Mario D. Conte

Mario is a pragmatic problem solver, working with our clients to resolve their complicated employment, healthcare, and business issues. Mario has been with Hershner Hunter since 2007 and served as the firm’s Managing Partner for five years.

For the first decade of his career, Mario’s practice focused on litigation, including primary responsibility for employment-related trials, arbitrations, and mediations. That experience—advocating for and defending employers and businesses after relationships or deals had gone wrong—is invaluable to his current work helping employers and healthcare clients navigate, and avoid, legal issues. And his work as the firm’s Managing Partner gave Mario real-world experience leading a team of highly skilled professionals and employees, including through challenges like those faced by our employment and healthcare clients.

Outside the office, Mario enjoys spending time with his wife and children, and he serves on the boards of Cornerstone Community Housing and the Lane County Human Resources Association.

Areas of Expertise

Strategic Day-To-Day Employment, Healthcare, and Business Advice
Complex Employment, Non-Competition/Solicitation, and Severance Agreements
Representing Employers in Mediation, Arbitration, and Litigation
Representing Employers in BOLI and EEOC Proceedings
Negotiating and Drafting of Provider and Other Healthcare Agreements on Behalf of Individual Providers and Physician Groups
Guidance on Healthcare Regulatory Compliance Matters

Below are examples of disputes Mario has helped our clients resolve:

Regularly assist clients to satisfactorily resolve claims brought by current or former employees, through successful motion practice, direct negotiation, or mediation

Represented clients in pursuing and defending against requests for restraining orders or injunctions to prevent the use of trade secrets and other confidential or proprietary information

Defended an out-of-state client against allegations that he acted as a de facto trustee and breached his fiduciary duties, resulting in a favorable judgment for our client in all respects

Successfully defended a regional bank in an action seeking over $2 million in damages and a preliminary injunction, in which the plaintiffs offered a favorable settlement immediately after hearing our opening statement at the preliminary injunction hearing

Successfully defended our clients in state court against claims of fraud and financial elder abuse arising from commercial loan transactions

As lead trial counsel, successfully defended a regional radio broadcaster against claims of age and sex-based employment discrimination

Successfully defended a suit seeking to force the sale of our clients’ interests in real property that had been in their family for decades

Before an international arbitration panel, worked as co-counsel to successfully defend one of the world’s most prominent recycling system manufacturers against breach of warranty claims exceeding $40 million

Obtained summary judgment in our client’s favor in an easement dispute that threatened public access to our client’s successful restaurant franchise

Negotiated a favorable settlement on behalf of a national bank in a federal employment discrimination case against our client after prevailing on summary judgment against the majority of the employee’s claims

  • American Health Law Association, Current Member
  • Lane County Human Resources Association, Current Board Member/Legislative Co-Chair
  • Society for Human Resource Management, Current Member
  • Cornerstone Community Housing, Current Board Member
  • Lane County Bar Association, Current Member
  • CASA of Lane County, Former Board Member and Board President
  • Oregon State Bar New Lawyers Division, Former Member of Executive Committee
  • Committed Partners for Youth, Former Youth Mentor
  • United Way of Lane County, Former Chair of Emerging Leaders Council

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