The Labor and Employment Law Section brings together members from across the spectrum of labor and employment law, including representatives of labor organizations, management and individuals; neutrals; academics; and government representatives. We invite everyone with an interest in workplace improvement and development to join our Section, benefit from our experience and expertise, and enjoy our camaraderie. Section membership is open to all regular, associate and law student members of the New York State Bar Association.
Labor and Employment Law Section Mission Statement
To examine the possibilities of improvement and reform in labor and employment law through legislation; to disseminate information and exchange ideas relating to the development and practice of labor and employment law, both substantive and procedural; and to further the education of the Bar and the public in labor and employment law.
MEMBER BENEFITS
Members of the Labor & Employment Law Section have exclusive access to the following benefits:
Continuing Legal courses/content – learn from NYS legal leaders – Free and exclusive to members only
Up-to-date information on recent impactful legal developments. Check our blog and follow us on LinkedIn
Networking opportunities
Opportunities to write and/or present as a subject matter expert
Opportunity to participate in any of the Section’s standing Committees.
SECTION CONTENT – For Members Only
Access to online case research through Loislaw, a searchable directory of members,
The Section’s newsletter, Labor and Employment Law Journal,
Materials and presentations from recent CLE programs.
The Labor and Employment Law Section has been in the forefront of introducing, monitoring and evaluating legal developments at both federal and New York State levels. Section members include neutrals, management, and labor and employee attorneys. (Labor and Employment Law Section – New York State Bar Association (nysba.org))
CONTACT US
To learn more about this Section, please contact Lori Randle lrandle@nysba.org
(518) 487-5582
Please do not contact the Section liaison with a request for legal advice or an attorney referral. You can instead visit our ‘Public Resources’ or ‘Lawyer Referral Service’ page for this type of request.
Abigail R. Levy, Esq.
Dep. of General Counsel at NYC Office of Collective Bargaining
New York, NY
Abigail Levy serves as Deputy General Counsel and Executive Secretary at the New York
City Office of Collective Bargaining, which she joined as a Trial Examiner in February 2011.
In her capacity as Deputy General Counsel, she works to assist the agency in resolving
disputes between municipal agencies and public employee unions on issues governed by
the NYC Collective Bargaining Law. Abby also has a private dispute resolution practice in
which she serves as an arbitrator on various panels, including the American Arbitration
Association’s (AAA) labor and consumer panels, the New Jersey Public Employment
Relations Commission, and FINRA, among others. She has served as a volunteer mediator
for the New York State courts and has spoken on dispute resolution issues before the Labor
& Employment Section and the AAA.
Prior to becoming a neutral, Abby spent nearly 12 years working at various law firms,
including union-side firms performing litigation and handling arbitrations, as well as
management-side firms performing ERISA compliance and employee benefits work. She
started her legal career as a legal services attorney.
Abby has been a proud NYSBA member for many years and has benefited from the
connections she has made along the way as well as the Section’s arbitration mentoring
program. She is also a member of the Dispute Resolution Section.
Abby received her B.A., cum laude, from the University of Pennsylvania and her J.D. from
Fordham University School of Law. She serves on the Board of Directors of the CureGRIN
Foundation. Abby lives in Manhattan with her husband and daughter and their dog Millie.
The Labor and Employment Law Journal features peer-written substantive articles relating to the practice of labor and employment law on various topics including ERISA, ADR, discrimination, social media and workplace issues. Also included are regular columns on labor matters and ethics, and updates on Section activities. The Labor and Employment Law Journal is published by the Labor and Employment Law Section and distributed to Section Members free of charge.
The Labor and Employment Law Journal is published as a benefit for members of the Labor and Employment Law Section and is copyrighted by the New York State Bar Association.
The Labor and Employment Law Journal encourages article submissions on topics of interest to members of the Section. Writing an article for a NYSBA Section publication is a great way to get your name out in the legal community and advertise your knowledge. Our authors are respected state-wide for their legal expertise and have written articles in such areas as ERISA, ADR, discrimination, and workplace issues.
In Accordance to Article IV, Section 1 of the By-Laws, here is the nominating report for the June 1, 2024 to May 21, 2025 term. The nominations have been voted on and approved at the Business portion of the Labor and Employment Section’s Annual Meeting on January 18, 2024, immediately before the Labor and Employment Law Section’s Annual Meeting CLE Program.
To recognize excellence among law school students writing in the area of labor and employment law; and to cultivate the relationship between the Section and future labor and employment practitioners.
The purpose of the awards is to enable New York State Law Schools to recognize excellence among their law students in the area of labor and employment law and to cultivate the relationship between the Labor and Employment Law Section and future labor and employment practitioners.
Diversity Fellowship Program
APPLICATION DEADLINE: NOVEMBER 28, 2025
Purpose: The Labor and Employment Section’s (Section) Diversity Fellowship seeks to attract emerging leaders and increase the diversity – including, but not limited to, racial, ethnic, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, cultural and practice area – of its membership. The Fellowship’s financial support is intended to encourage the Fellow’s attendance at meetings and further participation in the Section. A Fellowship grant may include payment of NYSBA and Labor and Employment Law Section dues for two years, Labor and Employment Law Section Fall CLE Meeting and Annual CLE Meeting registration fees, lodging and travel expenses for attendance at Section Meetings (provided the Fellow’s employer does not have ethics regulations prohibiting such reimbursements.)
Qualification criteria: Attorney who practices Labor and/or Employment law who has demonstrated a commitment to leadership within the bar.
Recommendations: To ensure that the Fellows are interested in making a meaningful contribution the Section, each candidate must submit one (1) recommendation from an employer, professor, or any other professional reference.
Essay: An application for a Fellowship must include an essay up to 500 words describing the applicant’s interest in the Labor and Employment Law Section and how the Section may benefit from the applicant’s participation in the Section.
Memberships: Please tell us about your involvement with bar associations, professional organizations, and whether you have received any recognition’s or awards.
Resume: Please provide a current resume or CV.
Mentoring: Each fellow will be paired with a member of the Executive Committee (EC) who will be in attendance at the Fall and Winter meetings. The EC member will contact the fellow, at a minimum, once per quarter to discuss leadership opportunities within the Section (e.g., speaking opportunities at meetings; writing for the Journal; participating on the EC committee, etc.), the leadership structure of the Section and NYSBA, and any other issues that are important for encouraging the fellow’s future (and increased) participation in the Section.
Lawyers should address Applications or Fellowship inquiries to Labor & Employment Law Section Liaison, Lori Randle at lrandle@nysba.org
Mentorship Program
The New York State Bar Association’s Labor & Employment Law Section (“L&E”) has a long history of mentoring lawyers new to the profession. In an effort to institutionalize and expand these efforts, L&E has established a Section-wide mentoring program for junior attorneys interested in a career in the field of labor and employment law by introducing them to the Section and by increasing their exposure to seasoned labor and employment lawyers in the L&E Section.
The focus of the L&E Section’s mentoring program is to nurture lawyers new to the profession by matching junior lawyers with seasoned L&E practitioners who are also leaders in the Section. Mentors have agreed to commit their time and energies to coach and counsel mentees on Section membership and the practice of law in our area. Among the goals of the program are:
To introduce the new lawyers to the leaders of New York’s labor and employment law bar;
To help promote collegiality among and between labor and employment law practitioners in New York and to help bridge the generational divide;
To help introduce and integrate new lawyers more easily into our Section and its activities ;
To foster and develop the mentee’s practical skills and professional judgment;
To help promote diversity in the Section; and
To continue and promote the highest ideals of our Section and of the labor and employment law bar in New York.
The Labor & Employment N.Y. (“LENY”) blog is a law blog sponsored by the New York State Bar Association’s Labor and Employment Law Section. Among other primary objectives, the Section’s mission statement requires the Section “to disseminate information and exchange ideas relating to the development and practice of labor and employment law, both substantive and procedural,” as well as “to further the education of the Bar and the public in labor and employment law.”
Consistent with the Section’s stated purposes, this blog seeks to provide timely notice of significant events and developments affecting practitioners of labor and employment law in New York. Blog posts are intended to cover a wide range of topics from new legislation to court decisions to agency interpretations. Topics are selected by contributing authors based on personal choice for the purpose of sharing knowledge about, exploring, and illustrating interrelated (and in some cases interdisciplinary) aspects of current news, events, and the latest thinking in public policy, law and/or regulation.
Links provided from this NYSBA entity site are intended to be functional and accurate at the time of posting. We do not update or otherwise maintain links. Authors strive for accuracy and directness when including links and make reasonable efforts to post directly to the relevant material cited.
The posts individually, any part of or all together, do not represent expertise or legal advice of any kind. Opinions expressed and statements made by the contributing authors are those of the authors alone and do not reflect the opinions of the NYSBA, its sections, committees, or any employee or other member thereof. The NYSBA and all other entities mentioned above are not responsible for the accuracy of any information supplied by the authors, and the Labor and Employment Law Section retains the absolute right to edit or remove any blog entries that are deemed to be inappropriate.
The LENY bloggers are:
Vivian Berger;
Ira Cure;
Matthew Lampe;
Ruth Raisfeld;
David Reilly;
Michael Schmidt.
Good Starting Point in Print: Mark A. Rothstein et al., Rothstein, Craver, Schroeder, Shoben, and Vander Velde’s Hornbook on Employment Law, West Group (1994)
California statute requiring the state to establish procedures for binding arbitration of certain disputes in the garment industry – California Labor Code §§ 2685 – 2692
Good Starting Point in Print: Mark A. Rothstein et al., Rothstein, Craver, Schroeder, Shoben, and Vander Velde’s Hornbook on Employment Law, West Group (1991).
Program Archives
So You Want to be a Labor and Employment Lawyer? What This Attorney Does
Recorded June 13, 2024
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