Representing employers covered by the National Labor Relations Act and the Railway Labor Act in complex labor issues is a key specialism of the labor & employment practice group at Jones Day. The team’s comprehensive work portfolio counts matters including collective bargaining, labor arbitrations and litigation, work stoppages, union organization and representation, and the development of nationwide labor strategies. Stand-outs from the group’s impressive client base include major corporations McDonald’s, Bloomberg and American Airlines. New York-based Mathew Lampe jointly leads the team alongside Elizabeth McRee , who works out of Chicago. Brian West Easley, partner-in-charge of the Minneapolis office, is praised for his ‘significant experience’ across all aspects of labor-management relations. New York’s Willis Goldsmith is vastly experienced on traditional labor law matters, while Patricia Dunn is based in Washington DC, and is an expert in negotiating labor agreements, advising on bargaining strategies and contingency planning. At associate level, Chicago-based Allyson Werntz is a key point of contact.
Labor-management relations in United States
Jones Day
Practice head(s):
Matthew Lampe; Elizabeth McRee
Other key lawyers:
Willis Goldsmith; Patricia Dunn; Brian West Easley; Allyson Werntz
Testimonials
‘Brian Easley has significant experience.’
Key clients
McDonald’s Corporation
CSX Corporation
Bloomberg
CITGO Petroleum Corporation
The Kraft Heinz Company
General Electric
American Steamship Company
BNSF Railway Company
American Airlines Group
The City of Minneapolis
Stanford University
Saputo
Wabtec Corporation
Wynnchurch Capital Partners
National Railway Labor Conference
ITT
Work highlights
- Represented the National Railway Labor Conference (the collective bargaining representative for the freight rail industry) in connection with negotiations with twelve labor unions for an industry wide successor collective bargaining agreement.
- Representing Wabtec in connection with a broad spectrum of labor and employment issues.
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP
The labor and employment practice group at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP is vastly experienced in labor-management relations across a full range of both litigation and counselling matters, with particular emphasis on collective bargaining, corporate campaigns, labor arbitrations, mediations and union organization campaigns. The team frequently practices before all federal, state and local agencies, and has a demonstrable track record at all levels of the court system including significant involvement in significant public policy matters, including the National Labor Relations Board governing ‘quickie’ election procedures. Based out of Washington DC, Daniel Bordoni maintains his focus on labor-management relations across the defense, manufacturing, transportation and consumer products industries. In the same office, Jonathan C. Fritts is a key name on mandates spanning the transport, construction and energy industries. Los Angeles-based attorney and former NLRB board lawyer Nicole Buffalano represents high-end clients in critical labor issues across multiple sectors. Philadelphia’s Joseph Ragaglia provides employers with strategic advice and jointly leads the firm’s global labor and employment practice in conjunction with transport expert Harry I. Johnson, III who works out of Century City, California. Former chairman of the NLRB, Philip Miscimarra is based in both Washington DC and Chicago, handling complex labor law disputes and union representation election cases. Philadelphia-based Steven R. Wall is the firm’s managing partner and a senior name in the team.
Practice head(s):
Joseph Ragaglia; Harry I. Johnson, III
Other key lawyers:
Daniel Bordoni; Jonathan C. Fritts; Nicole Buffalano; Philip Miscimarra; Steven R. Wall
Key clients
Aramark
Coalition for a Democratic Workplace
Georgetown University
Hackensack Meridian Health
Littler Mendelson
MedStar Health
Southwest Airlines
Tesla
US Chamber of Commerce
US Soccer Federation
United National Foods
Work highlights
- Successfully negotiated the collective bargaining agreement for the United States Soccer Federation, leading to historic equal-pay agreements for the women’s and men’s US national soccer teams and ending years of labor conflict between the federation and its national teams.
- Successfully defended the law firm Littler Mendelson P.C. in three NLRB cases alleging that questioning by Littler lawyers in three NLRB union representation hearings (involving union organizing at particular Starbucks stores) constituted violations of the NLRA.
- Successfully defended Southwest Airlines in two separate matters alleging violations of the RLA.
Proskauer Rose LLP
Proskauer Rose LLP is home to an experienced team of practitioners with an impressive work portfolio, leveraging extensive sports, deep media and entertainment sector expertise to advise on a full-range of critical industry-specific labor issues. Employment law counseling, litigation and arbitration are core pillars of the group’s practice. The firm’s client roster in the space includes major global corporations, financial institutions and municipalities, including the city of New York and T-Mobile. Neil Abramson is based in New York and jointly leads the group alongside Los Angeles-based Anthony Oncidi. Elsewhere in the team, Paul Salvatore provides strategic advice to companies on the full suite of labor-management relations issues. Steven Porzio is a key name for collective bargaining negotiations, alongside representation and unfair labor practice cases before the NLRB. Associate Erin Conroy focuses her practice on public sector labor and employment matters. All lawyers listed are in New York unless otherwise stated. Bernard Plum has retired.
Practice head(s):
Neil Abramson; Anthony Oncidi
Other key lawyers:
Paul Salvatore; Steven Porzio; Mark Batten; Scott Faust; Adam Lupion; Erin Conroy
Testimonials
‘Proskauer has supreme knowledge of the law to help inform and provide both short-term and long-time strategies to navigate changing and inconsistent employment laws.’
‘Paul Salvatore is the most strategic labor lawyer I have ever encountered. He anticipates developments and gives clients options for turning weaknesses into strengths and putting the client in the best position possible to achieve its goals.’
‘Steven Porzio is extremely knowledgable and insightful and provides excellent guidance in navigating a difficult labor environment.’
‘They have an excellent team, specifically Neil Abramson and Adam Lupion, who provide great legal advice.’
Key clients
The League of Voluntary Hospitals and Homes of New York
The City of New York
Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY)
Realty Advisory Board on Labor Relations (RAB)
Various Universities
Various Media Clients
T-Mobile and T-Mobile T-Voice Litigation
Henkel Corporation
SHoP Architects
Seyfarth Shaw LLP
Seyfarth Shaw LLP offers a deep bench of experienced lawyers, handling a full-range of labor-management relations mandates. Praised as ‘top notch’, the team focuses on all matters relating to organized labor: complex labor arbitrations, negotiations pertaining to collective bargaining, unfair labor practice charges, representation before the National Labor Relations Board and union organizing campaigns. Glenn Smith chairs the practice group and is based in New York, with support from vice-chair and Seattle-based Molly Gabel. Washington DC’s Bryan O’Keefe focuses on traditional labor law matters, including NLRB unfair practice charges and administrative law judge trials. In Boston, ‘extraordinary’ lawyer Arthur Telegen advises major clients on complex collective bargaining agreements, alongside general labor-management relations issues. Chicago-based Karla Sanchez maintains her impressive practice in the space, predominantly engaging on unfair labor practice proceedings and representations before the NLRB. Former co-chair Kyllan Kershaw left in October 2022, whilst Bradford Livingston retired in July 2022.
Practice head(s):
Glenn Smith; Molly Gabel
Other key lawyers:
Bryan O’Keefe; Arthur Telegen; Karla Sanchez; Brian Stolzenbach; Joe Damato; Stuart Newman; Jeff Berman
Testimonials
‘Seyfarth is a top-notch firm in this practice area and a great value in light of their reasonable billing rates.’
‘Jeff Berman is one of the country’s top experts in the field and can be counted on for thorough and practical advice.’
‘Arthur Telegen is extraordinary. He has deep expertise and is a very strong advocate and great strategist. Would look to him on the most complex and high-stakes matters.’
Fisher & Phillips
Fisher & Phillips remains strong in the space, with frequent engagement on a range of matters including unfair labor practice proceedings, injunctions, damage suits, contract negotiations and arbitrations, strike handling and preventative labor relations strategies. The team has experience defending labor conflicts before the National Labor Relations Board and other administrative agencies. Focusing on collective bargaining agreements and based in the Tampa office, Steve Bernstein jointly leads the team with San Francisco-based Todd Lyon, who regularly advises across the full-suite of labor issues. David Dornak focuses his practice on traditional labor issues, predominantly representing night clubs, ultra-lounges and restaurants in Las Vegas, where he is based.
Practice head(s):
Todd Lyon; Stephen Bernstein
Other key lawyers:
David Dornak
Testimonials
‘Todd Lyon is very helpful in working with our company to identify our goals. He is very knowledgeable on negotiations and has a significant amount of experience. Also, very responsive and does not hesitate to put forth the work needed to accomplish goals and meet the need of the company.’
Key clients
USL (United Soccer League) Championship
Labinal
Gopher Resource
Work highlights
- Representing USL Championship, in negotiations for its first ever collective bargaining agreement involving a previously established players union (the USLPA).
- Represented Labinal as chief negotiator in connection with renewal contract negotiations with IAM Local No. 2317 in Denton, Texas.
- Represented Gopher Resource in connection with labor negotiations against IBEW Local No. 108 in Tampa, Florida.
Ford Harrison LLP
Specialist labor and employment firm Ford Harrison LLP offers deep experience in labor-management relations to clients from a range of industries including healthcare, aviation, restaurants, construction, retail and manufacturing, among others. Key name from the group’s client base are Delta Air Lines, American Air Lines and Publix. North Carolina’s Allen J McKenna, who focuses on union campaigns, collective bargaining and arbitrations, jointly heads up the practice group alongside Paul R. Beshears who is based in Atlanta and is experienced in collective bargaining, labor arbitrations and NLRB unfair labor practices.
Practice head(s):
Allen J McKenna; Paul R. Beshears
Key clients
Delta Air Lines
Mohawk Industries
Turner Enterprises
AFLAC
Publix Super Markets
Denny’s
United Airlines
MassMutual
International Paper
CommScope
National Healthcare Corporation
Forward Air
The ServiceMaster Company
RaceTrac Petroleum
Terminix International Company
American Airlines
HD Supply
ALSAC
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
Work highlights
- Represented Windsor Health and Rehab on the establishment of a new contract.
- Represented First Light Power against International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) for use of management rights clause to institute a mandatory vaccination policy related to COVID-19.
- Represented San Jose Healthcare System against Stationary Engineers Local 39 Pension Trust Fund (Union) in a collective bargaining agreement that obligated the to make pension contributions for worked covered by CBA.
Jackson Lewis P.C.
Healthcare, energy, transport, construction and media are industries of particular focus for the practice group at Jackson Lewis P.C., working on management-side mandates relating to both contentious and transactional work including organization and representation, labor litigation, collective bargaining and contingency planning matters. Working out of the Atlanta office, co-leader of the labor-relations practice group, Jonathan Spitz, is vastly experienced in handling unfair labor practice trials and advises employers in complex labor relations issues. Fellow co-leader, Hartford’s Richard Vitarelli, is known for his work in the space on strategic labor relations, collective bargaining, multi-employer pension benefits and withdrawal liability issues. Elsewhere in the group, Orange County-based Laura Pierson-Scheinberg focuses on traditional labor issues, union elections and unfair labor practice charges. Phoenix-based Alan Feldman and Maryland's Stephen Silvestri are other important ports of call within the team.
Practice head(s):
Jonathan Spitz; Richard Vitarelli
Other key lawyers:
Laura Pierson-Scheinberg; Alan Feldman; Stephen Silvestri
Testimonials
‘Devoted management-side labor lawyers. Deep experience in multiple areas, coupled with practical advice. From negotiations with organized labor to “bread and butter” HR and labor issues, the Jackson Lewis team is quick to assess the landscape of a matter and get up to speed, before following through with “hands-on” and straightforward advice – even when the news is not what the client wants to hear.’
‘The team has deep experience that fosters practical, straightforward advice that can be quickly implemented.’
Key clients
Howard University
Equinor, USA
Gemma Power Systems
Adventist Health System
NFI Group
Nationwide Insurance
Resource System Group
Curio Holdings
Exxon Mobil
Work highlights
- Represented an international oil-and-gas company’s in issues including unfair labor practice trials, strategic advice on collective bargaining, strike contingency planning, union avoidance and all other aspects of labor law.
- Represented Howard University on the negotiation of a collective bargaining agreement in the face of a potential faculty strike.
- Representing a large client in the public sector in employment negotiations.
BakerHostetler
The team at BakerHostetler has a strong record for representing a vast range of clients in diverse industries in the space. Negotiating labor contracts, private sector election campaigns, contingency planning for strike preparedness, and labor-related arbitrations are among the core pillars of the group’s practice. Practice co-leader and Atlanta-based attorney Patrick M. Muldowney is a key name within the department. The team also has demonstrable experience in proceedings before the NLRB – Jay P. Krupin is a key lawyer for such matters- working out of the Washington DC office, he co-chairs the department and focuses on collective bargaining agreements. Co-chair Amy J. Traub is New York-based, whilst Paul Rosenberg acts for important clients in the manufacturing, hospitality, healthcare and media sectors.
Practice head(s):
Amy J. Traub; Jay P. Krupin; Patrick M. Muldowney
Other key lawyers:
Paul Rosenberg
Key clients
Excel Group
Ballard Spahr LLP
Ballard Spahr LLP advises on employer-side mandates across heavily unionized industries, including the manufacturing, transportation and public employer sectors. Core competencies for the ‘efficient and responsive’ team include assisting employers with unfair labor practice cases, high-stakes labor negotiations and arbitrations, alongside corporate campaigns and representation before the NLRB. New Jersey-based attorney Denise Keyser leads the team with long-standing experience in the space. Brian D. Pedrow focuses his practice on the full scope of employment-related litigation, whilst Shannon D. Farmer is praised as ‘extremely knowledgeable‘ and remains another key name in the team for all forms of labor and employment matters. Meredith Dante represents employers from a broad range of industries, including healthcare, insurance and technology. Steven W. Suflas left the practice in November 2022. Attorneys are in Philadelphia, unless otherwise stated.
Practice head(s):
Denise Keyser
Other key lawyers:
Shannon D. Farmer; Brian D. Pedrow; Meredith Dante
Testimonials
‘The team is efficient and responsive.’
‘Shannon Farmer is extremely knowledgeable and very responsive.’
‘The team acquired in depth knowledge of our company, our people and our labor relations needs.’
‘Meredith Dante and Shannon Farmer exhibit the quality of listening to our situation and needs and then giving us an honest assessment of our options (usually more than one) to help us maximize our success when dealing with our varied unions.’
Key clients
City of Philadelphia
Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA)
Temple University
Temple University Health System
American Red Cross
City of Baltimore
American Council of Life Insurers
Wallenius Wilhemsen Solutions
PacifiCorp. d/b/a Rocky Mountain Power
University of Pittsburgh
Geisinger Health System
Brundage-Bone Concrete Pumping
HomeTown Lenders
Fidelity Brokerage Services
DLA Piper LLP (US)
DLA Piper LLP (US) handles the full range of matters, with particular emphasis on union organizing and contract administration, advice on the National Labor Relations Act and negotiating collective bargaining agreements. Dallas-based lawyer Marc Katz leads the employment practice group, which also adept at handling labor-related arbitrations, and litigation before the NLRB. An ex-employee of the NLRB, Washington DC’s Harriet Lipkin is an important name for such matters and she lends her considerable experience to unfair labor practice cases and union organizing efforts. From the New York office, Joseph Piesco is similarly well-versed on traditional labor matters in the space. San Diego-based attorney Kevin Harlow and of counsel Steve Hernández are key names for defending employers against unfair labor practice charges.
Practice head(s):
Marc Katz
Other key lawyers:
Harriet Lipkin; Joseph Piesco; Steve Hernandez; Kevin Harlow
Work highlights
- Represented an environmental portfolio company on various labor matters, including unfair labor practice charges, negotiations over the union threatening to strike and shutdown the client’s operations, complex collective bargaining negotiations, and the successful closure of one of its union-represented facilities.
- Represented a high-profile private liberal arts college on labor relations matters, including employee relations, union organizing efforts and related NLRB proceedings.
- Represented a leading supplier of chemical products on labor and employment issues, including the negotiation of a collective bargaining agreement with the International Chemical Workers Union Council and United Food and Commercial Workers and contract interpretation disputes.
Epstein Becker & Green, P.C.
Epstein Becker & Green, P.C. has a strong specialist focus on traditional labor law, with the team seeing frequent work throughout the space. The team has a track record for successfully defending employers in grievance-arbitration proceedings, contract negotiations and collective bargaining agreements – often at a multi-state and national level. Principal names to note from the team include New Jersey’s Jeremy Brown, who counsels employers on matters pertaining to employment discrimination laws, the NLRA and class-action suits. Working out of the New York office, Steven Swirsky represents clients in collective bargaining and proceedings before the NLRB. Fellow New York-based partner David Garland chairs the group.
Practice head(s):
David Garland
Other key lawyers:
Jeremy Brown; Steven Swirsky; Mike Ferrell; Nathaniel Glasser
Testimonials
‘I worked with Mike Ferrell and Nathaniel Glasser and found them to be very knowledgeable in their respective fields. They were very attentive to my company’s needs and were always responsive to our questions and requests in a timely manner. They were extremely professional and were a pleasure to work with.’
Greenberg Traurig LLP
Greenberg Traurig, LLP. has a strong focus on maintaining positive relations between both unionized and non-unionized employers and employees, whilst avoiding costly litigation and prioritizing alternative dispute resolution. Headed by experienced Philadelphia-based practitioner James Boudreau and Denver-based Naomi Beer , the team has experience through counseling, labor negotiations, mediation proceedings, and litigation at various level of the court system. C0-chair and New York-based attorney Jerrold Goldberg represents management clients primarily in the real estate and hospitality industries. Boston’s Justin Keith is well-versed on matters spanning all aspects of traditional labor law. Charles Birenbaum focuses on traditional labor law matters and leads the firm in defending actor Sean Penn, and his non-profit organization CORE, against an unfair labor practice charge by the NLRB. The team was fortified by the arrival of partners Ellen Bronchetti and Ron Holland to the San Francisco office from McDermott Will & Emery LLP. They are resident in the firm’s San Francisco office.
Practice head(s):
James Boudreau; Naomi Beer; Justin Keith; Jerrold Goldberg
Other key lawyers:
Charles Birenbaum
Key clients
Food Parade
Maximum Real Estate Partners
Community Organized Relief Effort (CORE)
Work highlights
- Advising on all labor and employment issues in connection with the purchase by client affiliates of both the Roger Hotel in New York City and the Loew’s Back Bay Hotel in Boston.
- Advising Food Parade, a chain of grocery stores in the metropolitan New York area, in connection with its pension fund obligations and related collective bargaining matters.
- Advising Community Organized Relief Effort (CORE) in a case brought by the General Counsel of the NLRB seeking to develop new jurisprudence to protect non-union employee rights to complain anonymously about their workplace on social media.
Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP
Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP its robust labor-management litigation practice, with a strong presence in the retail and energy sectors. The team focuses on discrimination investigations, wage and hour litigation, and the preparation of employer-employee policies. Two attorneys jointly head-up the practice: Los Angeles-based Emily Burkhardt Vicente and Kevin White, who splits his time between Washington DC and Houston.
Practice head(s):
Emily Burkhardt Vicente; Kevin White
Work highlights
Jones Walker LLP
Jones Walker LLP represents management-side clients at both a regional and national level, across all types of employment litigation, including both representative and class actions at all levels of the court system. The team are similarly well-versed in handling a range of traditional labor matters, frequently appearing before the NLRB in the process. New Orleans-based partner Sidney Lewis chairs the group, focusing on a full-range of labor and employment on behalf of industry clients from the retail, hospitality, healthcare and manufacturing sectors, to name a few.
Practice head(s):
Sidney Lewis
Key clients
Ochsner Clinic Foundation
Crest Pumping Technologies
Total Safety
Acme Truck Line
Texas Steam & Instrumentation
McDermott Will & Emery LLP
McDermott Will & Emery LLP covers matters concerning union relations, collective bargaining and NLRB negotiations on behalf of major clients operating out of the technology, transportation, alcoholic beverages, airline and arts sectors. Advice and representation around the National Labor Relations Act is another core pillar of the group’s practice. The labor management team is led by Chicago’s Michael Sheehan, while San Francisco’s David Durham provides representation and advice to businesses in all matters involving labor unions. Fellow San Francisco-based attorney Christopher Foster is another key name, leading the firm’s labor subgroup. October 2022 saw the departures of Ron Holland and Ellen Bronchetti.
Testimonials
‘Excellent grasp of the law.’
‘Very responsive.’
Key clients
AirBnB
Amazon
Apple
Lyft
Mapbox
Meredith Corporation
Savage Services
Target
Work highlights
- Represented Target in relation to a recent National Labor Relations Board election matter which resulted in withdrawal of the election petition and dismissal of various unfair labor practice charges.
- Representing Meredith on union-related matters, a project that currently includes five ongoing collective bargaining agreement negotiations with iconic Meredith brands.
- Representing Lyft in a variety of labor-related matters.
O'Melveny & Myers LLP
O'Melveny & Myers LLP maintains its reputation as a strong Railway Labor Act practice and is noted for its particular expertise in the aviation sector, handling a full-range of labor-related issues related to M&A, labor disputes and unfair labor practice charges. The team counts major US passenger and cargo airlines as key clients. Silicon Valley-based attorney Eric Amdursky jointly leads the team in conjunction with Los Angeles-based Apalla Chopra. Also in Los Angeles, Robert Siegel is pre-eminent for his work in the airline sector, acting as outside labor counsel to major US airlines. New York-based Mark Robertson is another key contact within the group, well-known for arbitrations under the RLA. Head of the Washington DC team Aparna Joshi‘s broad practice includes litigation under the RLA, labor arbitrations, mediations and collective bargaining negotiation.
Practice head(s):
Eric Amdursky; Apalla Chopra
Other key lawyers:
Robert Siegel; Mark Robertson; Aparna Joshi
Key clients
Airlines for America
Alaska Airlines
American Airlines
FedEx Corporation
Frontier Airlines
Juilliard School
Spirit Airlines
United Airlines
Viatris (Mylan Pharma)
Work highlights
- Represented United Airlines in highly public proceedings where the Professional Airline Flight Control Association filed a grievance alleging that United’s vaccination mandate violated their Collective Bargaining Agreement.
- Representing American Airlines in Scanlan v. American Airlines Group, Inc. (E.D. Pa.), a class action lawsuit where an American Airlines pilot alleged that American violated USERRA by failing to provide paid military leave for military leaves of 16 days or fewer.
- Counselling The Juilliard School on an ongoing basis related to general labor and employment issues.
Vedder Price
Vedder Price offers specialist advice on substantive and procedural points of law under the National Labor Relations Act and frequently appears before the NLRB in unfair-labor-practice and representation matters. Union organizing, decertification petitions and maintaining union-free status are key focuses of the team. Elizabeth N. Hall chairs the group, while Eugene A. Boyle counsels and defends companies in cases spanning all aspects of labor law, and Kenneth F. Sparks has extensive experience working with health care organizations, logistics companies, and manufacturers on labor litigation matters. Los Angeles-based Candice Zee focuses on traditional labor law matters and NLRB proceedings. All lawyers are in Chicago unless otherwise stated.
Practice head(s):
Elizabeth N. Hall
Other key lawyers:
Eugene A. Boyle; Kenneth F. Sparks; Candice Zee
Key clients
AAR Corporation
Able Services
Adventist Health
Balyasny Asset Management
BMO Financial Group
California Pizza Kitchen
Canvas Worldwide
Cresco Labs
Euromarket Designs dba Crate & Barrel
Ferrara Candy Company
Follett Corporation
Graymont
Madden Corporation
OpenText
Option Care Enterprises
Reyes Holdings
Satellite Healthcare
Signode Industrial Group
Sonendo
University of Chicago Medical Center
University of Southern California