Ogletree Deakins’ Madison Baker Wyche III and Joseph T. Clees Named Among “The Nation’s Most Powerful Employment Attorneys”

ATLANTA, GA – May 26, 2009 – Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C. (Ogletree Deakins), the nation’s third largest labor and employment law firm, announced today that Madison Baker Wyche, III, a shareholder in the firm’s Greenville, South Carolina office, and Joseph T. Clees, a shareholder in the firm’s Phoenix, Arizona office, have been named two of “The Nation’s Most Powerful Employment Attorneys” by the prestigious Human Resource Executive magazine.

The list of top-ranked employment attorneys was prepared exclusively for Human Resource Executive by Lawdragon, a Los Angeles-based networking site for attorneys and clients. All attorneys were selected on the basis of curriculum-vitae analysis, evaluations by clients and peers, and reporting by the Lawdragon staff.

Mr. Wyche has practiced labor and employment law for more than 25 years and is co-editor of Labor and Employment Law for South Carolina Lawyers, published in 1999 and 2007 by the South Carolina Bar Association. He is a member of the American Bar Association Committee on Practice and Procedure under the National Labor Relations Act, representing management.  He is also a member of the International Committee of the Section on Labor and Employment of the ABA and has advised foreign companies on compliance with the laws of the U.S. and the acquisition of companies in the U.S. He has assisted domestic companies with their needs in employment law, union organizing, bargaining, and business ethics.  Elected to the prestigious College of Labor and Employment Lawyers, he also is listed in The Best Lawyers in America, South Carolina Super Lawyers, Who’s Who in American Law, and Who’s Who in Emerging Leaders. 

As an attorney with Ogletree Deakins, Mr. Wyche advises employers on employment matters, litigation, claims of discrimination, and union campaigns. He negotiates contracts for employers and arbitrates disputes under collective-bargaining agreements and employment and severance agreements.  He has advised employers in diverse industry groups regarding risk analysis, strategic planning, and litigation avoidance.

Mr. Clees represents employers throughout the United States in discrimination and wrongful discharge cases and labor relations.  He also counsels clients on a wide array of state, federal, and tribal compliance laws. For many years in a row, he has been singled out by Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business as one of the top labor and employment law attorneys in the country.  He has been applauded for his “integrity and common sense” as well as his “pragmatic style.”

Mr. Clees also has been recognized for several years as one of the Best Lawyers in America.  He has also been honored as one of the Best Lawyers in the United States.  He was singled out as one of the “The Legal 500” and the Arizona Business Magazine rates him as one of the “Top Attorneys of Arizona.”  He has also been designated as a “Best of the Bar” by the Phoenix Business Journal and has been rated as one of the “Southwest Super Lawyers” for several years.  Recently, he was recognized as one of the “Top 50 Southwest Super Lawyers.”

About Ogletree Deakins

Ogletree Deakins is the nation’s third largest labor and employment law firm, representing management in all types of employment-related legal matters. The firm has 450 lawyers located in 35 offices from Miami to Los Angeles. In addition to handling labor and employment law matters, the firm has thriving practices focused on business immigration, employee benefits, and workplace safety and health law.  Ogletree Deakins represents a diverse range of clients, including more than half of the Fortune 50 corporations in the U.S.

For more information, please contact Dave Carew, Public Relations Manager, at 615-332-0718.