Brian Easley has more than 25 years of experience representing employers in complex labor and employment matters, with a focus on labor management relations. Brian has represented employers in the manufacturing, oil and gas, energy, mining, automotive, aerospace, railroad, transportation, private equity, media, retail, telecommunications, technology, hospitality, financial services, health care, and construction industries. Brian has successfully negotiated collective bargaining agreements on behalf of clients throughout the United States and has represented clients in connection with strike contingency planning and strike response, union organizing and decertification proceedings, unfair labor practice litigation, arbitration proceedings, and labor litigation.
Brian also advises employers on the labor and employment issues that arise in mergers and acquisitions and bankruptcy proceedings. He has advised corporate and private equity clients on hundreds of mergers and acquisitions — including multihundred million and multibillion dollar transactions — and he advised the City of Detroit through bankruptcy proceedings and restructuring efforts. Brian also maintains an active pro bono practice, having represented organizations such as the Grant Park Orchestral Association and the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra in collective bargaining negotiations. Brian is an active member of the American Bar Association Committee on Practice and Procedure under the National Labor Relations Board.
Brian is a frequent speaker on labor and employment topics. He is a contributing author to the PLI Labor Management Law Answer Book 2012-2019 as well as to the labor law treatises The Developing Labor Law and How to Take a Case Before the NLRB.
Expérience
Robust Midwest Markets Fuel Strategic Expansion, Metropolitan Corporate Counsel
- November 2, 2022
National Labor Relations Board Midterm Update: Key Issues, Initiatives, and Potential DevelopmentsImpacting Union and Non-Union Employers, 2022 Annual New York Labor & Employment Law Discussion Group - October 13, 2022
National Labor Relations Board Midterm Update: Key Issues, Initiatives, and Potential DevelopmentsImpacting Union and Non-Union Employers, 2022 Annual New York Labor & Employment Law Discussion Group - June 17, 2016
The R Case Process: Procedures and Impact of New Rules and Bargaining Unit Determinations after Specialty Healthcare, Hot Topics in Contemporary Labor Relations Law, Chicago-Kent College of Law - April 30, 2015
PLI's Understanding Employment Law 2015 - Chicago - October 8, 2014
2014 Labor & Employment Law Discussion Group - March 26, 2014
Bargaining Benefits: Bargaining Health Care and Pension Changes - March 1, 2014
The New Board: Recent Developments and What’s Next? And What Would An Ideal World Look Like? Academic, Union & Employer Perspectives, Midwinter Meeting, ABA Committee on Practice and Procedure Before the National Labor Relations Board - May 8, 2013
PLI's Understanding Employment Law 2013 - Chicago - April 9, 2013
2013 Government Contractor Labor & Employment Discussion Group - February 7, 2013
The Noel Canning Decision - The D.C. Circuit's Holding That the President's Recess Appointments to the NLRB were Constitutionally Defective: Legal, Policy and Practical Considerations Webinar - December 13, 2012
What to Expect From the NLRB During President Obama's Second Term: Impact on Both Union and Non-Union Workplaces - November 15, 2012
Planning for 2013 Labor and Employment Law Change: The Impact of the Presidential Election on Your Workforce, Jones Day North Shore Wine Tasting and CLE - June 7 - 8, 2012
Jones Day 2012 Railway Labor Act Symposium - May 10, 2012
2012 Hospitality Labor & Employment Discussion Group - January 24, 2012
2012 Speaker Series
Social Media and Its Impact on the Workplace - April 14, 2011
2011 Annual Hospitality Labor & Employment Discussion Group - March 2, 2011
Update on NLRB Representation and Unfair Labor Practice Case Developments, Midwinter Meeting, ABA Committee on Practice and Procedure Before the National Labor Relations Board - October 29, 2010
When Employee Support for a Union Wanes: Decertification, Deauthorization and Withdrawal of Recognition, American Conference Institute National Advanced Forum on Labor-Management Relations - November 4, 2009
Recent Developments at the National Labor Relations Board, 2009-2010 Jones Day Federal Legislative and Regulatory Briefing - November 4, 2009
2009-2010 Federal Legislative and Regulatory Briefing - April 30, 2009
Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, ABA Section of Labor & Employment, Technology in the Practice & Workplace Committee, 2009 Mid-year Meeting, Seattle University School of Law - February 25-26, 2009
Latest Developments in Anticipated Labor and Employment Legislation, Jones Day 2009 Labor & Employment Legislative Briefing - January 8, 2009
Employee Free Choice Act Briefing - Los Angeles - December 12, 2008
How to Avoid EEOC Claims and What to Do If You Can't, Lorman Education Services - April 27, 2007
Significant Developments in Traditional Labor Law, Jones Day Labor & Employment Practice Group - December 5, 2006
Labor & Employment Briefings: Electronic Communications and Data: The Impact on Employment Litigation - November 15, 2006
New Frontiers in the Electronic Age: Blogging, the Internet, E-mail and Electronic Remedies, ABA Section of Labor and Employment Law, Best of the 2006 Midwinter Meetings Teleconference Series - March 4, 2006
Electronic Remedies and Other Electronic Issues Under the National Labor Relations Act, Midwinter Meeting, ABA Committee on Practice and Procedure Before the National Labor Relations Board - 2003-04
Legal Writing, guest lecturer, DePaul University School of Law - December 2, 2004
Overtime Issues in Today's Workplace: Fixing the Problem, Jones Day Wage-Hour Law Conference - October 15, 2004
Recent Developments under the National Labor Relations Act - October 1, 2004
Recent Developments under the National Labor Relations Act - June 22, 2004
Overtime Issues in Today's Workplace: Fixing the Problem, Jones Day Wage-Hour Law Conference - May 20, 2004
Ten Things Employment Lawyers Ought to Know About the National Labor Relations Act - May 20, 2003
Recent Developments in Union Organizing, National Tank Truck Carriers Association Annual Meeting - April 8, 2003
Union Organizing: Preventive Strategies for a Union-Free Workplace - March 25, 2003
Union Organizing: Preventive Strategies for a Union-Free Workplace - October 18, 2002
Arbitration: A Nuts and Bolts Overview - September, 1998
Religious Discrimination and Accommodation, Texas Employment Law Council Annual Meeting - November 8, 1995
Federal Recordkeeping Requirements, Society of Human Resource Managers Annual Meeting - November 9, 1994
Employment Discrimination Update, Austin Human Rights Commission - March 17, 1994
Employer Compliance with Title I of the Americans With Disabilities Act, Texas Association of Business
- University of Michigan (J.D. 1990); University of Dallas (B.A. with honors 1987)
- Minnesota, Texas, and Illinois
The Legal 500 US: Labor-Management Relations (leading lawyer, 2017-2024; recommended, 2013-2024) and Workplace and Employment Counselling (recommended, 2018-2020)
The Best Lawyers in America (2013-2025)
Illinois Super Lawyers (2009-2021)
Fellow, College of Labor and Employment Lawyers
Board Certified, Labor and Employment Law, Texas Board of Legal Specialization