Crystal Banse is a Partner at Spencer West in New York. She represents employers and executives across the full spectrum of employment and labor law, including workforce compliance, employee handbooks, executive compensation, restrictive covenants, investigations, severance, and separation negotiations. When disputes arise, she guides clients toward resolution with the same rigor she brings to prevention.
Crystal brings more than 15 years of experience across government service, military law, and private practice. She served as a Judge Advocate in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General Corps, advising senior leadership on HR, investigations, and compliance matters and overseeing a legal assistance program for service members. As an Assistant Attorney General, she advised state agencies on risk management and compliance and litigated complex civil rights, constitutional, and administrative matters in state and federal courts, including before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. She later founded her own litigation and advisory practice before joining an AmLaw 200 firm, where she served as a corporate and tax attorney for domestic and international private equity clients.
Crystal’s background shapes her approach to advising. She identifies exposure before it becomes a liability, builds defensible frameworks, and brings precision and composure, whether she is counseling a business through a critical decision or guiding an executive through a high-stakes negotiation.
Relevant experience
- Drafted and negotiated executive employment agreements, offer letters, equity arrangements, and severance packages
- Represented employers through internal investigations, disciplinary processes, and employment disputes
- Litigated complex employment, civil rights, constitutional, and administrative matters in state and federal courts, including before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
- Counseled state agencies, employers, elected officials, and military leadership on employment risk, regulatory compliance, ethics, and HR strategy