SAN FRANCISCO (August 26, 2011) – Littler Mendelson, P.C. (Littler), the nation’s largest employment and labor law firm representing management, named Shareholders Rob Friedman and Henry Lederman co-chairs of the firm’s growing Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Practice Group. Friedman is located in Littler’s Dallas office while Lederman is resident in the Walnut Creek, Calif. office.
"We are seeing an increase in the number of ADR proceedings, particularly with Fortune 1000 companies, in an effort to reduce legal costs and resolve matters more quickly. In fact, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy recently shared his observation that the 2011 docket is changing, in part, because a number of big civil cases are headed to arbitration," said Marko Mrkonich, president and managing director of Littler. "In light of this and the outcome of the recent AT&T ruling, Rob and Henry, with their extensive backgrounds in this arena, are well positioned to lead the firm’s practice and guide our clients through the evolving ADR environment."
Littler’s ADR practice currently boasts approximately 50 attorneys and focuses heavily on arbitration issues. The firm’s attorneys advise clients on all aspects of the ADR process, including implementing effective ADR programs to resolve employment disputes, drafting, evaluating and enforcing ADR policies, litigating arbitration enforcement issues at the trial and appellate level, and best practices for ADR programs.
Friedman advises and represents employers in virtually every aspect of the employee-employer relationship, with an emphasis on arbitration enforcement issues, wage and hour class and collective action defense and employment discrimination. His experience in ADR includes the implementation and design of arbitration policies for medium and large sized employers, and he regularly represents employers in the enforcement of arbitration policies before state agencies and state and federal courts. He was lead counsel in numerous significant arbitration enforcement matters, and has successfully argued arbitration enforcement issues before United States Courts of Appeal and the United States Supreme Court. Friedman is board certified in Labor and Employment Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.
Lederman’s practice focuses on employment law counseling and advice, including drafting of arbitration agreements. He has served as lead counsel in representing employers in federal and state trial and appellate courts, including numerous cases addressing the enforcement of arbitration agreements. His clients include employers in a wide variety of industries. He also has been retained as a mediator in numerous employment-related cases. Lederman also serves as Littler Mendelson’s General Counsel.
About Littler Mendelson
With over 800 attorneys and 52 offices, Littler Mendelson is the largest U.S.-based law firm exclusively devoted to representing management in employment and labor law matters. As the only U.S. member of the Ius Laboris global alliance, Littler has extensive resources to address the needs of multi-national clients, from navigating international employment laws and labor relations issues to applying corporate policies worldwide. Established in 1942, the firm has litigated, mediated and negotiated some of the most influential employment law cases and labor contracts on record.
