The Legal 500

Jones Day’s partners have a wealth of experience in traditional labor matters. ‘The overall level of service is superb’. The firm was retained by the National Railway Labor Conference in connection with collective bargaining on behalf of over 30 freight railroads, including Union Pacific, BNSF Railway, and CSX Transportation; represented American Steamship Company, a subsidiary of GATX Corporation in connection with on-going collective bargaining for a successor collective bargaining agreement with the American Maritime Officers; and earned a victory for Verizon’s Potomac-region companies in an arbitration with the Communication Workers of America. It also represented the MedStar Health System and its affiliate, the Washington Hospital Center, in difficult and prolonged negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement with the National Nurses Union; and Kenan Advantage Group in connection with a number of unfair labor practice charges filed in Southern California by Teamsters Local Union No. 986 that arose out of conduct following the Union’s election and certification in August 2010. Willis Goldsmith has a superb national reputation as a traditional labor lawyer. Aaron Agenbroad ‘has the rare combination of high intelligence, integrity, refined people skills and immeasurable grace under pressure. He is our chief negotiator with our most difficult union and he is never flustered or impatient. Methodically and respectfully he keeps the ball moving forward, has gained the union’s respect and has gained the full confidence of our board. He is generous in educating the union on management’s proposals, is accessible to our team on every level and is a real pleasure to work with’. Curt Kirschner ‘is brilliant. He is the attorney’s attorney. He works directly with our board on highly sensitive and confidential matters. We have the highest confidence in his knowledge, skill and ability to advise us on complex employment matters involving our senior managers. He is even-tempered and unshakeable under pressure. He is so respected that some of the most difficult unions give him a vote of confidence due to his integrity’. Donald Munro is ‘extremely efficient, handling matters in half the time it would take most lawyers. He is personally well-liked and respected by both unions and management’. Sadly, Andrew Kramer passed away in 2011.

Morgan Lewis impresses its clients. ‘We have found its attorneys to be the highest quality representation available’. ‘The firm has not only a strong expertise in labor relations and employment law, but it consistently provides pragmatic, timely and well-crafted advice. It has handled several difficult and challenging matters for my company and the quality of work and advice has been superb’. ‘In my opinion, the labor practice group is second-to-none’. ‘Excellent law firm, it has a very competent labor law department that provides timely, cost effective advice’. ‘Its breadth of knowledge and team of attorneys sets it apart from other firms we have used in the past’. The firm’s attorneys were at the forefront of the national labor relations debate and provided testimony and represented numerous organizations regarding recent NLRB decisions and rulemaking initiatives. Other work highlights included completing successful labor negotiations on behalf of Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa with the carpenters, operating engineers and painters’ unions resulting in a $3-per-hour give-back; assisting Continental Airlines with their traditional labor counseling and litigation, including with respect to their merger with United Airlines; and assisting the United States Postal Service with interest arbitration matters relating to national agreements covering carriers and other employees. Joseph Santucci leads the team, together with Doreen Davis, who ‘has an excellent knowledge of our industry and provides us with complete, practical, on point advice. She always provides her advice from a business perspective but does so in clear layman’s terms’. Thomas Reinert is ‘one of the leading experts in the Railway Labor Act and a very practical advisor’, and Joseph Ragaglia is ‘my go-to labor relations person. In my opinion, he is one of the top labor lawyers in the country and I cannot imagine using anyone else. His work is top-quality and always metered for the audience and situation. He has excellent instincts and provides pragmatic advice and always several options. In addition, he has a wonderful ability to interact well with everyone, including difficult labor union presidents and our CEO. He has and continues to build strong relationships with key stakeholders’. John Ring is also recommended.

‘For complex labor-law matters, I don’t think Proskauer Rose LLP has an equal’. Clients effuse about the strengths of the firm’s traditional labor practice. ‘I have found the level of service to be second-to-none. Its response time is unbelievably quick, and its knowledge of the gamut of labor-related issues is outstanding’. ‘We use the firm for our thorniest traditional labor issues in the US’. The firm recently represented the National Football League as labor counsel during the negotiations for a successor collective bargaining agreement, the attendant four and one-half-month lockout and related litigation; serves as general labor counsel to The New York Times; and is currently negotiating the collective bargaining agreement covering the sales and support staff in Barneys’ flagship Madison Avenue store, who are represented by Workers United. L Robert Batterman and Howard Robbins are ‘both very capable with depth of knowledge in labor matters’. Marvin Goldstein and Bernard Plum are also highly respected. Paul Salvatore is ‘able to give insightful advice and support, and is exceptional in his ability to communicate effectively with the representatives of labor and its leadership’. Michael Lebowich is praised for his ‘knowledge. He is very competent, responsive and client service-oriented’. Neil Abramson is ‘remarkably responsive and helpful. Neil has an in-depth knowledge of labor law that I trust completely’. Mark Theodore is ‘fully knowledgeable in the areas of labor law, and current on all of the recent changes that are taking place. We used him to go on site to a location to assist with union avoidance measures and he had a great way about him and could forge relationships across the full spectrum of the organization – from senior leadership down to hourly employees’. Co-head of the strategic planning group Scott Faust and co-head of the labor management relations group and former board member and general counsel of the NLRB Ronald Meisburg are also recommended.

Jackson Lewis LLP is ‘truly a businessman’s law firm’. ‘The overall level of service is unmatched by any other firm I have ever used. It is incredibly responsive – I rarely have to wait more than an hour or so to hear back from someone in response to a call or email. It has attorneys with knowledge of almost every industry – and has a depth and breadth of experience in all aspects of the law. The advice provided is appropriate with the level of risk that I am comfortable with – and it always tries to provide a creative solution to the issue. The value of the service provided is excellent’. In 2011, at the request of organizations such as the Association of Corporate Counsel, the firm’s labor partners testified before the US House of Representatives Education and The Workforce Committee and before the NLRB. Work highlights included representing Sotheby’s in high-profile collective bargaining negotiations with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. Other representative clients include Hard Rock International, Assisted Living Federation of America and Toys “R” Us. Group leader Philip Rosen is ‘a specialist in the traditional labor area – corporate campaigns are a great strength’, and Peter Moss is ‘especially strong in the New York City market and amongst others, the hotel industry’. Thomas Piekara’s ‘strengths in the traditional labor area include union avoidance as well as negotiating union contracts and managing a unionized workforce. Corporate campaigns are also a great strength. He is a very skilled litigator in the labor law area’. He is also ‘easy to work with – I never hesitate to turn him over, directly, to my in-house clients. He takes care of them just as I would! He is approachable, creative and strategic. I recommend him most highly!’ Bradley Kampas is a ‘California labor law expert’. Jeffrey Mintz is also highly recommended.

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, PC has ‘talented labor lawyers’. The lawyers in the firm’s traditional labor practice group have experience advising and representing employers of all sizes and across virtually all industries in connection with union representation campaigns, collective bargaining negotiations, strike preparations, labor arbitrations, and NLRB proceedings. The firm has represented clients confronted with every form of union organizing activity, from union card signing activity and traditional union campaigns involving NLRB elections, to campaigns involving various levels of neutrality, to multi-site and even global attacks, and corporate campaigns. The firm has also represented clients with bargaining units of all sizes, and with all major unions, in countless collective bargaining negotiations. Its attorneys are experienced in handling the numerous matters that comprise collective bargaining, including wage rates and structures; health insurance, retirement plans and other benefits issues; productivity, performance, attendance, discipline, and other accountability measures; transfer of work, facility closure, subcontracting, and other management rights; and promotion, transfer, and layoff and recall rights, including ensuring management authority to fill positions based on skills and qualifications. The firm’s attorneys also routinely work closely with its clients in making detailed preparations that are necessary in advance of a strike, and help them execute this strategy as needs require. In addition, when traditional labor disputes end up before the NLRB, the firm’s attorneys also have a wealth of experience before the NLRB and the Courts of Appeal. Of counsel and name partner of the firm Homer Deakins, managing shareholder Kim Ebert, Mark Stubley and Rodolfo Agraz are all recommended.

‘Seyfarth Shaw is among the top labor management firms in the country’. ‘We get first class advice and counsel whenever we need it from this firm on our labor issues’. ‘The firm’s lawyers are smarter and more strategic than any of the other lawyers I’ve dealt with for this type of work over the course of my 35 years (with three different companies) as a labor negotiator’. ‘They will lay out virtually every scenario you need to consider and partner with you to implement the solution that best suits your business needs’. Representative clients include Chrysler Group, Ceasar’s Entertainment Corporation, the Washington Service Contractors Association and the San Francisco Opera. Practice head Bradford Livingston ‘is everyone’s favorite. His knowledge is top notch, but I think his personality is why everyone here loves him’. Joseph Damato’s ‘expertise in not only labor law, but in relationship building with the unions’. Jeremy Sherman is a ‘brilliant strategist, and has tremendous command of traditional labor issues, an unparalleled ability to look around the corner to see (and prepare to defeat) issues others haven’t thought of’. Joel Kaplan is ‘recommended without reservation’, and Arthur Telegen is ‘probably the best labor attorney in the country, he knows the law, the courts and the unions and the NLRB. He provides excellent advice and gets us the results we need’. Kristin Michaels is praised for her ‘tireless and exhaustive preparation. She is a tiger in litigation, calls it straight when faced with messy facts, and has a mind like a steel trap. I’d match her against any labor lawyer in the country’. John Toner served as one of the highest-ranking career officials at both the NLRB and the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, and Marshall Babson, who joined the firm in 2011 from Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP, is a former member of the NLRB. Jeffrey Berman and Peter Chatilovicz are also recommended. In 2012, Stacy Shartin sadly passed away.

In 2011, Epstein Becker & Green, P.C. was invited to provide testimony before the NLRB concerning rulemaking proposals affecting union organizing and election activities, collective bargaining negotiations, and union-management issues. The firm has extensive experience in this field. Highlight work included the firm’s representation of Thomson Reuters. After more than 2 years negotiating with a goal of modifying 20 years of work rules and practices that amounted to 114 pages in a collective bargaining agreement, the firm successfully restructured the contract for US personnel with the Newspaper Guild Union and removed significant onerous working practices and rules that hampered the change in focus of this major news organization. The firm also recently served as labor relations counsel for Sweet Ovations, a leading manufacturer of ingredients for food products. During negotiations over the terms of the new collective bargaining agreement, the company and the union had a philosophical divide over an appropriate compensation structure for the bargaining unit and cost allocation for health insurance expenses between the employees and the company. When it became clear that an agreement could not be reached, the company declared an impasse thereby permitting it to implement the terms of its latest offer to the union. The union filed numerous unfair labor practices contesting the validity of the impasse. The firm successfully defended each charge before the NLRB. Jay Krupin and Steven Swirsky are recommended.

McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP’s ‘service level is outstanding. It provides exceptional advice in a timely manner. The firm is a true business partner’. The firm continues to represent Foxwoods Resort Casino, which is owned and operated by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, in ongoing disputes over the applicability of federal labor law to on-reservation activities of Native American tribes. The firm’s attorneys previously persuaded the United Auto Workers to forego its claims under federal law and bargain under the Tribe’s labor law, and negotiated what they believe to be the first collective bargaining agreement under a Tribal labor statute. Since then, the firm’s attorneys convinced a second union to proceed under the jurisdiction of the Tribal labor law, and concluded successful negotiation of a second collective bargaining agreement under the Tribal statute in late 2011. In another highlight matter, the firm represented The Boeing Company with respect to labor issues surrounding its decision to build a final assembly line for the 787 Dreamliner commercial aircraft. In addition, the firm represents Interbake Foods in traditional labor matters, including advice on union organizing efforts and multiple unfair labor practice charges. Mark Keenan is praised for his ‘customer focus, strategic thinking and subject matter expertise’. ‘His strengths include acumen in developing an effective communications strategy to employees, and knowledge of our business and company’. Richard Hankins and Alston Correll are also recommended.

One of Reed Smith LLP’s clients attest that it ‘considers the advice received from the firm to be excellent value for the money’. The firm can operate in any one of several roles – as the chief negotiator at the bargaining table, as an advisor and participant in negotiations with a company representative acting as the chief spokesperson, or as a behind-the-scenes advisor one step away from the bargaining table. The firm’s attorneys have the experience to take whatever approach works best, whether that is hard bargaining to obtain important concessions, or an amicable and expeditious settlement that allows the parties to focus on their work. On behalf of client Verizon, the firm handled issues relating to work stoppage in Pennsylvania, Delaware and Virginia. This included day-to-day advice, injunctive relief, contempt actions and unemployment issues. Other highlight work included acting for ARHS where the firm served as chief negotiator for a regional hospital of a first collective bargaining agreement covering registered nurses who retained many management prerogatives and several provisions, rarely, if ever, found in labor agreements. An 11-month negotiation resulted in an agreement permitting employees to opt in and out of union membership throughout the contract period. Karl Fritton is ‘one of the best traditional labor lawyers in the US’, and global labor and employment practice chair Casey Ryan is described by one client as the ‘best employment lawyer and relationship partner I work with’. Los Angeles-based Linda Husar, Eugene Connors and William Bevan, who can both be found in Pittsburgh, are also recommended.

At Vedder Price ‘the overall service is excellent and great value’. ‘Our experience with the firm has been extremely favorable. It consistently demonstrates the ability to develop strong strategies buttressed by a broad and deep knowledge of the law as well as the industries in which we operate. Quite often, the issues under consideration are very complex and have ramifications across multiple human resource functions as well as across multiple business functions. The firm has consistently provided strong experts capable of foreseeing inter-organizational ramifications and formulating appropriate alternatives’. The firm was recently involved in the negotiation of labor contracts with National Nurses United and the Service Employees International Union which involved the successful handling of arbitrations regarding the subcontracting of work with both the SEIU and the Teamsters. Thomas Wilde is ‘very knowledgeable in labor law and has good interpersonal skills that allow him to work with all levels of an organization’. Kenneth Sparks ‘always provides thorough analysis of the legal situation at hand and provides a very effective common sense approach to resolving legal matters. He understands our labor issues in the context of our industry and business’. Neal Korval and Lyle Zuckerman ‘have an in-depth knowledge of union negotiations and are very responsive. We also use them as a key resource in our discussion for developing negotiating strategies’. Kevin Hennessy ‘is a broad thinker with excellent business acumen and a keen sense of the practical implications of a course of action. He is an excellent manager who delivers high-value work in a very cost efficient and timely manner’. Lawrence Casazza is also recommended.