WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 16, 2013) - Littler Mendelson, P.C. (Littler), the world’s foremost employment and labor law firm representing management, continues its lateral growth with the addition of Maurice Baskin to its Washington, D.C. office. Baskin, previously a partner with Venable LLP and a past chair of that firm’s Labor and Employment Practice Group, joins Littler as a shareholder.
“Maury’s deep understanding of the complex legislative and regulatory landscape in Washington will help in our efforts to anticipate, evaluate and defend against government action on behalf of our clients,” said Thomas Bender, co-president and co-managing director of Littler. “Maury complements our strong policy capabilities in the Washington, D.C. market, and will further our strategy to align clients’ needs with the most experienced labor talent in the country,” added Littler’s co-president and co-managing director, Jeremy Roth.
Baskin has gained national prominence as a longtime defender of free enterprise and the rights of employers. As general counsel to Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc. (ABC), a national trade association of “merit shop” contractors, he has led the fight against government-mandated project labor agreements, union corporate campaigns and pressure tactics, and encroachments on management rights by government agencies such as the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the Department of Labor, and the EEOC.
On behalf of the multi-industry Coalition for a Democratic Workplace (CDW), Baskin led the 2012 appeals court challenge to halt enforcement of the NLRB’s threatened Notice Poster mandate, affecting six million employers nationally. Baskin argued the case on behalf of all the business plaintiffs at the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, achieving an injunction pending appeal that is still in place pending a final decision on the merits.
Also in 2012, Baskin successfully obtained a rare appeals court dismissal of an immigration-based RICO class action claim that had been filed against management employees of a major poultry processor. The resulting decision by the Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit protects businesses from expensive litigation based upon speculative theories of causation in the RICO context.
“I have long respected Littler and was excited when the firm approached me with their plans to expand their already significant presence in D.C., specifically to have a greater impact on the government’s regulation of workplace policy nationally,” Baskin said. “I have been working towards that same goal on behalf of ABC and other clients, and I see great potential in joining forces with Littler’s team. The opportunity to leverage Littler’s additional resources, focused exclusively on all aspects of labor and employment law, and to obtain all that at a lower cost to clients, was too good to pass up.”
“I am particularly interested in participating in the activities of Littler’s Workplace Policy Institute, which is becoming a major player on national regulatory issues affecting labor and employment,” added Baskin.
Baskin has argued successfully at the U.S. Supreme Court, winning recognition of the rights of employers to file suit against union corporate campaign tactics and overturning the NLRB’s previous standard for finding that such suits were illegal. He has also testified before Congress on the Davis-Bacon Act and numerous other labor issues, and he has represented many clients before the NLRB, Labor Department, EEOC, and many state enforcement agencies and local courts. Most recently, Baskin has been active in industry efforts to oppose the Labor Department’s proposed changes to the “persuader” rules under the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA).
“The addition of Maury underscores Littler’s commitment to making strategic, high-caliber hires that complement our core strengths,” said Alison Davis, office managing shareholder of the firm’s Washington, D.C. office. “His experience in high-profile litigation and labor disputes will be of great benefit to our colleagues in D.C., nationally and globally.”
Baskin also focuses his practice in the areas of labor relations and union organizing, employment discrimination, and wage and hour law. Aside from his work as a litigator, he regularly counsels small and large employers in all aspects of labor and employment law, finding practical solutions to workplace legal problems. Baskin has extensive experience in a variety of industry sectors, advising clients involved in higher education, telecommunications, hospitality, security, government contracting, and the non-profit sector.
Baskin has written and spoken extensively on prevailing wage and other wage and hour laws, project labor agreements and other union pressure tactics, the misclassification of employees, hiring and firing, changes to disability law, government contracts, handbooks and workplace policies, and employee verification. He earned his B.A., magna cum laude, from Harvard University in 1975, and his J.D., with honors, from the University of Florida College of Law in 1978. Baskin is currently listed in Super Lawyers and Best Lawyers in America.
About Littler Mendelson
Littler Mendelson is the world’s foremost labor and employment law firm exclusively devoted to representing management. With over 950 attorneys and 57 offices throughout the U.S. and globally, Littler has extensive resources to address the needs of U.S.-based and multi-national clients from navigating domestic and international employment laws and labor relations issues to applying corporate policies worldwide. Established in 1942, the firm has litigated, mediated and negotiated some of the most influential employment law cases and labor contracts on record.
