If your labor & employment attorney isn’t returning phone calls over the next few days, odds are he or she is at the first annual ABA Labor  & Employment conference in Philadelphia.  I arrived this afternoon and discovered that over 1250 of my closest colleagues are here as well.

I had the opportunity to chat at the welcome reception tonight with NLRB Board Member Peter Schaumber.  Knowing him only by Board decisions, I found him a pleasure to talk with.  Regardless of political affiliation, you have to appreciate that he’s charming, affable and has a breadth of knowledge on a variety of subjects. Too often, lawyers tend to depersonalize judges — forgetting that behind each decision is a real person making difficult decisions. 

One item he mentioned was that the NLRB was actually holding a rare oral argument on one of its cases on Friday in Philadelphia. He was looking forward to it.  Thus, if you’re at the conference, or in Philadelphia, it’s worth a visit. The WorkPlace Prof prepared a thumbnail sketch of the case a short time ago. 
 
For practitioners and those interested in the subject, the conference has posted their program materials — free of charge — on the ABA website.  It’s easily over 1000 pages worth of materials.  It’s a treasure trove of information about cases, strategy, law and the like.  It’s helpful not only to employer and employee lawyers, but to in-house counsel as well.

If you’re at the conference, drop me an e-mail at daschwartz@ebglaw.com and perhaps we’ll have an opportunity to meet in person.