Two Whiteford, Taylor & Preston Partners Named As Leading Labor Lawyers
Their names appear in Who's Who Legal: USA - Management Labour & Employment, a new publication produced by the highly respected British survey group that has produced the International Who's Who of Business Lawyers for many years.
Using independent and unbiased research techniques, and surveying law firm clients and lawyers across the country, Who's Who Legal identified only 510 labor and employment lawyers in the entire nation to single out for recognition.
Jim Gillece's labor and employment experience includes litigation and preventive advice in the areas of EEO and discrimination claims, labor-management relations, non-competition agreements, unemployment claims, wage and hour laws, workers' compensation, and white collar crime. He has litigated extensively before the National Labor Relations Board, and has a broad commercial litigation experience as well, covering areas such RICO, business torts, breaches of contract and numerous criminal cases.
He received his law degree from University of Notre Dame in 1969, and served as the Development and Symposium Editor of the University of Notre Dame Law Review, 1968-1969. He graduated from LaSalle University in 1966 and Calvert Hall in 1962.
Mr. Gillece is active in both professional and civic organizations. He has been an instructor at the Widener University School of Law's Intensive Trial Advocacy Program for over 15 years and a member of the Law Advisory Council of the University of Notre Dame for more than 20 years. He is a Lifetime Member of the board of directors of the University of Notre Dame Law Association (and served as president from 1983 to 1998), and is a former member of the Council of Presidential Advisors at LaSalle College.
In addition to his selection in Who's Who Legal USA, he was listed in Chambers USA 2004 for Labor and Employment and Business Litigation and is listed in Marquis' Who's Who in America. He currently serves on the board of trustees of Everyman Theatre and is a former director of the Family Crisis Center for Baltimore County, Maryland and of Camp Fire.
Jeanne Phelan represents employers in a full range of employment and labor issues. She has extensive experience representing employers in discrimination and harassment litigation, Equal Pay Act claims, Fair Labor Standards Act claims and other claims related to compensation, and the defense of claims of defamation, misrepresentation, and invasion of privacy. She also defends employers in investigations by administrative agencies, including discrimination charges, NLRB unfair labor practice charges, wage/hour/overtime audits and investigations, and audits of affirmative action plans by the OFCCP.
She advises employers on labor and employment issues, such as dealing with difficult employees, managing termination of employees; handling internal complaints of harassment or wrongdoing; and compliance with the federal, state and local laws governing all aspects of the employment relationship. Ms. Phelan has advised employers on a full range of employment policies and practices, including advice regarding union avoidance, affirmative action plans, and how to respond to union organizing campaigns. She has also represented unionized employers in labor arbitrations and collective bargaining negotiations.
Ms. Phelan, who graduated from the University of Maryland School of Law with honors in 1980, received her undergraduate degree from the University of Maryland in 1977. She has been recognized since 1994 in The Best Lawyers in America and as one of America's Leading Lawyers by Chambers and Partners. She served on the board of governors of the Maryland State Bar Association Section of Labor Law from 1986 to 1990, then as its Chair-Elect and Section Chair from 1992-1994. From 1990 to 1991, she was the chair of the Human Relations Sub-Committee of the Maryland Chamber of Commerce. She is a frequent speaker at educational programs for attorneys, business managers, and human resources managers and staff.