the firm, Kirsten was an employment litigator at a large New Jersey firm. She also received a gubernatorial appointment to serve as a Commissioner with the New Jersey Public Employment Relations Commission (PERC), a seven-member, quasi-judicial administrative agency charged with administrating public sector labor issues, unfair practices, mediation, fact-finding, and arbitration.
AAA Panels/ADR Roles
- Arbitrator, Employment Panel, American Arbitration Association (2007-present)
- Mediator, Mediation Panel, American Arbitration Association (2013-present)
- New Jersey Court Civil Roster of Mediators (2008-present)
Academic Roles
- Adjunct Faculty, Rutgers Law School, Newark, International Human Rights Clinic (Spring 2023)
- External Advisor, Princeton University’s Title IX/Sexual Misconduct Grievance Program (September 2022-Present)
Leadership Roles & Recognitions
- New Jersey Lawyers Assistance Program, Board of Trustees member (2021-present)
- New Jersey Women Lawyers Association (NJWLA), Past President (2006-2008), Board of Trustees (2006-present), Co-Chair of Reproductive Rights Committee (2022-present)
- Fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers, committed to professionalism and civility, and excellence in the practice of employment law (2016-present)
- Diversity Committee of the NJSBA Labor & Employment Executive Board (2024-present)
- Workplace Investigation Committee of the NJSBA Labor & Employment Executive Board (2018-2024)
- Insider NJ’s Powerful Women of New Jersey List (2023-2025)
- YMCA Northern New Jersey, Women of Voice and Power Award (2025)
- New Jersey Super Lawyers, Alternative Dispute Resolution (2020-present)*
- Rated AV Preeminent through Martindale Hubbell**
- New Jersey Supreme Court Committee on Women in the Courts (2014-2018)
- Women’s Initiative and Leaders in the Law (WILL) Platinum Award, New Jersey Women Lawyers Association (2016)
- Commissioner, Public Employment Relations Commission (PERC) (gubernatorial appointment) (2007-2009)
- Alice Paul Equality Award, Alice Paul Institute (2008)
- Kirsten Scheurer Branigan Presidential Leadership Award (created in her name by NJWLA) (2008)
- NJ BIZ, Mover & Shaker in the Legal Industry and 40 Under Forty Award (2008)
- Professional Lawyer of the Year Award, New Jersey Commission on Professionalism (2006)
Associations
- National Association of Minority and Women Owned Law Firms (NAMWOLF), Investigation Practice Committee and Labor and Employment Practice Area Committee (2023-present); Cross-Marketing Committee (2024) Trials Practice Area Committee, ADR Subcommittee (2025-present); ADR Practice Area Committee (2026-present).
- Association of Workplace Investigators (2012 to present)
BAR ADMISSIONS & EDUCATION
Admitted to Practice
- State of New Jersey (1995)
- United States District Court, District of New Jersey (1996)
- United States Supreme Court (2019)
- New York (2025)
Education
- Rutgers Law School, Rutgers University, Newark, J.D. (Minority Student Program, Alumna) (1995)
- Rutgers University, New Brunswick, B.A. with High Honors (Henry Rutgers Scholar) (1992)
- Saint Dominic Academy, Jersey City (1988)
SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS & PUBLICATIONS
Kirsten speaks and publishes on a variety of topics, including those on the below-provided sampling. She speaks both locally and nationally, including with the American Bar Association, National Association of Minority and Women Owned Law Firms, and the Practicing Law Institute.
*SUPER LAWYERS®
No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey. The Super Lawyers lists are issued by ThompsonReuters. The selection process is conducted by an independent firm that determines which lawyers in New Jersey have attained a high degree of peer recognition & professional achievement. The methodology used by Super Lawyers can be accessed by the Super Lawyers website.
**MARTINDALE-HUBBELL® PEER REVIEW RATINGS™ are an objective indicator of a lawyer’s high ethical standards and professional ability. The rating is generated from evaluations of lawyers by other members of the bar and the judiciary in similar areas of practice within the same jurisdiction and geographic location. The methodology used by Martindale-Hubbell can be accessed by the Martindale-Hubbell website. No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey.