W. Chris Harrison

• Lead counsel in numerous federal and state court employment discrimination cases, including Title VII, ADA, ADEA, USERRA, FMLA, retaliation, wrongful termination and related state law claims.
• Lead counsel in numerous mediations and private arbitrations of employment matters, including Title VII, ADA, ADEA, USERRA, FMLA, non-compete agreements and wrongful termination claims.
• Lead counsel in numerous union grievance arbitrations, including discipline, contract interpretation and interest arbitrations.
• Lead counsel in federal and state Railway Labor Act and Airline Deregulation Act litigation, including issues involving major/minor disputes, bad faith and pre-emption of claims.
• Lead counsel in NLRB litigation before the Board involving claims of unfair labor practices.
• Lead counsel in numerous administrative law cases involving whistleblower claims and claims of USERRA military issues.
• Lead counsel in many agency proceedings before the Federal Aviation Administration, the Transportation Security Administration, the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Transportation involving civil penalties, drug and alcohol testing, safety claims, flight operations, inflight, maintenance, dispatchers and aviation security.
• Chief spokesperson and first chair negotiator in numerous collective bargaining negotiations, including pilots, flight attendants, dispatchers, and fleet and passenger service employees.  Also first chair negotiator in multiple Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Section 1113 concessionary negotiations.
• Oversee and conduct comprehensive audits of employment policies and practices.
• Conducted countless training sessions for management, including union avoidance, improving management/labor relations, union campaigns, handling grievances and arbitrations, Title VII, ADA, ADEA, USERRA, FMLA, harassment, retaliation, AIR21 whistleblowing, employee investigations, how to conduct disciplinary meetings, Sarbanes-Oxley, Conflicts of Interest, Compliance and Ethics.
• Advised airlines and airline service providers regarding FAA drug and alcohol programs, TSA security, the Pilot Records Improvement Act (PRIA) and many other federal laws and regulations.

Education

• J.D., University of Mississippi, 1997
• B.A., cum laude, University of Mississippi, 1994

Admission to Practice

• U.S. Supreme Court
• U.S. District Court, District of Minnesota
• U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois
• U.S. District Court, Western District of Wisconsin
• Tennessee
• U.S. District Court, Western District of North Carolina
• U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan
• U.S. District Court, Northern District of Indiana
• All Federal and State Courts of Mississippi and Tennessee
• U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Eighth and Ninth Circuits
• U.S. District Court, Northern and Southern Districts of California
• U.S. District Court, Western District of Washington
• Mississippi

• Mississippi Bar Association
• Tennessee Bar Association
• American Bar Association
• ABA Railway and Airline Labor Law Committee
• Senior Editor, The Railway Labor Act Treatise

• American Bar Association, Section of Labor & Employment Law, Railway & Airline Labor Law Committee Midwinter 2022 Meeting – “Hot Topics in Legal Ethics: Familiar and New Challenges” – March 2022
• American Bar Association, Section of Labor & Employment Law, Railway & Airline Labor Law Committee Midwinter 2021 Meeting – “Ethical Issues Regarding Virtual Lawyering, Witness Prep and Arbitration” – March 2021
• American Bar Association, Section of Labor & Employment Law, Railway & Airline Labor Law Committee Midwinter 2020 Meeting – “Ethical Issues Facing In-House and Outside General Counsel” – Laguna Beach – March 2020
• Testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives, Congressional Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure – “Congressional Testimony” – Washington, DC – January 15, 2020
• Americas Ground Handling International Conference – “Legal Issues That Matter” – Miami – June 2018
• State of Massachusetts Congress, Joint Committee on Labor and Workforce Development – “Testimony” – February 9, 2016
• American Bar Association, Section of Labor & Employment Law, Railway & Airline Labor Law Committee Midwinter 2015 Meeting – “Non-Tradional Forms of Self-Help” – New Orleans – March 2014
• Society for Human Resource Managment Half Day Legal Seminar – “The Case for a Robust Compliance and Ethics Program” – Memphis – March 2014
• Ogletree Deakins Breakfast Briefing – “Employment Law Update for 2013” – Memphis – November 2013

• September 2016 – HR Professionals Magazine – “With the New FLSA Regulations, It’s Time to Dust Off the Portal-to-Portal Act”
• August 28, 2016 – HR Professionals Magazine – “With the New FLSA Regulations, It’s Time To Dust Off the Portal-to-Portal Act”
• January 2006 – The Conference Board Executive Action Series – “Are You In or Out? In-House vs. Outside Counsel”
• Fall 2004 – Builder’s Edge Magazine – “LegalLines”
• March/August 2001 – Emerging Business Magazine – “To Sue or Not to Sue – What Are Your Alternatives?”
• September 2000 – February 2001 – Emerging Business Magazine – “Form is Everything – How to Decide What’s Best for Your Growing Biz”

• June 28, 2019 – Bloomberg Law – “Airline Catering Strike Could Face Turbulent Approval Process”
• March 16, 2015 – Bloomberg BNA Daily Labor Report – “Airline Unions Shifting More to Job Actions Instead of ‘Full-Blown Strikes,’ Panelists Say”

• Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America®
  • Employment Law – Management (2021-2025)
  • Litigation – Labor and Employment (2021-2025)
• AV Rated by Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Rating