Partner
San Francisco, CA
A management defense attorney by trade, Robert is also an expert witness and mediator in single employer and class action cases. He has served as appellate, policy and legislative counsel in precedent-setting cases before the United States Supreme Court and the California Supreme Court.
He is active in the formation of entities that are breaking into new markets, including helping his clients navigate the unique issues of the Cannabis industry, having experience in the labor union negotiation and apprenticeship mandates being imposed at the state level. With the recovery of the business economy from Covid -19 and the digital acceleration that has produced the remote workforce, he brings a labor lawyer’s focus to due diligence in mergers and acquisitions, including risk analysis as to joint employers, successorship, and obligations to bargain with in-place labor unions; as well as regulations including so-called “big box” statutes and labor peace agreements.
Robert is a contributing author of California’s leading treatises on human resources published by the California Chamber of Commerce and BNA/ABA and a national blog on issues in the air, logistics, rail and shipping industries. Robert has helped write and shape legislation at the state and federal level and is a regular presenter nationally in all these areas. Robert has been honored by appointments to serve on the transportation industry panel of the California Industrial Welfare Commission and the California Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities (CCEPD) His track record includes precedent-setting cases before the United States Supreme Court and the California Supreme Court.
When not working, Robert will likely be creating in the kitchen (as an inducted member of La Chaine de Rotissuers), searching for petroglyphs (as an amateur photographer), and hunting for antiquarian books (as a former librarian).
Chance Favors the Prepared Mind.
The Plague
by Albert Camus
Rose Tattoo
by Dropkick Murphy’s
Heaven’s Gate
by Michael Cimino
Yosemite
Halibut fire-roasted in corn husks (tamale style)
Rodin
If I weren’t a lawyer, I would be a poet.
A management defense attorney by trade, Robert is also an expert witness and mediator in single employer and class action cases. He has served as appellate, policy and legislative counsel in precedent-setting cases before the United States Supreme Court and the California Supreme Court.
He is active in the formation of entities that are breaking into new markets, including helping his clients navigate the unique issues of the Cannabis industry, having experience in the labor union negotiation and apprenticeship mandates being imposed at the state level. With the recovery of the business economy from Covid -19 and the digital acceleration that has produced the remote workforce, he brings a labor lawyer’s focus to due diligence in mergers and acquisitions, including risk analysis as to joint employers, successorship, and obligations to bargain with in-place labor unions; as well as regulations including so-called “big box” statutes and labor peace agreements.
Robert is a contributing author of California’s leading treatises on human resources published by the California Chamber of Commerce and BNA/ABA and a national blog on issues in the air, logistics, rail and shipping industries. Robert has helped write and shape legislation at the state and federal level and is a regular presenter nationally in all these areas. Robert has been honored by appointments to serve on the transportation industry panel of the California Industrial Welfare Commission and the California Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities (CCEPD) His track record includes precedent-setting cases before the United States Supreme Court and the California Supreme Court.
When not working, Robert will likely be creating in the kitchen (as an inducted member of La Chaine de Rotissuers), searching for petroglyphs (as an amateur photographer), and hunting for antiquarian books (as a former librarian).
Robert spent part of his career serving as individual and outside general counsel for over twenty different national and state industry associations across many different fields including: transportation; construction, and energy and hospitality. He also has Human Resources experince where he authored leading California and national treatises.
Most recently, Robert served as a Partner with California based Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Ruud and Romo where he developed the firm’s private sector public works and traditional labor and OSHA emergency response teams. He also serves as corporate level review counsel in managing individual cases handled nationally at the general counsel level.
Traditional Labor (including international labor relations), Wage and Hour Law (including the FLSA), Private Attorneys General Acts, OSHA, Discrimintion and Wrongful Termination, Retaliatory Discharge, Trades Secrets in Employment, Government Relations (including construction, prevailing wage and public works (Davis-Bacon), False Claims Act, and Appellate and Policy Advocacy.
Represented major trade associations before the United State Sate Supreme Count on policy matters as amicus counsel in a variety of cases on pre-emption and constitutional issues (e.g. Chamber of Commerce v. Brown) ; California Supreme Court on wage and hour and pre-emption and public works issues (e.g. Dynamex)
Class action defense counsel in complex wage and hours cases in a variety of industries, from refineries to trucking and brokerage; spas and restaurants; classification; independent contractor and temp agencies co-employer and joint employer and alter ego claims
At Practus, we handle complex and challenging legal matters. I look forward to talking to you about how we can best meet your goals.
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