Joe’s practice focuses almost exclusively on employer and management side labor and employment matters. His experience in this area of the law is wide-ranging and includes litigation in the wage and hour, wrongful termination, restrictive covenant and work-place injury contexts. To date, Joe has appeared on behalf of clients in federal and state courts or administrative agencies in more than 20 states.
In addition to his courtroom advocacy, Joe dedicates much of his time to helping the firm’s clients avoid costly litigation through management-side collective bargaining and by providing “day-to-day” advice and counsel to business owners and their human resources departments. In this role, Joe seeks to aid his clients in minimizing and managing the inherent legal risks associated with employing workers in the 21st century while not losing sight of his clients’ most important overall business objectives.
Finally, Joe works regularly with the firm’s private equity clients on buyer-side asset and stock purchase agreements both as a labor and employment diligence review specialist and in the post-transaction onboarding process.
Representative Experience
- Represented major integrated retail electricity and power generation company before the Third Circuit Court of Appeals and prevailed on Plaintiff’s appeal of district court’s dismissal of his Labor Management Relations Act claim.
- Obtained dismissal of Plaintiff's claim filed against client, a nationwide home solutions company, alleging breach of contract, including $750,000 in purported unpaid severance.
- Represented the Austin American-Statesman as lead negotiator in bargaining with the Austin NewsGuild to reach agreement on a first labor contract between the Statesman and its front-line journalists. Statesman journalists unanimously ratified the contract November 21, 2024 after 3.5 years of negotiations.
- Represented Loar Holdings Inc., a diversified manufacturer and supplier of niche aerospace and defense components, in its acquisition of Applied Avionics, Inc., a manufacturer of highly engineered avionics interface solutions catering to the aviation industry, valued at $385 million.
- Obtained summary judgment on behalf of employer in claim filed by former employee alleging breach of the parties’ severance agreement.
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Represented a fertility practice and its associated ambulatory surgical center in their sale to a fertility clinic.
- Obtained grievance denial in bellwether arbitration over Employer’s company-wide handling of Union sick leave benefits during and after COVID-19 pandemic. The arbitrator determined that Company’s unilateral changes to sick leave policy at the outset of the pandemic were within management’s rights, and that unilateral decision to end those changes after vaccine became generally available to the public was proper.
- Resolved favorably multiple workplace death cases for energy industry client.
- Provide ongoing support to small and large companies in managing the workforce, hiring and discharge decisions, and workplace policy development and implementation
- Resolved favorably multiple workplace dismemberment cases for energy industry client.
