Michael Best & Friedrich LLP is one of the Midwest's oldest and largest law firms. It was founded in 1848 by the noted trial lawyer Edward G. Ryan, who later served as Chief Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Today, the firm comprises nearly 300 attorneys in six locations, including Milwaukee, Madison, Waukesha and Manitowoc, Wisconsin; Chicago, Illinois and Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania.

Employment Relations Practice

Approach

The employer-employee relationship is one of the most important and complex business relationships there is. Michael Best & Friedrich LLP's Employment Relations Practice Group is a national practice providing leading-edge advice and creative solutions to guide businesses as they make employment decisions, set policies and plan for the future.

Attorneys

Michael Best's Employment Relations Practice Group is one of the largest in the Midwest. The attorneys in this group enjoy close partnerships with clients, focusing on litigation prevention and the achievement of strategic objectives. The attorneys are recognized by their clients and peers as among the best and most respected management-side labor, employment and employee benefits attorneys in the country. According to the 2004 issue of Chambers USA: America's Leading Business Lawyers, a guide to the best practitioners in business law, the firm has one of the top and largest employment divisions in Wisconsin.

Clients

Our clients are some of the most innovative and ground breaking business, public sector and non-profit organizations in the nation. Their workforces are large and small, white-and blue-collar, unionized and union-free. Our attorneys provide a range of services covering all aspects of labor, employment and employee benefits law.

Practice

In a practice group that values skill, experience and judgment, we encourage counseling with clients at the earliest stages of employment-related decision-making. We are committed to helping our clients develop workable employment policies, practices and procedures consistent with existing and evolving legal requirements.

We assist our clients in all phases of their employee relations, including the complex legal issues that can arise when businesses are bought and sold. Our practice includes employment-relations counseling, planning, training; reviewing and drafting handbooks and other employment policies; state and federal court employment litigation, appellate practice, and class actions; and practice before the NLRB, EEOC, OSHA, OFCCP and other state and federal administrative agencies. Our attorneys provide collective bargaining, grievance and interest arbitration services to those clients whose employees are unionized. We also have an active practice helping our non-union clients maintain their union-free status as unions continue to become more sophisticated and aggressive in their organizing efforts. We cover all areas of labor and employment law from discrimination, occupational health and safety, and wage-hour issues to affirmative action and a significant immigration law practice.

In employee benefits matters, our highest priority is to help businesses create and maintain sound, workable benefits plans that prevent employer-employee conflicts while maintaining cost-effectiveness for employers. The scope of our work ranges from the drafting of entire benefits plans to providing advice on individual benefits-related matters. We represent both single- and multi-employer pension plans, and have provided counsel in the areas of executive compensation plans, retirement plans, employee stock ownership plans and other employment benefit plans and funds.

A growing area of our benefits practice relates to health insurance issues. We have broad experience in handling litigation related to health and disability benefits issues. We provide representation in disputes before the Internal Revenue Service and Department of Labor regarding compliance, as well as in disputes with individual employees and unions regarding pension and benefits issues.

In all aspects of our employment practice, we strive to provide sound advice and creative solutions while maintaining highest levels of responsiveness and communication possible.

Management Solutions Program^SM

Recognizing the "Alphabet Soup" of employment laws, Michael Best is pleased to offer clients its Management Solutions Program^SM, a customized program designed to help companies understand, create and implement positive employment practices. The program consists of two primary features, a Best Practices Audit of Human Resources Program and a customized Management Training Program.

Our Best Practices employment audit program provides a comprehensive analysis of all personnel policies and procedures. Michael Best works with our clients to create a customized agenda focusing on issues, such as:

Interview and hiring procedures

Employment agreements

Employee handbooks

Discipline/performance documentation

EEO considerations

Wage/hour issues

Information systems

Employee benefit plan

Following an on-site review, we provide a Best Practices Analysis containing a critical review of current employment policies and procedures along with our recommendations for improvement. We also provide follow-up services to ensure that the recommended changes are properly implemented.

Our Management Training Program is designed to provide managers with the tools needed to manage employees effectively and to avoid exposing the company to legal liability. Clients design the curriculum choosing from a wide variety of topics, such as:

Attracting and retaining employees

Managing employee attendance

Avoiding harassment claims

Evaluating employee performance

Managing diversity

Developing a bulletproof discipline system

Staying union-free

Conducting internal investigations

Reducing worker's compensation liability

Managing the collective bargaining relationship

Arbitration and mediation skills

Following the training, attendees receive a certificate of completion for each course attended and a comprehensive Guidebook for Managers, featuring innumerable practical tips. Training can be conducted at our clients' facility or at one of Michael Best's offices.