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Forrest G. Read IV

(He/Him • Forey)
Principal
Raleigh
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Forrest G. Read is a principal in the Raleigh, North Carolina, office of Jackson Lewis P.C. After spending four and a half years in the firm’s Washington, DC Region office, he relocated to Raleigh in the summer of 2017. He has extensive experience in both business immigration law and employment law and has particular focus in legal issues in graduate medical education (GME).

Forrest's immigration practice focuses on assisting employers in obtaining employment-based nonimmigrant visas (e.g., H-1B, L, O, P, TN) for foreign national employees and work-related immigrant (green card) visas, including PERM labor certifications, national interest waivers, and EB-1 petitions, and advising employers on compliance with U.S. immigration laws and regulations. He has broad experience in advising large, mid-size and small employers on their various immigration needs and developing strategies to help them navigate through complex immigration issues, including minimizing the risk of and responding to ICE and USCIS audits. He also has particular experience in counseling employers in the health care industry and addressing immigration-related issues that arise for their broad range of health care professional employees (including advising on and obtaining employment authorization for medical residents and fellows and obtaining J-1 visa waivers for foreign national physicians completing their medical training in the United States). His immigration practice also includes defending employers in connection with Department of Labor H-1B and H-2B investigations and immigration-related litigation.

Forrest’s employment law experience includes representing management, particularly academic medical centers in the GME context, in a wide array of workplace disputes and litigation before federal and state courts and administrative agencies, including matters related to discrimination, retaliation, harassment, disability, family and medical leave, various wage and hour issues, contracts, and intentional torts. He advises academic medical centers on the interplay between applicable academic law and employment law and the ramifications of what are divergent legal requirements and standards. Forrest also provides counsel with respect to the legal impact of competency standards for residents and trainees in GME, including situations involving discipline, remediation, and dismissal. He provides advice and guidance in the peer review process, including provision of verification and assessment of training in response to third party inquiries.

As a member of the Firm’s Corporate Diversity Counseling group, Forrest also has experience in providing assessments and making recommendations to corporate and institutional clients with respect to diversity and inclusion policies and initiatives, conducting related internal investigations, and shaping, developing and enforcing effective policies and initiatives to ensure consistency with client values and in furtherance of business goals and objectives.

Honors and Recognitions

  • JD Supra, "Readers' Choice Top Author" (2020)
  • Legal 500 USA, "Recommended Attorney" (2017)

Credentials

Education
Boston University School of Law
J.D.
University of North Carolina
B.A.
Admitted to Practice
District of Columbia - D.D.C.
North Carolina - E.D. N.C.
District of Columbia
Massachusetts
North Carolina
Professional Associations and Activities
American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA)
District of Columbia Bar Association
Wake County Bar Association
American Society of Healthcare Human Resources Administrators

Boston University School of Law
J.D.
University of North Carolina
B.A.

District of Columbia - D.D.C.
North Carolina - E.D. N.C.
District of Columbia
Massachusetts
North Carolina

American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA)
District of Columbia Bar Association
Wake County Bar Association
American Society of Healthcare Human Resources Administrators