I withdrew from the active practice of law at the end of July 2005 in order to concentrate my full professional energies on assisting parties resolve disputes, either as a mediator, arbitrator or fact-finder.  Prior to that time, I practiced labor and employment law in Los Angeles for over 40 years, first with Munger, Tolles & Olson and, since 1982, with Irell & Manella LLP.  During my last 5 years in the practice, I also served as an arbitrator, mediator or fact-finder in employment disputes, primarily, but not exclusively, under the auspices of the American Arbitration Association.  Since withdrawing from the practice of law in July of 2005, I have continued to serve as a neutral in employment disputes with my cases coming about equally from direct appointments and appointments through the AAA.

While I was in practice In Los Angeles, I was appointed by the joint leadership of the United States Congress as one of the five initial members of the Board of Directors of the Office of Compliance, which oversees the application of 11 major labor and employment laws to the employees of the U.S. Congress under the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995. The Board of Directors was a part-time position headquartered in Washington, D.C.  I was appointed in 1995 and served until May of 1999.  By law, I could not be reappointed. 

During my over 40 years of private practice, I was involved in all aspects of labor relations and employment law. My representation involved advice and litigation both in individual disputes and class actions. Advice experience included forming and terminating the employment relationship, protecting trade secrets, and developing employee dispute mechanisms and the entire range of employment and labor issues. I also litigated extensively, defending age discrimination and wage and hour class actions in federal and state courts as well as defending employers in non-class actions in court as well as before the National Labor Relations Board, the Labor Commissioner, other administrative agencies, and in arbitration proceedings.

I am a member of the American Arbitration Association’s Employment arbitration and mediation panels as well it its Commercial panels.  I am listed in The Best Lawyers in America and am a Fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers.  I am a member of the California Bar as well as the bars of the U.S. Supreme Court, the Ninth Circuit, D.C. Circuit, the Central District of California and various other federal district courts.

I have written and spoken widely on labor and employment law issues.  Although my practice focused primarily upon the representation of employers, I have also represented employees in significant matters.  I have represented employers and employees in landmark cases before the California Supreme Court and the National Labor Relations Board. I am a past Chair of the Labor and Employment Law Section of the Los Angeles County Bar Association and have been a Co-chair of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Sub-Committee of the Employee Rights and Responsibilities Committee of the Labor and Employment Law Section of the American Bar Association. I have been a frequent lecturer on employment and labor law topics at the annual, midwinter, and institute meetings of the American Bar Association, as well as on programs of the National Employment Law Institute and the Los Angeles County Bar Association. I have authored many articles and papers regarding labor and employment law and alternative dispute resolution, including chapters in The Alternative Dispute Resolution Practice Guide (West Publishing), Sexual Harassment in Employment Law (BNA), and Employment Discrimination Law (BNA). I have also lectured at Stanford University and USC and at various other bar and university programs.

I am a past President of the Southern California Chapter of LERA (formerly the Industrial Relations Research Association), and, for many years, I was the Chair, and continue to be a member, of the Commission for Public Social Services of Los Angeles County. This Commission has responsibilities with regard to the various welfare programs operated by the Department of Public Social Services.  I am also the Chair of the Personal Assistance Services Council, an agency created by the Los Angeles Board of Supervisors to serve as the employer of record of the IHSS providers in Los Angeles County and to enhance the In Home Supportive Service Program.  I am a past president of Bet Tzedek Legal Services and the immediate past president of the Center for the Partially Sighted, a 501(c)(3) non-profit dedicated to assisting persons who, though often legally blind, have sufficient residual sight to function independently in many aspects of their lives.

Prior to coming to Los Angeles, I served as a law clerk to Justice Charles Whittaker and Chief Justice Earl Warren of the United States Supreme Court and subsequently served as a Special Assistant to the Solicitor of the U.S. Department of Labor. My work at the Department of Labor included serving as an assistant to arbitrators or presidential panels selected to resolve four major national or regional disputes in 1962 and 1963. These disputes involved the Telegraphers and the Chicago & North Western Railway, the Clerks and Southern Pacific Railroad, the Firemen's dispute with all of the Nation's Railroads over the employment of firemen on diesel locomotives and an East Coast Longshoremen's dispute.

I received a B.S.E. from Princeton University in 1958 and a J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School in 1961. At Michigan, I was the Editor-in-Chief of the Michigan Law Review and a member of the Barristers Society. I am also a member of Phi Beta Kappa and the Order of the Coif.

I am married to Sara Adler, who is also an Arbitrator and Mediator of labor and employment disputes. We have three sons and two grandsons.