Attorneys

Joseph L. Paller Jr.

Voice: (323) 938-3000 x320
Fax: (323) 937-9139

Experience

Joseph Paller has represented labor unions and employee benefit plans since he graduated from UCLA Law School in 1978. He is a nationally recognized specialist in labor, employment and employee benefits law.

Joe also serves as Chair of the Personnel Commission of the Los Angeles Unified School District, which provides civil service protections for 35,000 classified employees in the nation's second largest school district.

Joe is a former member of the Board of Directors of the AFL CIO Lawyers Coordinating Committee. He also served as Chair of the Los Angeles County Bar Association's Labor and Employment Law Section, and President of Orange County Labor & Employment Relations Association (formerly, OCIRRA).

Since 1995, Joe has been an employment dispute arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association and has taught classes in labor and employment law for the Labor Center at Los Angeles Trade-Technical College. For many years, he was a regular contributor to the "Shoptalk" column in the Sunday Los Angeles Times.

Joe is admitted to practice in California, Nevada, New York and Pennsylvania. For many years, he has been honored for his professional achievements in Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, and Los Angeles Magazine by Best Lawyers in America, Southern California Super Lawyers and similar publications. He is rated AV Preeminent, the highest level of professional excellence, by Martindale Hubbell.

Education

J.D. UCLA School of Law (1978)
B.A. University of California, Santa Barbara (1974)

Law Firm Employment

1985 - (Present) Shareholder, Gilbert & Sackman, a Law Corporation, Los Angeles, California
1983 - 1985 Associate, Vladeck, Waldman, Elias & Englehard, P.C. New York, New York
1978 - 1983 Associate, Gilbert, Cooke & Sackman, a Law Corporation, Beverly Hills, California

Admissions to State and Federal Courts

Admitted to practice in California (1978), New York (1985) and Pennsylvania (1983), in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals (1979), and in all federal District Courts within California

Professional Affiliations

Member, Board of Directors, AFL-CIO Lawyers Coordinating Committee (2005-08)
Chair, AFL-CIO Lawyers Committee on State and Local Privacy Legislation (2001)
Chair, Labor and Employment Law Section, Los Angeles County Bar Association (1993-94)
Union Co-Chair, ERISA Litigation Subcommittee of the Committee on Employee Rights and Responsibilities, Labor and Employment Law Section, American Bar Association (1987-2002)
President, Orange County Industrial Relations Research Association (1993-94)
Member, Executive Committee, Labor and Employment Law Section of the Los Angeles County Bar Association (1988-present)
Member, Executive Committee, Orange County Industrial Relations Research Association (1988-present)
Chair, Southern California Labor and Employment Law Symposium, sponsored by the Los Angeles County Bar Association (1989)
Founding Co-Chair (1990), and Member, Planning Committee (1994), Entertainment Industry Labor Law Conference, sponsored by the Los Angeles County Bar Association
Member, Planning Committee, Labor Law Conference, co-sponsored by National Labor Relations Board Region 21, the Federal Mediation & Conciliation Service and the Orange County Industrial Relations Research Association (1989-present)

Selected Publications

J. Paller & A. Barnes, The Economics of Wage & Hour Litigation: Recovering Attorney's Fees and Costs, Wage & Hour Litigation Issues, The Labor Law Exchange, Vol. 22 (AFL-CIO Lawyers Coordinating Committee, 2008)
Union Lawyers Are Not Liable for Malpractice or Breach of the DFR in Labor Arbitration or Contract Negotiations, LCC Bulletin, No. 183 (AFL-CIO Lawyers Coordinating Committee, July-August 2007)
"Gentlemen Do Not Read Each Other's Mail:" A Lawyer's Duties upon Receipt of Inadvertently Disclosed Confidential Information, The Labor Lawyer, Vol. 21, No. 3 (American Bar Association, Winter/Spring 2006)
Download PDF (2.4MB)
Fiduciary Investment Issues in Defined Contribution Plans, Benefits & Compensation Digest (web exclusive) (International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans, August 2006)
Download PDF (132KB)
NLRB Forbids Regions' Ex Parte Communications With Supervisors In Organizations Represented by Counsel, California Labor & Employment Law Quarterly (2003)
Contributor, weekly "Shop Talk" column, Monday "Business" Section, The Los Angeles Times (1997-2002)
Contributing Author, Defense of Non-Traditional Labor Protest Activities, AFL-CIO Lawyers Coordinating Committee (AFL-CIO 2001)
J. Paller & S. Kaplan, "The Protection of Employee Privacy," The Employee Termination Handbook (Wiley Interscience, 1986)

Selected Papers/Presentations

"Returning to the Mainstream: The NLRB in the Obama Administration," 28th Annual Labor Law Conference, sponsored by National Labor Relations Board Regions 21 and 31, the Federal Mediation & Conciliation Service, and the Orange County Labor & Employment Relations Association, Anaheim, California (2010)
"Defined Contribution Plans: Another Source of Retirement Security," Advanced Trustees Institute, International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans, Orlando, Florida and San Diego, California (2010)
"Legal Ethics after Pyett: New Minefields for Union Counsel," UFCW Attorneys Conference, San Diego, California (2009)
"Labor and Employment under the Obama Administration: Change We Can Expect," 29th Annual Labor & Employment Law Symposium, sponsored by Los Angeles County Bar Association, Los Angeles, California (2009)
"Defined Contribution Plans in 2008: Pension Protection Act and Related Issues," Plan Professionals InstituteBAttorneys, International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans, La Costa, California (2008)
"Defined Contribution Plan Issues," AFL CIO Lawyers ERISA Working Group Meeting, Washington, D.C. (2008)
"Recent Developments Under the National Labor Relations Act," 26th Annual Labor Law Conference, sponsored by National Labor Relations Board Regions 21 and 31, the Federal Mediation & Conciliation Service, and the Orange County Industrial Relations Research Association, Anaheim, California (2008)
"Investment Issues in Defined Contribution Plans," Investments Institute, International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans, San Francisco, California (2008)
"Fiduciary Issues in Defined Contribution Plans," Plan Professionals Institute Attorneys, International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans, Las Vegas, Nevada (2007)
Download PDF (268KB)
"New Assaults on Employee Free Choice: Employer Neutrality and Voluntary Recognition Agreements in the Board and the Courts," Labor & Employment Law Section Retreat, sponsored by Los Angeles County Bar Association, Rancho Bernardo, California (2007)
Download PDF (188KB)
"Investment Issues in Defined Contribution Plans," Investments Institute, International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans (2006)
"Recent Challenges to Voluntary Recognition/Neutrality Agreements: Dana Corp. and Chamber of Commerce v. Lockyer," UFCW Attorneys Conference, Ojai Valley, California (2006)
"The NLRB's Assault on Voluntary Recognition/Neutrality Agreements: Majestic Weaving and Dana Corporation (with a passing nod to Dana/Metaldyne)," AFL CIO Lawyers Coordinating Committee, Western Regional Conference (2006)
"Gentlemen Do Not Read Each Other's Mail:' A Lawyer's Duties Upon Receipt of Inadvertently Disclosed Confidential Information," Committee on the Development of the Law Under the NLRA Labor & Employment Law Section, American Bar Association, Rancho Mirage, California (2006)
"Multiemployer Plan Issues: Developments Affecting Defined Contribution Plans in 2005," AFL-CIO ERISA Workshop, Washington, D.C. (2005)
"The Attorney-Client Relationship in Labor Arbitration and Collective Bargaining: Issues for Union Attorneys," nationwide teleconference sponsored by American Bar Association's Labor and Employment Law Section (2005)
"The Future of Multi Employer Bargaining: The Sherman Anti Trust Act, The Supermarket Strike and What It All Means to Labor Attorneys," 23rd Annual Meeting of the Labor and Employment Law Section of the State Bar of California, Anaheim, California (2005)
"Medical Information and Employment: A Guide for Workplace Advocates," 23rd Annual Labor Law Conference, sponsored by National Labor Relations Board Region 21, the Federal Mediation & Conciliation Service, and the Orange County Industrial Relations Research Association, Anaheim, California (2005)
"Defined Contribution Plans: Challenges/Opportunities," 50th Annual Employee Benefits Conference, sponsored by the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans, New Orleans, Louisiana (2004)
"Traditional Labor Law Intersections with Employment Law," 24th Annual Labor and Employment Law Symposium, sponsored by the Los Angeles County Bar Association (2004)
"Being Safe in an Unsafe World: Balancing Workplace Security with Employee Rights," 56th Annual Meeting, Industrial Relations Research Association, San Diego, California (January 2004)
"New Initiatives for Personnel Commissions," Annual Meeting, California School Personnel Commissioners Association, San Diego, California (2003)
"Bad Policy: New NLRB Rules Forbidding Ex Parte Communications by Regional Staff With Supervisory Employees of Organizations Represented by Counsel," 2002 UFCW Attorneys Conference, Amelia Island, Florida (2002)
"Ethics and the National Labor Relations Board," National Institute on Basic NLRA Law and Procedures, American Bar Association Labor and Employment Law Section, Los Angeles, California (2002).
"Security vs. Civil Liberties in the Workplace after 9/11," 20th Annual Labor Law Conference, sponsored by National Labor Relations Board Region 21, the Federal Mediation & Conciliation Service, and the Orange County Industrial Relations Research Association, Anaheim, California (2002)
"Employer Surveillance of Employee E-Mail and Computer Files, and Related Atrocities: A Union Perspective," 19th Annual Meeting, Labor and Employment Law Section, State Bar of California, La Costa, California (2001)
"California's New Salary Requirements for the >White Collar' Exemption: The Next Wave of Wage and Hour Litigation?" 12th Annual Entertainment Industry Labor & Employment Law Conference, sponsored by Los Angeles County Bar Association (2001)
"Selected Issues Involving Wage and Hour Class Actions: a Plaintiffs Counsel's Views on When Class Action Treatment is Appropriate, Advantages and Disadvantages of FLSA and UCL Claims, and Restrictions on Communications with Class Members," Beverly Hills Bar Association, Labor and Employment Law Section (2001)
"Ethical Conflicts Arising from Simultaneous Representation of Unions and Their Members," 21st Annual Labor and Employment Law Symposium, sponsored by the Los Angeles County Bar Association (2001)
"The E-Revolution in the Workplace," Orange County Industrial Relations Research Association (2001)
"Defensive Maneuvers in Worker Advocacy Litigation: Opposing Employer Attempts to Disqualify Plaintiffs' Counsel and Abusive Employer Discovery," Annual Lawyers Conference, AFL-CIO Lawyers Coordinating Committee, Boston, Massachusetts (2000)
"Ethics Issues for Union Counsel,@ 2000 Annual Retreat, Los Angeles County Bar Association, Labor and Employment Law Section, Palm Springs, California (2000)
"Medical Information, Privacy and Employment: a Guide for Union Attorneys and Advocates," 20th Annual Labor and Employment Law Symposium, Los Angeles County Bar Association, Labor and Employment Law Section, Los Angeles, California (2000)
"Selected Issues in Union Campaign Publicity: Employer Trade Secrets and Confidential Union Information," UFCW Attorneys Conference, Ojai Valley, California (1999)
"Sexual Harassment and Union Representational Responsibilities," Nineteenth Annual Labor and Employment Law Symposium, sponsored by Los Angeles County Bar Association (1999)
"An Introduction to the National Labor Relations Act: Representation Proceedings," Eighteenth Annual Labor and Employment Law Symposium, sponsored by Los Angeles County Bar Association (1998)
"Conflict in the Workplace: Early Intervention for EEO Charges," Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution of the Pepperdine University School of Law (1998)
"Representing Multiple Parties in Employment Cases -- Conflicts, Consents & Ethical Dilemmas," Los Angeles County Bar Association, Labor and Employment Law Seminar
(1997, 1993 and 1991)
"Ethical Issues for Union Counsel," UFCW Attorneys Conference, Nantucket Island, Massachusetts (1996)
"Ethics in Labor-Management Relations," Fifth Annual National Conference on Ethics in America (1994)

Teaching Experience

Lecturer, AVEBAs, Capital Stewardship Institute, National Labor College, Los Angeles (2008)
Instructor, Labor Studies, Los Angeles Trade-Technical College, Los Angeles Community College District (1995-Present)
Co-Facilitator, Labor Arbitration Training, American Arbitration Association, Las Vegas, Nevada (2002)
Instructor, National Education Association, Grievance and Arbitration Training Program, Anaheim (2002)
Alternative Dispute Resolution Experience/Training
Arbitrator/Mediator, Southern California Employment Disputes Panel, American Arbitration Association (1995-Present)
Employment Arbitrator Training II, American Arbitration Association, Orlando, Florida (2002)
Commercial Arbitrator Training, American Arbitration Association, Anaheim, California (1999)
Employment Arbitrator Training I, American Arbitration Association, Los Angeles, California (1996)

Martindale-Hubbell Rating

"AV Preeminent" ("An AV7 certification mark is a significant rating accomplishment a testament to the fact that a lawyer's peers rank him or her at the highest level of professional excellence")