Seven Ogletree Deakins Attorneys Elected As Fellows Into The College of Labor and Employment Lawyers

ATLANTA – July 2, 2012 – Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C. (Ogletree Deakins), one of the nation’s largest labor and employment law firms, is pleased to announce that seven of the firm’s attorneys—Bob Casey, Keith Frazier, Bruce Hearey, Matt Keen, Danuta Panich, Dave Powell, Jr., and Bill Radford—have been elected as Fellows in the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers. Ogletree Deakins now has 36 lawyers in the College. By being elected, the Ogletree Deakins attorneys have met the College’s criteria including: the highest professional qualifications and ethical standards based on the College’s acclaimed Principles of Civility and Professionalism; the highest level of character, integrity, professional expertise, and leadership; a commitment to fostering and furthering the objectives of the College; sustained, exceptionally high-quality services to clients, the bar, bench, and public; and significant evidence of scholarship, teaching, lecturing, and/or published writings on labor and employment law. Membership is by nomination only and is limited to those who met the College’s criteria for a period of no less than 20 years. 

Bob Casey is the co-managing shareholder of the firm’s Chicago office and has exclusively represented management in all facets of labor and employment law matters for more than 30 years. He has long represented employers throughout the Midwest in the steel, utility, and construction industries in matters under the National Labor Relations Act, the arbitration of union grievances under collective bargaining agreements, and in collective bargaining negotiations. Casey also has substantial experience regarding multiemployer pension plan withdrawal liability and regularly advises employers and associations regarding that topic, as well as representing clients in the litigation and arbitration of withdrawal liability-related claims. Casey’s labor and employment litigation experience includes the defense of multiple plaintiff and class action litigation brought by both private counsel and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, including class actions brought under union agreements and challenges to changes in retiree medical benefits.  

Keith Frazier is a Nashville-based shareholder and a member of the firm’s leadership. Frazier has more than 25 years of experience representing management in the area of labor and employment law with an emphasis on preventive activity and employment litigation. He has acted as lead counsel in numerous jury trials in both state and federal courts. Frazier also is active in civic and professional activities. He has served as President of the Tennessee Bar Association Young Lawyer’s Division and as a member of the Tennessee Bar Association Board of Governors. Frazier also serves as the management co-chair for the budget committee of the American Bar Association’s Labor and Employment Section. On the civic front, he completed a term as Vice Chair of Existing Business / Workforce Development for the Nashville Chamber of Commerce. In that capacity, Frazier served on the Chamber’s Board of Governors and Executive Committee.

Bruce Hearey is a shareholder in the firm’s Cleveland office and has built a reputation as a pragmatic and creative litigator and advisor on behalf of employers. Throughout his career that spans more than 30 years, Hearey has handled numerous litigation matters for a diverse group of clients. He also has litigated numerous restrictive covenant / unfair competition and products liability cases, and tried cases before juries involving breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, hostile environment, sex harassment, wrongful termination, and age, race, religious, and national origin discrimination in federal and state courts around the country.   

Matt Keen is a member of the firm’s Board of Directors and is based in the Raleigh office. His practice has included employment litigation in state and federal courts, representing clients before the National Labor Relations Board and advising clients on equal employment opportunity and wage and hour issues. He has successfully litigated cases to defense verdicts in employment discrimination cases. He has also litigated matters involving ERISA, non-competition and trade secrets, workplace injuries, and other contract and tort claims. Keen also has successfully represented clients in dozens of labor and employment arbitrations. Keen has lectured on various employment law topics before business groups and has written articles for legal and employment journals. He contributed to and revises the North Carolina Employers’ Desk Manual and also contributed to a treatise on the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Danuta Panich is based in the firm’s Indianapolis office, and she is head of the firm’s E-Discovery and Records Retention Practice Group. In her role, she helps professional services firms and companies plan for litigation by developing programs for records management, electronic discovery, and legacy data remediation. With more than 30 years of experience in labor and employment law, Panich’s practice has focused primarily on defending employers—including many of the nation’s largest companies—in class actions, multi-plaintiff and collective actions, pattern and practice claims, and other “bet the company” matters such as investigations of catastrophic industrial accidents. Professional, bar, and trade associations, law schools, CLE providers, and employers frequently ask her to provide training on litigation techniques, electronic discovery and records management, as well as various employment related issues such as wage-hour, harassment, diversity, and occupational safety and health. Panich has also authored several articles on these topics, and she is active, through her leadership role in the Federal Bar Association, in developing continuing legal education programs for practitioners and their clients.

Dave Powell, Jr., from the firm’s Denver office, has significant experience litigating employment cases on behalf of employers in a variety of industries and has tried to verdict significant employment-related cases in both state and federal courts. He also frequently advises employers on matters arising from the employer-employee relationship, including but not limited to: unfair competition, the duty of loyalty, confidential and trade secret information, executive employment agreements, restrictive covenants, employee classification and compensation, wrongful discharge claims, disability and family leave issues, as well as harassment and discrimination based on race, national origin, gender, and age. In addition to his significant trial experience, Powell has successfully pursued injunctions on behalf of employers in cases involving the misappropriation of confidential information, employee breach of fiduciary duties, as well as violations of non-compete and non-solicitation agreements. When he is not in the courtroom, Powell conducts training and counseling programs for his clients involving a wide variety of topics related to the employer-employee relationship.

Bill Radford, based in the firm’s Miami office, has practiced traditional labor and employment law solely on behalf of management for more than 40 years. He provides counseling to employers on compliance with federal and state employment laws, including preparing internal policies and programs for clients and developing strategies for defense of charges of employment discrimination and their operational impact.  He also advises employers covered by the National Labor Relations Act regarding their rights and obligations and union avoidance programs. In addition, Radford conducts collective bargaining for and provides contract administration to employers in their relationships with unions. He counsels public employers concerning their constitutional rights and obligations, as well as their rights and obligations under employment-related statutes. Throughout his career, Radford has successfully represented employers in more than 150 union representation campaigns. He has defended employers in numerous unfair labor practice and discrimination charges and has obtained favorable decisions for employers in a number of cutting-edge decisions before federal appellate courts. Earlier, he was the recipient of the Navy Commendation Medal for his defense of the United States Navy in a class action.

 

About Ogletree Deakins
Ogletree Deakins is one of the nation’s largest labor and employment law firms representing management in all types of employment-related legal matters. The firm has more than 600 lawyers located in 41 offices across the United States. 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 United States. www.ogletreedeakins.com

About The College of Labor and Employment Lawyers
The College of Labor and Employment Lawyers, headquartered in Annapolis, Maryland, was founded in 1995 on the 60th anniversary of the National Labor Relations Board and the 30th anniversary of Title VII and Executive Order 11246. The College began as a non-profit professional association honoring leading lawyers nationwide in the practice of Labor and Employment Law. It has now evolved to become an intellectual and practical resource for the support of our profession and our many audiences. The primary purposes of the College are the recognition of individuals, sharing knowledge, and delivering value to the many different groups who can benefit from its value model. www.laborandemploymentcollege.org/