Labor and Employment Law Attorney, Educational Law AttorneyGeneral Counsel: Performing functional duties of general counsel to Michigan public school districts including advising various Boards of Education on labor, employment, and associated matters; defending Board positions at public meetings; researching and drafting legal memorandums and opinion letters regarding issues related to education, employment, and real estate law.Labor and Employment: Advising public schools on labor and employment law issues including representation in collective bargaining negotiations, labor arbitrations, teacher tenure proceedings, ULP hearings, and employment discrimination charges. Drafting and negotiating separation incentive plans, CBA letters of understanding, employee settlement agreements, and employment contracts. Compliance: Advising public schools on compliance with the Revised School Code, State School Aid Act, Public Employment Relations Act, Teachers’ Tenure Act, Governmental Immunity Act, EEOC/Title VII law, Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act, Open Meetings and Freedom of Information Acts.Contributing Editor: The Michigan Teacher and Tenure, G. Collins & W. Blaha, 7th ed. (2009).

Chief Human Resources Officer; Cabinet Level Organizational Leadership: Serving in an organizational leadership capacity for metro Detroit school district of 12,000 students. Maintenance of day-to-day labor relations for over 1,600 employees and three public sector union contracts with $180 million-dollar annual budget.Labor and Employment: Providing leadership on Human Resources issues for non-instructional and instructional employees including HR planning, recruitment, staffing, evaluation, assignments, compensation, benefits, labor relations, discipline and performance management. Responsible for bargaining and administration of three collective bargaining agreements. Coaching and advising administrators on all HR issues. Managing and leading an eight-member HR central office team operating district’s substitute staffing, compensation, HRIS, compliance and orientation/training.

Representing over 1,900 MEA union members in labor and employment matters across 7 Wayne county school districts and 1 community college. Member Representation and Collective Bargaining: Representing bargaining unit members including college faculty, K-12 educators, educational support, and facilities management personnel. Responsible for negotiation team training, chief-spokesperson duties, maintenance of contractual bargaining standards, and bargaining of successor CBAs.Contract Administration, Grievance Handling, and Arbitration: Representing members in CBA administration including the evaluation, drafting, and filing of grievances; advocating during the grievance process including the preparation, development, and presentation of arbitration cases; negotiating and drafting grievance resolutions and CBA letters of understandings.Member Advocacy and Leadership Training: Advising and representing members in labor and employment matters. Advocating of statutory, contractual and collective bargaining rights with employers’ administration, legal counsel, and board members. Developing and implementing member leadership training regarding policing of CBAs, grievance handling and processing, and member advocacy.