FELLOWS IN THE NEWS

  • Congratulations to Paul Donnelly who was recognized as Best Lawyers® “Lawyer of the Year” for union law in the Jacksonville Metropolitan Area for 2024. Paul and Laura Gross were also named Best Lawyers® for labor and employment law. They are Principals in the Donnelly + Gross firm with offices in Gainesville and Ft. Myers, FL.
  • Debra Fischer has been named to the Daily Journal’s list of Top Labor & Employment Lawyers in California for 2023. The annual list recognizes California lawyers who have made significant contributions to labor and employment law. This is the second time that she has been selected. Debra has practiced employment law and unfair competition/trade secret litigation for more than 30 years, successfully trying cases in both California state and federal courts as well as in arbitration.
  • Mark Shank was awarded the Terry Lee Grantham Memorial Award by the Texas Bar Foundation. The Award, which was endowed in 2014 by Mr. Grantham’s family, is made annually to an outstanding Texas lawyer.
  • Nancy Shilepsky, a partner in the Boston office of Sherin and Lodgen LLP, has been named to Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly’s inaugural Hall of Fame. Shilepsky was selected for this honor due to her contributions to the development of the law, her contributions to the bar, and her efforts to improve the quality of justice in Massachusetts. Read more in the press release here.
  • Congratulations to Deborah Willig who was honored as one of five women receiving the Margaret Brent Women Lawyers of Achievement Award during the 2023 ABA Annual Meeting. Deborah, the founder and managing partner of Willig, Williams & Davidson, has served as the lead labor negotiator for significant negotiations in Philadelphia including the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers and the National Women’s Soccer League Players Association. She has served on numerous committees and the Board of Governors of the Philadelphia Bar Association. In addition, she was elected as chancellor of the Philadelphia Bar Association in 1992, becoming the first woman and LGBTQ leader to hold the post in the association’s history. Quoted in ABAJournal, Deborah stated that “[r]eceiving the Margaret Brent Award validates not only my life’s work, but also the way I approach that work every day.”
  • The College congratulates Denise Clark, who assumed the office of Chair of the ABA Section of Labor and Employment Law at the close of the Annual Meeting which took place earlier this month in Denver. Fellows were also elected to a number of Officer positions as well as to the Council. Congratulations to all!
  • Alan Symonette (Philadelphia, PA) has been named President-Elect of the National Academy of Arbitrators. The announcement came after the organization’s annual membership meeting which took place on May 5th in Denver, CO. His presidency will start in May 2024. Other officers who were announced include Vice Presidents (1st term) Jeanne Vonhof and Sarah Garraty. Congratulations to all!
  • Thomas Roper, K.C., has received the Bora Laskin Award for 2022. This is one of Canada’s top law awards and recognizes Tom’s decades of outstanding contributions to Canadian labour law. The Bora Laskin Award itself was established by the University of Toronto twenty years ago in honour of the late Bora Laskin, former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada. Well-recognized in legal circles as a pre-eminent law scholar, Laskin was appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada in 1970 and named Chief Justice in 1973.
  • On June 2nd, President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate Gwynne Wilcox (New York, NY), who has served as a Member of the NLRB since August 4, 2021, to a second term when her current term ends on August 27th. Gwynne, a senior partner at Levy Ratner PC before joining the Board, was presented with the Honorable Bernice B. Donald Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Legal Profession Award by the ABA’s Labor and Employment Law Section in November 2021. The award is given to a member, law firm, corporation, organization or academic institution “that has demonstrated leadership in and commitment to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion in the legal profession.”
  • David Powell (Denver, CO) is now practicing at the law firm of Garnett Powell Maximon Barlow where he focuses his practice on employment and commercial litigation. Before co-founding the firm with his colleagues in 2023, David served as Deputy Attorney General in the Colorado Attorney General’s Office, managing the eight separate legal units comprising the State Services Section. His new contact information can be found here.