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Attorney Labor Unions
January 27, 2007 by Ross Runkel at LawMemo

When lawyers decide to unionize, are they excluded from the process because they are confidential employees, supervisors, or managers - or simply by the ethical standards of the legal profession?

Attorney Labor Unions provides analysis and answers. Written by Mitchell H. Rubinstein, Senior Counsel, New York State United Teachers, 52 Broadway, 9th floor, New York, NY 10004, phone 212-533-6300, email mrubinst@nysutmail.org. The article is published in the January 2007 issue of the New York State Bar Association Journal .

Here's the abstract:

Attorneys may be interested in joining a labor union for the same reasons as other employees. Although there is relatively little precedent or history in the area of attorney unions, the federal National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or “Board”) has asserted jurisdiction over law firms since 1977, provided a firm has $250,000 in gross revenue. The general process of establishing a union would be the same as it is for employees in other fields.

There are instances where such unionization has occurred without contest. Many reported cases involving law firms actually concern support staff, although there are those that also involve attorneys.

What if there is a contest? As a general proposition, attorneys enjoy the same legal rights as other employees in deciding whether or not they want to be represented by a union. The employer’s or law firm’s desires are irrelevant. However, attorney-employers are likely to raise certain points in opposition to attorney unionism. They may argue that staff attorneys are not eligible to unionize because they are either confidential employees, or supervisors, or managerial employees. They might also claim that attorneys should not organize because the ethics of the legal profession will impede the collective bargaining process. Each of these is discussed in turn.

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Editor: Ross Runkel, Professor of Law Emeritus. email Ross@LawMemo.Com, Phone 503-399-8028. Copyright LawMemo, Inc.

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